2002 Château Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, Bordeaux

2002 Château Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, Bordeaux

Product: 20028003230
Prices start from £600.00 per case Buying options
2002 Château Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, Bordeaux

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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12 x 75cl bottle
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Description

The successful 2002 exhibits a beautiful, dense ruby/purple color, a lovely concoction of raspberries, cassis, flowers and licorice in the fragrant aromatics, medium to full body, surprising opulence for a 2002, and soft and supple tannin. A beauty, it is ideal for drinking now and over the next 15+ years.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 29/04/2005

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate90/100
The successful 2002 exhibits a beautiful, dense ruby/purple color, a lovely concoction of raspberries, cassis, flowers and licorice in the fragrant aromatics, medium to full body, surprising opulence for a 2002, and soft and supple tannin. A beauty, it is ideal for drinking now and over the next 15+ years.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 29/04/2005 Read more
Robert Parker
"A precise, impressively endowed yet irrefutably elegant St Julien, Branaire's 2002 boasts a saturated ruby/purple colour in addition to a beautiful bouquet of flowers intertwined with creme de cassis, cranberries and notions of raspberries, mocha and chocolate. It possesses serious depth, medium to full body and moderately high, but well integrated tannin. Cellar this beauty for 3-4 years and consume it over the following 15-18." 90-92/100 pts. (Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Oct-2003) Read more

About this WINE

Château Branaire-Ducru

Château Branaire-Ducru

Classified as a fourth growth in 1855, Ch. Branaire-Ducru makes pure and classic St Julien. The estate has recently passed from father to son: the widely respected Patrick Maroteaux – who had served at various times as president of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux and the St Julien appellation – sadly passed away in 2017. His son François-Xavier has picked up the baton and continues his father’s legacy. The Maroteaux family bought the property in 1988 and have invested considerably in the vineyard and winery since. Superstar consultant Eric Boissenot advises here, as he does with many of the Left Bank’s top estates, including the Médoc’s four first growths.

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St Julien

St Julien

St Julien is the smallest of the "Big Four" Médoc communes. Although, without any First Growths, St Julien is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes, with several châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year. 

St Julien itself is much more of a village than Pauillac and almost all of the notable properties lie to its south. Its most northerly château is Ch. Léoville Las Cases (whose vineyards actually adjoin those of Latour in Pauillac) but,  further south, suitable vineyard land gives way to arable farming and livestock until the Margaux appellation is reached.  

The soil is gravelly and finer than that of Pauillac, and without the iron content which gives Pauillac its stature. The homogeneous soils in the vineyards (which extend over a relatively small area of just over 700 hectares) give the commune a unified character.

The wines can be assessed as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. Elegance, harmony and perfect balance and weight, with hints of cassis and cedar, are what epitomise classic St Julien wines. At their very best they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.

Ch. Léoville Las Cases produces arguably the most sought-after St Julien, and in any reassessment of the 1855 Classification it would almost certainly warrant being elevated to First Growth status.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Léoville Las CasesCh.Léoville Barton, Ch Léoville Poyferré, Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, Ch Langoa Barton, Ch Gruaud Larose, Ch. Branaire-Ducru, Ch. Beychevelle

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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