2007 Château Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, Bordeaux

2007 Château Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, Bordeaux

Product: 20078003230
 
2007 Château Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, Bordeaux

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Description

Ch. Branaire Ducru - Master of St. Julien. The wine of choice for the Bordeaux cognoscenti, Patrick Maroteau's stunning wine is close to the quality of the First Growths in 2007. With the same (albeit much riper) tannins as the 1996, Patrick ranks this as the 5th or 6th best Branaire of the last 15 years. The rich, fresh, almost porty nose of spicy damsons and blackberries simply oozes class while the precise, creamy cassis palate is as sleek and balanced as anything we have tasted. Fine grained tannins add structure while a long, pure black fruit, coffee and bitter chocolate finish is the icing on the cake.

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate88/100
Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, the 2007 Branaire-Ducru has a light, slightly simple bouquet: red berry fruit, singed leather and cedar, autumnal in style and maybe missing a little vigor simply through the passing of time. The palate is medium-bodied with a pleasant tartness on the entry, gentle grip in the mouth and plenty of tightly wound black, graphite-infused fruit on the finish. Not bad, although it feels as if the aromatics are developing quicker than the palate. Tasted February 2017.
Neal Martin - 30/06/2017 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW16/20
Very dark crimson. Sweet blackberries on the nose - much riper than most. Very flashy! Tastes like Rolland style even if I can't immediately think of a St-Julien where Rolland consults. Blind, this didn't taste like a wine from the Barton stable to me…, although it was certainly much more luscious than the Léoville Barton.
Jancis Robinson - www.jancisrobinson.com - Apr 08 Read more
Decanter17/20
Fine purple-red, good vibrant fruit and fine elegance and lively style, with good vineyard expression, a precise wine, balanced with good length. 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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