- Colour Red
- Producer Château Branaire Ducru
- Region St Julien
- Grape Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot / Cabernet Franc
- Drinking 2026 - 2040
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available En Primeur
2021 - Ch Branaire Ducru 4ème Cru St Julien - 6x75cl
- Colour Red
- Producer Château Branaire Ducru
- Region St Julien
- Grape Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot / Cabernet Franc
- Drinking 2026 - 2040
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available En Primeur
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Neal Martin, April 2022, Score: 91-93
The 2021 Branaire Ducru was picked from September 24, albeit slowly, until October 14, at 32hL/ha. It has quite an intense, dare I say precocious bouquet of bold brambly red fruit that eventually settles in the glass and turns darker. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and a touch of black pepper and tobacco. Quite a marine-influenced Saint-Julien, it fans out gradually toward the finish and exerts a gentle grip. Though not quite reaching the heights of recent vintages, it represents a true articulation of the growing season and of Branaire-Ducru itself. Drink 2025 - 2050
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Wine Advocate, April 2022, Score: 93-94+
Having tasted the 2021 Branaire-Ducru six times over the course of a month and a half, I feel confident in saying that it is a beautiful wine that numbers among the vintage's real successes. Offering up aromas of raspberry coulis and red cherries mingled with notions of rose petals, cigar box and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless, with a layered core of fruit, lively acids and beautifully powdery tannins. Why is it quite so good? It isn't because a lot of wine was declassified, as around 60% of the estate's production went into the grand vin this year—a touch more than average. Rather, the key factors seem to be waiting to pick despite an alarming weather forecast; the blend itself, which emphasizes ripe Cabernet and the estate's later-ripening Merlot on clay-limestone soils; and the fact that a partially completed new winery means that Branaire already had fully 63 fermentation vats at its disposal to pick and vinify parcel by parcel. The exact composition is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
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Antonio Galloni, April 2022, Score: 93-95
The 2021 Branaire-Ducru is sleek, elegant and nuanced. There is more Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in the blend than in the 2018-2020 period, when the Merlots were especially successful. As a result, the aromatics are absolutely alluring, but the wine is much less forthcoming on the palate. At 12.9% alcohol, the 2021 is a classically austere Branaire that looks like it will need quite a bit of time to blossom. It is undoubtedly a very pretty wine, even if not fully expressive at this stage. Dark cherry, plum, chocolate, leather and rose petal linger. Tasted three times. Drink 2031-2061
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Goedhuis, April 2022, Score: 93-95
Branaire Ducru continues to sit under the radar in terms of both overachieving on quality and value in price. It is always one of the bargains of the vintage, and the 2021 from Francois-Xavier Maroteaux will definitely be worth seeking out. Shining purple colour, a fresh and aromatic wine, it has a luscious cherry and rose petal scent. The fruit is polished, and the tannins have a more velvety texture than you sometimes find at this property. The balance between sweetness, a tight central frame and freshness create a super St Julien full of appellational integrity.
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Wine Cellar Insider, April 2022, Score: 92-94
Flowers and black raspberries with black and red currants open the wine in the nose. The wine is medium-bodied, fresh, sweet, juicy and pure. Classic in style, this is going to be approchable early, so you will be able to enjoy all the ripe, elegant, cherries, plums and peppery currants without a long wait. Yet, the wine will age for 2 decades ore more easily. The wine is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc and 5.5% Petit Verdot, 13% ABV, 3.68 pH. The harvest took place September 24, finishing October 14. The yields were low at 32 hectoliters per hectare and from there, roughly 60% of the harvest was placed into the Grand Vin. Drink from 2024-2050.
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Jane Anson, April 2022, Score: 92
Well balanced, showcasing the possibliities of the vintage, a little austere in its rose stem and cassis bud character, but it opens up to show finessed blackberry fruit, precisely cut tannins, and has plenty of potential to age. 32hl/ yield, up to 20 month ageing depending on tasting. Tasted twice.
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Matthew Jukes, April 2022, Score: 18
I am so impressed with how each of the finest estates seems to have nailed both the essence of their ‘house style’ and also their location so perfectly in 2021. And so Branaire follows this theme with a lusty, densely-packed, daringly structured wine with just a little more oomph than many. It manages to carry this trick off in spite of the 13% alcohol, and while there is intensity here, there is no unwanted astringency, just tense, refreshing tannin. This is consummate winemaking from a first-class Château.
Producer
Château Branaire Ducru
Across the road from Beychevelle lies Château Branaire Ducru. Until 1988, the entire production was sold in France through the Nicolas chain of wine shops. A change in ownership fortunately also changed that policy and Branaire Ducru now takes its rightful place on the international marketplace. Like most Médoc wines, the core of the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon and intensive work in the vineyard ensures optimum ripeness. Ch...Read more
Across the road from Beychevelle lies Château Branaire Ducru. Until 1988, the entire production was sold in France through the Nicolas chain of wine shops. A change in ownership fortunately also changed that policy and Branaire Ducru now takes its rightful place on the international marketplace. Like most Médoc wines, the core of the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon and intensive work in the vineyard ensures optimum ripeness. Château Branaire Ducru aims for a balance of elegance and complexity - a trend which has been apparent since 1989, the vintage after its current owner, Patrick Maroteaux, purchased the château.Read less

Region
St Julien
St Julien is like the middle child of the Médoc - not as assertive as Pauillac or as coquettish as Margaux. It lies firmly between the two more outspoken communes and as a result produces a blend of them both. St Julien's wines have often been sought out by aficionados for their balance and consistency, particularly in the UK. Yet due to its middle child nature, it can occasionally be overlooked globally and as a result underrated by those markets outside the UK. Despite the fact that it has no first growths, it has several second growths including Léoville Las Cases, Léoville Barton, Léoville Poyferré and Ducru Beaucaillou as well as the celebrated châteaux such as Talbot and Beychevelle.