Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2008
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Winemaker Notes
Blend: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sweet black raspberry and blueberry fruit intermixed with hints of acacia flowers and crushed rocks always provide Branaire with a distinctive perfume. In the mouth, there is impressive purity, a powerful yet elegant style, noticeable but sweet tannin, and nicely integrated acidity. The wood component is not apparent given the density and richness of the fruit. The 2008 should come close to rivaling the 2005, 2003, and 2000. Consume it over the next 20+ years. Range: 91-93+
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Wine Spectator
Currants and blackberries, with hints of black licorice. Medium- to full-bodied, with firm tannins and lots of pretty fruit. Love the nose. Tight and structured, but refined.
Barrel Sample: 88-91 Points -
Wine Enthusiast
Dark, somewhat austere, a wine that masks the generosity of Saint-Julien. Everything is there, but in grey and white, rather than vivid color.
Barrel Sample: 89-91 Points
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The name, given by the former owner Monsieur Ducru, means "beautiful pebbles". One of the main features of the vineyard is its richness in pebbles which contribute to the greatness of so many wines of the Medoc.
Just before the war, the vineyard became run down and many Bordeaux critics felt it no longer deserved its rank as a Second Growth. During the Medoc Classification of 1855, the Chateau was rated as a Fourth Growth. In 1942 the Borie family purchased the vineyard completely revamped the vineyard and it began receiving top ratings amongst the Second Growths. Successive generations of the Borie family oversee all winemaking operations.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An icon of balance and tradition, St. Julien boasts the highest proportion of classed growths in the Médoc. What it lacks in any first growths, it makes up in the rest: five amazing second growth chateaux, two superb third growths and four well-reputed fourth growths. While the actual class rankings set in 1855 (first, second, and so on the fifth) today do not necessarily indicate a score of quality, the classification system is important to understand in the context of Bordeaux history. Today rivalry among the classed chateaux only serves to elevate the appellation overall.
One of its best historically, the estate of Leoville, was the largest in the Médoc in the 18th century, before it was divided into the three second growths known today as Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Barton. Located in the north section, these are stone’s throw from Chateau Latour in Pauillac and share much in common with that well-esteemed estate.
The relatively homogeneous gravelly and rocky top soil on top of clay-limestone subsoil is broken only by a narrow strip of bank on either side of the “jalle,” or stream, that bisects the zone and flows into the Gironde.
St. Julien wines are for those wanting subtlety, balance and consistency in their Bordeaux. Rewarding and persistent, the best among these Bordeaux Blends are full of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, plum, tobacco and licorice. They are intense and complex and finish with fine, velvety tannins.