Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2020
- V
- WE
- JS
- WS
- RP
- D
- JD
- RP
- JS
- D
- JD
- TA
- V
- JS
- V
- RP
- D
- JD
- WE
- JD
- RP
- JS
- WS
- D
- JS
- V
- WE
- WS
- JD
- RP
- D
- WE
- JD
- WS
- JS
- RP
- WS
- JS
- WE
- D
- RP
- JD
- WE
- WS
- D
- JS
- RP
- WE
- WS
- JS
- WE
- JS
- WS
- RP
- WE
- RP
- JS
- WS
- WE
- V
- JS
- D
- WS
- RP
- JD
- WE
- JS
- RP
- WS
- RP
- WE
- WS
- WE
- WE
- WS
- RP
- WE
- RP
- JS
- RP
- WS
- WE
- RP
- WS
- RP
Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesBarrel Sample: 94-96
Rich, juicy and with dense tannins, this wine is full of generous blackberry fruit flavor. The tannins and impressive structure are what show promise for the future. Expect this wine to age well. Barrel Sample: 93-95
Barrel Sample: 93-94
This has a lovely floral lead followed quickly by a very pure and precise beam of cassis and bitter plum fruit. Shows ample structure but this is fine-grained and almost silky in feel, while subtle dark tea, savory and iron notes peek through on the lengthy finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
Barrel Sample: (91-93)+
Barrel Sample: 93
Showing beautifully, the deeper purple/ruby-hued 2020 Chateau Branaire-Ducru offers a deep, masculine bouquet of blackcurrants, plums, smoked tobacco, and iron. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, nicely balanced Saint-Julien with plenty of mid-palate depth, ripe, integrated tannins, and a great finish. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more. Best After 2027. Rating: 93+
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.