chateau branaire ducru 4eme cru classe st julien

Château Branaire Ducru

Château Branaire Ducru, 4ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2018

Name: Château Branaire Ducru, 4ème Cru Classé, St Julien
Brand: Château Branaire Ducru
Price: 257.62 GBP

92/100

The Wine Independent

93/100

Vinous

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2018
6x75cl
DP
£296.42£257.62

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

A few négociants had already expressed their enthusiasm for Branaire 2018 before we had tasted it. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the hype. This is another solid effort, but it doesn't have any magic for us. There's a slightly strange aniseed aroma on the nose, then hints of toast, gravel and wild bramble fruit. This is firm, but quite well concentrated with a well-judged finish and admirable length. Another dependable effort that should provide good mid-term drinking.

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Wines not bought directly from the vineyard are either sourced from trusted suppliers, with whom we share the same philosophy and rigour in buying, or from our own network of Cellarers customers. These customers’ wines are stored in optimal conditions in Octavian Corsham and, in the vast majority of cases, have been stored by us since the wine was first shipped. We do not purchase wine from auctions.

We feel it is equally important to for our customers that the case they buy and leave in storage with us is exactly the same case they subsequently have delivered. This may sound obvious and straightforward, yet we are one of very few merchants to have taken measures to ensure this.

We have created a system where every case is independent, thereby ensuring a trail of ownership and peace of mind for every customer.

The Journey

Justerinis ensures that every case of wine stored with Cellarers (Wines) Ltd has a unique identifier and customer’s name, almost unheard of in the industry as it is expensive to administer. These details are printed and placed on every case which is logged and recorded under your account name and kept in the world’s most renowned storage facility, Octavian Corsham.

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Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is a legally separate limited company from Justerini & Brooks which currently holds approximately £450 million worth of customer reserves. It is fully insured to catastrophic loss. Many merchants will state that wine in their care is fully insured, but in reality this is on an individual case basis with insufficient cover for total loss as this is prohibitively expensive. The cover provided by Octavian and Justerini & Brooks is unmatched.

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is audited by PwC every year.

Critic Reviews

92/100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,

The Wine Independent

The 2018 Branaire-Ducru has a deep garnet-purple color. It delivers pronounced scents of crème de cassis, stewed plums, and fruitcake, with hints of allspice, tobacco, and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is rich and velvety with plenty of freshness and a long spicy finish.

drinking window 2023 - 2037

date of review 02/2023

93/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 2018 Branaire-Ducru was picked from September 19 until October 10 at 53hl/ha and is currently being aged in 60% new oak. It has retained the sophisticated bouquet that I found last year, featuring beautifully defined blackberry and cedar and hints of iris flower and rose petals. The palate is well defined with good density and backbone, something that you could argue was missing from Branaire-Ducru in the 1990s and early 2000s. It gently fans out on the finish but never wants to create too much of a commotion – that’s not its style. This indicates a property that is finding a new lease on life. Excellent.

drinking window 2023 - 2045

date of review 03/2021

product details

Specifications

Country:

France

Region:

Bordeaux

Appellation:

St Julien

Producer:

Château Branaire Ducru

style:

Red Wine

Grape Variety:

Cab Sauvignon Merlot

abv:

14%

allergen information

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.