Château Branaire Ducru, 4ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2022

Name: Château Branaire Ducru, 4ème Cru Classé, St Julien
Brand: Château Branaire Ducru
Price: 260.74 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2012 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

Our first sample left us decidedly underwhelmed. Thankfully, a second encounter showed this wine’s real potential. We've been heaping praises on this Maroteaux owned chateau for a few years now, and the 2022 could be the best example yet. Opening with classical notes of cassis, creme de mûre, graphite and flowers, the palate is firm and powerful with lots of black plum, blueberries and a robe of purple fruit. Generous and ripe, there's admirable precision here backed up by detailed tannins. One to look out for. 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot

critic reviews

96/100Chris Kissack,The Wine Independent

This is 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot, an assemblage which has resulted in a svelte and coherent nose, combining dark and perfumed fruits with a leathery overlay of tobacco and black pepper. The palate shows a charming and integrated texture, sweetly knit together and polished, with dark fruits, all damson, olive and plum, set against a rich chalky backdrop of dry and finely grained tannins. A serious and structured wine but with a seductive texture, which will need decades to come around. Impressive. Tasted twice. The alcohol on the label is 14.5%.

DRINKING WINDOW 2029 - 2059

date of review 06/2025

96/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2022 Branaire Ducru, bottled mid-June, was one of the most impressive I tasted from barrel. It retains a wonderful bouquet with more red fruit compared to its peers, hints of iodine and a touch of desiccated orange peel. The wine shows fine, almost clinical delineation. It is medium-bodied with an extremely well balanced palate, slightly powdery tannins and a sense of tension and brightness that, like some of the best Saint-Juliens in 2022, puts it above the 2019 or 2020. Quite linear and mineral-driven towards the sapid finish, this is a classic Branaire-Ducru that will age with style in bottle.

DRINKING WINDOW 2030 - 2065

date of review 02/2025

96/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

This is an estate that can be so understated as to almost miss its complexity, but this vintage, with its excess and exuberance, does a wonderful job of drawing it out. The concentration is impressive, but there you'll also find a softness and balance that is juicy and enticing. Great job Branaire Ducru. Francois Xavier Maroteaux owner. I honestly think the best example of this château that I have ever tasted En Primeur (and god I hate it when critics say that).

DRINKING WINDOW 2030 - 2044

date of review 05/2023

95-97/100William Kelley,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A brilliant wine that's the finest young vintage I've tasted at this Saint-Julien estate, the 2022 Branaire-Ducru wafts from the glass with aromas of violets, blackberries, sweet cassis, licorice and pencil shavings, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and multidimensional palate that's succulent, sapid and perfumed, framed by supple tannins and concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. It's a blend of 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot that checks in at a healthy pH of 3.65. Why is it so good this year? In addition to the quality of the vintage, the new gravity-flow winery means fruit can be handled more gently, and picked more precisely, sub-block by sub-block, as the team now have fully 63 vats at their disposal, almost double their capacity through 2020. Given the Maroteaux family's sensible approach to pricing, this is likely to number among the must-purchase wines of the 2022 vintage, and it comes warmly recommended.

date of review 04/2023