Alex Shaw, JJ Buckley, February 2011

68% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 5% petit verdot, 2% cabernet franc. The yields were a little lower than last year at 44hl/ha. Cherry and cassis lead on the nose, followed by expressive notes of cedar, spice and wild herbs. Juicy and round on the palate, the red fruit is complemented by notes of coffee and saddle leather. Give this 6-8 years in the bottle and it should be one of the stars from St. Julien.

John Sweeney, JJ Buckley, April 2009

Incredibly dark in color, but not a lot of weight on the palate. There are notes of candied cherry on the nose, and this wine has subtle tannins making it very smooth in the mouth.

90 points,

Neal Martin's Wine Journal, February 2012

Tasted ex-château and single blind in Southwold. The nose is a little of the Branaire Ducru 2008 are muted at the moment, but as it unfurls it reveals attractive blackberry and briary aromas with well-integrated oak. This will need time. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins, slightly lower in acidity with very fine integrated texture with a silky smooth finish. Composed, but maybe missing a little "personality". Tasted January 2012.

91 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, May 2011

A stunning success for the vintage, this enticing St.-Julien reveals notes of lead pencil shavings, sweet raspberries and black currants and a subtle touch of oak. Elegant, restrained yet authoritative and impressively intense, it is a medium to full-bodied, lightly tannic effort will be even better with 1-2 years of bottle age and will keep for 15-20 years.

91 points,

Wine Spectator, December 2010

Dark and winey, with mouthfilling crushed currant and plum fruit pushed by even more fig paste and linzer torte notes. Lots of smoldering tobacco, charcoal and iron drives the finish, which has ample but integrated grip. Best from 2013 through 2020.-J.M.

About Winery

The long history of Chateau Branaire-Ducru coincides with that of the (usually gentlemanly) stuggle for power between the bourgeoisie and nobles for possession of land in the Médoc before the French Revolution.

Since 1988, Patrick Maroteaux and Philippe Dhalluin, respectively President and Managing Director of Branaire-Ducru, have been reviving the competition, and the wine media are sitting up and taking notice.
        
Branaire's many old vines and perfectly kept vineyards, some of which are newly planted, are decided strong points.

Philippe Dhalluin explains: "The very gravelly soil, as well as the high average age of the vines, account for Branaire-Ducru's low yields.
    
Care is taken to control the vigour of the young vines. Rather than resorting to thinning out, which we find somewhat brutal, we prefer to let grass grow between the rows in plots of young vines. This is an entirely natural way of limiting production. It also has the advantage of fighting drought conditions since vine roots must go deep down into the soil to find water, and are thus able to cope with long dry spells".

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