2020 Ch. Branaire Ducru - Saint Julien GCC | € 43,75 (€ 52,94) |
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58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot en 3% Cabernet Franc op een rendement van 40hl/ha. Stralend robijnrood in het glas met een neus van rood fruit en kersenbloesem. Frivool en geestig palet met stralend vers rood fruit op een zoete, kruidige achtergrond. Elegant van begin tot eind met fijne, knapperige tannine. Niet zwaar, maar zo smakelijk en evenwichtig… Lekker! Mooie Saint Julien. 2020 zet de succesreeks verder en 2018, 2019 en 2020 zijn hier een duidelijke trilogie. IN DE PERS 94 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Februari 2023) The 2020 Branaire Ducru takes some time to unfurl in the glass and so I afford it 10 minutes to open with rigorous swirling. It repays patience with a tightly-knit, quite intense and disarmingly pure bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, loamy and light minty aromas. The oak is nicely integrated here. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins. As I remarked out of barrel, there is more weight on the back palate than older vintages, greater density and backbone. This has created a more satisfying Branaire Ducru with plenty of freshness on the finish. Bon vin. Drink 2027-2055. 92-94 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Mei 2021) The 2020 Branaire Ducru has a tightly wound bouquet of blackberry, wild hedgerow, freshly tilled loam and distinct sea spray scents, all well defined, albeit 15–20 minutes after opening my sample bottle. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, and very cohesive, displaying a keen thread of acidity. Unlike previous vintages, there is impressive density on the midpalate where it once was a little lean, and plenty of energy and tension conveyed by the finish. Excellent. Drink 2028 - 2048. 95+ Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Februari 2023) The 2020 Branaire-Ducru was so alluring en primeur. But it is very shy today. That said, some of that youthful exuberance has given way to the characteristic Branaire finesse. Dark red cherry, spice, grilled herbs, menthol and licorice emerge, but only with great reluctance. Sweet floral and spice ntes lift the finish nicely. The 2020 is going to neede the better part of a decade to come around. Drink 2026-2045. 94-96 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Mei 2021) The 2020 Branaire-Ducru is utterly magnificent. A wine of extraordinary depth and dimension, the 2020 possesses tremendous intensity right out of the gate. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, new leather, licorice, cloves and lavender build as into the explosive, palate-staining finish. I don't think I have ever tasted a Branaire quite like this. Drink 2030 - 2050. 93 Jane Anson – decanter.com (Mei 2021) Blueberry, blackberry, damson and hawthorn, this has juice and tannins with an elegance and really excellent St-Julien character; A lovely Branaire, well placed. Unfussy, this is still not overly exuberant but it has a real sense of sappiness, lift and sinew. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Drinking Window: 2027 – 2042. 94 William Kelley - robertparker.com (April 2023) The 2020 Branaire-Ducru will require more patience than the supple, sensual 2019, but it is another strong effort for this overperforming estate. Wafting from the glass with aromas of crème de cassis, plums, pencil shavings, petals, burning embers and discreet hints of new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a concentrated core of vibrant fruit and fine but youthfully firm tannins that assert themselves on the gently chewy finish. Drink 2027-2055. Branaire-Ducru occupies 60 hectares of deep gravel soils, in 80 or so different parcels, on the plateau of Beychevelle. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates, but plantings of Petit Verdot on good soils are also a particularity of Branaire. When the Maroteaux family purchased the estate in 1988, a new winery followed a few years later; and now, another is under construction, which will almost double the number of fermentation vats, permitting more precise parcel-by-parcel vinification (some of these vats, incidentally, were online by the 2021 harvest and are surely part of the reason why Branaire has performed so well). Winemaking is very classical, and maturation is in around 60% new oak, with three or four traditional rackings. There are no smoke and mirrors at this address, just extremely good, age-worthy Saint-Julien that's always elegant and impeccably balanced. 91-93 Lisa Perrotti-Brown – robertparker.com (Mei 2021) The 2020 Branaire-Ducru displays a deep garnet-purple color and pronounced blackcurrant cordial, plum preserves and boysenberries scents, plus hints of sautéed herbs, unsmoked cigars and graphite. The medium-bodied palate has a lot of verve, delivering appealing tension among the tightly wound black fruits and grainy tannins, finishing with an herbal lift. Drink 2024 – 2042. 93-94 James Suckling – jamessuckling (April 2021) A polished, creamy red with blue fruit, such as blackcurrants, and pretty, ripe and fine tannins that fill your mouth. 92-94 Jeb Dunnuck – jebdunnuck.com (Mei 2021) 93-95 lefigaro.fr (Mei 2021) 95-97 Yohan Castaing - anthocyanes.fr (Mei 2021) 95-96 Terre des Vins (Mei 2021) 92 Bettane & Desseauve (Mei 2021) Branaire DucruDe wijngaard van 60 hectare is aangeplant met 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc en 4% Petit Verdot. De familie van wijlen Patrick Maroteaux is er eigenaar van sinds 1988 en in het millésime 2018 maakten ze waarschijnlijk hun allerbeste wijn. |