2023 Château Branaire-Ducru En Primeur
Released for sale en primeur this morning are the St-Julien classic, 2023 Château Branaire-Ducru at £193 per six and one of the best-value wines of Saint-Estèphe, Château Phélan Ségur, at just £186 per six.
Phélan Ségur steals the limelight, with crazily high scores for a Cru Bourgeois-level estate, as high as 96-97 points from Suckling. More on this wine below, but we wouldn't be doing our job if we failed to point out the virtues Branaire-Ducru.
A recent new winery at this estate has enabled Branaire to reach new levels of precision and definition. The 2023 deserves a place in your cellar; a superbly elegant expression of St-Julien, with ultra-classic notes of pencil lead. The cru classé status of this wine is unmistakable, with its complexity and fine aromas.
Tasting the new vintage at Phélan Ségur this year, this quality was almost indistinguishable from the cru classé estates in this commune, it was so impressive, with intense, concentrated dark fruits and a saline character. Despite its powerful structure, the fruit and tannins were in perfect balance. Jane Anson declares it the best wine she has ever tasted en primeur at this estate, awarding it 95 points.
Offered en primeur, on allocation. Landing spring 2026.
Magnums available with £20 ex-VAT bottling surcharge per six, please enquire for other formats.
All previous offers of 2023 Bordeaux can be found here.
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To order, e-mail us at sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk
Producer Profile
Château Branaire-Ducru, Cru Classé St.-Julien
Château Branaire-Ducru is a Quatrièmes Cru Classé in Saint-Julien. Branaire was once part of the Beychevelle estate but in 1680 it was sold to Jean-Baptiste Braneyre. Subsequently, a Branaire daughter married Pierre de Luc, and for a time the name became Branaire-Duluc. The Ducru part of the name was added in the 1870s when Gustave Ducru became owner. The current Château was built in 1842.
Banker Patrick Maroteaux bought the estate in 1998 and it is now run by his grandson, François Xavier Maroteaux. The 60-hectare vineyard is planted to 70% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The terroir is deep gravel with clay soils. The peak elevation reaches up to 14 meters. The vineyard can be divided into 15 different blocks with 70 different parcels of vines. On average, the vines are close to 35 years of age, but the estate has parcels as old as 90 years.
| RED | 2023 | Château Branaire Ducru | 75cl | £193 per case of 6 | Château Branaire Ducru 2023 / / 75cl £193 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2023 Branaire Ducru was picked from September 12, on the same day as last year, albeit with a longer harvest, as they finished on October 4. Yields were 53hL/ha, and the blend is almost the same as the 2022. This is the second vintage made in the new winery. My sample came from a new-oak barrel, but the final blend will include 60%. Lucid purple in color, it has a charming, very pure bouquet, perhaps less opulent than some of its Saint-Julien peers, yet precise. Delicate floral scents permeate the predominant red fruit, never bursting from the glass but unfurling with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly edgy tannins that impart tension, veering slightly more to black fruit on the mid-palate. This is certainly one of the most elegant Branaire-Ducru vintages to date, but it has more weight on the finish (something that has been addressed in recent years.) Understated and sapid, it should be open for business a little earlier than others, but it will age well over 20 to 25 years. 92-94 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com-------"The 2023 Branaire-Ducru has turned out beautifully, wafting from the glass with classy aromas of dark berries, plums, pencil shavings and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, cool and layered palate that's seamless, complete and enveloping, with terrific depth and vibrancy of fruit, refined tannins and a long, suave finish. At 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 3.5% Petit Verdot, it's almost the same blend as the 2022, though at 13.1% alcohol and a pH of 3.63, it's more classically proportioned. Harvest began on September 12 and dragged on through October 4, parcel by parcel, with the vintage's healthy yields meaning the team could use their new winery, equipped with 63 smaller tanks, to keep all those components separate. 93-94 points." William Kelley. Wine Advocate------"Bright fruits, slate tannins, peony florals, black tea, tobacco and tons of St Julien finesse. Cabernet dominant in aroamtics and fruit character, a delicious Branaire. 53hl/ha yields. 94 points." Jane Anson, Apr------"This has so much lead pencil, stone and blackcurrant character, as well as blackberry. It’s medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit and a polished finish. Very classy and structured. 95-96 points." James Suckling, Apr '24 |
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