2024 Château Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien

2024 Château Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien

72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 3.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot. A bright and aromatic Branaire that is more finesse and charm than density. There are notes of violets and cocoa dusted cherries. There is a fine freshness and sense of elegance on the palate with fine boned tannins on the finish.

Critic score
91.75/100 info
Pricing
info
Case, 6 Bottles
En primeur info
In stock
£159.00
Bottle
En primeur info
In stock
£26.50

Wine details

  • Region & country
    Saint-Julien, Médoc, Bordeaux, France
  • Maturity
    Ready 2026 - 2038info
  • Colour
    Red
  • Sweetness
    Dry
  • Style
    Still
  • Unit Volume
    Bottle (75cl.)

Tasting notes

The 2024 Branaire Ducru was cropped at a respectable 41.5 hl/ha between September 20 and October 9. It has a delightful bouquet with pure blackberry, blueberry and light violet scents percolating through with time. There's just a touch of iodine in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, pretty black fruit laced with cassis and touches of white pepper. There is an elegant framework on the finish so that this Saint-Julien slips down the throat with ease, as I am sure it will once in bottle. Whilst this does not reach the heights of the 2022, this is destined to be a very delicious Branaire Ducru.

Neal Martin, vinous.com (May 2025)
(90—92)/100

The 2024 Branaire-Ducru is a super-classic Branaire. Medium in body and gracious, the 2024 is defined by its lifted aromatics and silky, polished tannins. The proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon is especially high in 2024, a sign that the fruit harvested on the later side benefited from better conditions, namely a lack of rain. The 2024 possesses lovely purity and exquisite balance. Floral top notes and a burst of red-toned fruit reappear on the finish to round things out in style. It will be especially fine if élevage softens the contours. This is a fine effort from proprietor Francois-Xavier Maroteau and longtime winemaker Jean-Dominique Videau. Tasted two times.

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (April 2025)
(92—94)/100

Lovely bright plum colour, slim blue and black fruits, coffee bean and cedar oak notes, carefully constructed with balance, a little short on the finish compared to the excellent recent vintages at Branaire. 55% new oak. 41.5 hl/ha, this is the first vintage with the new cellars, François-Xavier Maroteaux owner and new president of the Union de Grands Crus de Bordeaux.

Jane Anson (April 2025)
91/100

The 2024 Branaire-Ducru offers up a pretty and precise bouquet of cassis, violets and pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, supple and suave, with polished tannins and tangy acids, it's a fine-boned, delicate wine from Branaire that was harvested between 20 September and 9 October. It's a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that attained 12.8% alcohol, and it's being raised in a touch less new oak than usual.

William Kelley, robertparker.com (April 2025)
(90—92)

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