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: 2009 Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien (1.5L)

2009 Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien (1.5L)

SKU #1090435 96 points Jeb Dunnuck

Outer quote mark The 2009 Branaire-Ducru is another killer wine from this vintage that’s drinking spectacularly well at age 10. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it’s still ruby/purple color is followed by a huge nose of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, cedar box, and even a hint of forest floor. Full-bodied, broad, expansive, and layered on the palate, it builds nicely with time in the glass, has sweet tannins, no hard edges, and a blockbuster finish. This incredible wine can be enjoyed any time over the coming 2-3 decades or more. Bravo! Inner quote mark (6/2019)

96 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark Haut couture becomes a wine! This dense purple wine has the tell-tale notes of flowers and pencil shavings, and its broad aromatics are intense and totally captivating. Powerful, rich, and full, but less tannic than the 2005 and more opulent, this is a dazzling Branaire to drink between 2017-2035. Inner quote mark (2/2012)

95 points Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark Very supple wine, with great richness and density. It is all so complete, a pleasure, powerful yet also with sweet opulent fruits layered with dark tannins. For long-term aging. *Cellar Selection* Inner quote mark (2/2012)

94 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark Lots of black fruits with some bitter chocolate character give this plenty of appeal. However, it’s a seriously tannic wine that still needs time to fully resolve. Drink now with hearty food or hold. Inner quote mark (3/2019)

93 points Int'l Wine Cellar

Outer quote mark Bright, deep ruby. Superripe, brooding aromas of black cherry, bitter chocolate and licorice. Sweet, concentrated and fine-grained, with terrific depth to the plush cassis and coffee liqueur flavors. Serious dusty, fine tannins will not stand in the way of early approachability but this wine has the structure for a 20+-year life in bottle. (ST) 93+ Inner quote mark (7/2012)

93 points Vinous

Outer quote mark The 2009 Branaire-Ducru has a crisp and delineated bouquet with dense black fruit, soot, cedar and light tertiary aromas, still quite backward but nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh acidity that cuts through the dusky black fruit laced with white pepper and soy, fanning out gently towards the finish that exerts an insisted grip. This is a straight down the line great Saint-Julien. (NM) Inner quote mark (3/2019)

93 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark A ripe, chewy, muscular style, with good cut despite the hefty tar, blackberry, roasted fig and singed apple wood notes. The long, anise-stained finish lets the tarry edge play out, though this shows a touch more finesse than some of its colleagues. (JM) Inner quote mark (3/2012)

Jane Anson

Outer quote mark Smudgy crimson. High toned. Lots of juice and attack with some freshness too. Just the job for claret lovers really. Inner quote mark (2/2019)

K&L Notes

94+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown for Wine Advocate: "The 2009 Branaire-Ducru has a medium to deep garnet color and reveals compelling notions of warm cassis, licorice, baked plums and hoisin with hints of sautéed herbs and pencil lead. Youthful and medium to full-bodied, it has a generous core of black fruits with a firm and grainy structure and bags of freshness, finishing long with great purity." (03/2019)

2009 Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien (1.5L)

Price: $299.99

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Product Reviews:

By: Ralph Sands | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 2/5/2013 | Send Email

Full of bright, just-ripe raspberries and cranberries, with great freshness, elegance and lovely balance.

By: Steve Greer | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 1/22/2013 | Send Email

This was the hit of the in-store tasting. Heady dark fruit nose with a background of coffee and chocolate. The palate was rich and dense packed with blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate and coffee. The tannins were evident but very supple and a long long finish.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

- Cabernet Sauvignon has come a long way from its role as a blending varietal, however dominant, in the wines of Bordeaux. Today it is the most planted red varietal in the world. Identified as a descendent of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be planted in warmer climates to fully ripen. Its small berries can easily be identified for their distinctive blue color, thick skins and high tannins. And while the varietal has its own definitive characteristics: green pepper-like aromas and black currant flavors among them, it is perhaps most prized for its ability to convey terroir, vintage and winemaking. A relatively new varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon started making inroads into the wines of the Médoc and Graves in the late-18th century. Today it is also dominant in the up-and-coming Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux and can also be found in Southwest France. It is the companion varietal to Sangiovese in Italy's Super Tuscans and is planted all over Europe, stretching to lesser-known winegrowing regions like Russia and Lebanon. In the Americas Cabernet Sauvignon has found champions in every nook and cranny of California and among winemakers in Washington, where it complements plantings of Merlot. In South America, Cab thrives in Chile, but can also be found in smaller amounts in Argentina and even in Mexico.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Bordeaux

Specific Appellation:

Saint Julien

- St. Julien, the smallest of the four famous appellations of the Haut Medoc, is known for highly extracted, finely structured, Cabernet-based reds. It is nestled between Pauillac to the north and Margaux to the south. Like St. Estephe, there are no first growths in this area. Leoville-las-Cases, Leoville Poyferre, Leoville Barton, Ducru Beaucaillou, and Gruard Larose are the second-growths of St. Julien followed by Lagrange which is the only third-growth. Beychevelle, Branaire Ducru, St. Pierre, and Talbot, which are all fourth-growth wines, round out the grand cru classe chateaux. In the last several vintages, wineries from this appellation have been out-performing their traditional rankings making many of the wines from this region some of the best values in red wine today.