Vintage Branaire Ducru St Julien Bordeaux with grilled beefsteak
A delightful end of summer turning to autumn Sunday night, dinner on the deck, we grilled beef tenderloin beefsteaks with baked potatoes and grilled vegetable medley of tomato’s, onions, red pepper and zucchini.
For an ideal wine accompaniment, I pulled from the cellar a Bordeaux Blend from St Julien.
Château Branaire-Ducru St Julien Bordeaux 2004
Our Visit and tour of the historic Château Branaire-Ducru estate was one of the highlights of our trip to the St Julien Appellation (AOC) in Bordeaux back in 2019, as featured in these pages.
Patrick Maroteaux bought Branaire Ducru in 1988 from the Tapie family who owned Chateau Branaire Ducru since 1919. Prior to his arrival at Branaire Ducru, he had no prior experience in the wine business coming from a background in banking and as the president of the massive sugar company, Eurosucre. Patrick Maroteaux served as the President of the UGCB, Union of Grand Crus Bordeaux, and as the President of the Saint Julien appellation.
We met Patrick’s son, François Xavier Maroteaux (below) several times at the UGCB Annual Release Tour Tastings in Chicago. He followed in his father’s footsteps and took over the full-time responsibilities of managing the property after his passing in 2017.
At twenty years of age, this was at its Goldilocks ideal age, not too young, not too old, perfect for pairing with our grilled beefsteaks. The label and capsule, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were in perfect condition from aging in our cellar’ ideal conditions. This is probably at the apex of its drinking profile and will not improve further with aging.
This release was awarded 91 points by Wine Enthusiast, 90+ points by NM, 90 by Wine Advocate and VM, and 88 points by Wine Spectator. This was considered a high achiever success from what was generally a modest vintage in the Medoc.
Sitting literally across the road from Chateau Beychevelle, adjacent to super second growth Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, and near Gruaud Larose, Branaire is generally available for half the price of the premier labels, and a third less than the others, thereby offering good QPR - Quality Price Ratio’s for the Appellation.
Winemaker Notes - “A very pure, fruity nose, still extremely young, with a lot of finesse. Woody hints perfectly well integrated into the fruit. Classic, dense, complex and pleasant on the palate. Delicate and gorgeous tannins with a long finish. Good balance.”
Dark ruby garnet colored, medium to full bodied, round, nicely balanced and modestly polished, ripe blackberry fruits with notes of black tea, tobacco and leather with hints of licorice, smoke and cedar on a smooth soft tannin laced lingering finish.
RM 90 points.