94pts Wine Enthusiast
An elegantly structured wine, this is both juicy and packed with tannins. Ripe berry flavors are equally prominent in this balanced wine. The wine’s future is promising; drink from 2024.
92pts Wine Spectator
A polished style, with a perfumed mesquite note draped over a core of plum and blackberry puree flavors. The finish lingers, with a mineral hint amid the fruit. Pure and aromatic. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032.
92pts Jeb Dunnuck
The deep purple-colored 2017 Château Branaire-Ducru offers a fresh, focused, classic style in 2017. Beautiful spring flowers, black and blue fruits, and a kiss of minerality all emerge from this medium-bodied effort that has nicely integrated acidity, a balanced, clean texture, and plenty of mid-palate depth. My money is on this ending up being an outstanding wine. Barrel Sample: 90-92
91pts James Suckling
Notes of raspberries and orange peel with tar on the nose and palate. Medium body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh, lively finish. Pleasing young red. Better after 2021.
91pts Tim Atkin
Spicy, meaty savoury oak aromas, with some deep black fruit underneath. A little hollow in the mid-palate with spiky, spicy tannins and fresh acidity. Needs time to flesh out. Elegant style. Barrel Sample: 89-91
90pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Branaire-Ducru gives up notes of baked black berries, red cherries and mulberries with touches of potpourri and smoked meats. Medium-bodied with a lively line lifting the good concentration of red and black fruits, it has a chewy frame and grippy finish. Barrel Sample: 88-90
Winemaker Notes
Branaire-Ducru 2017 has a lovely character. The nose is already expressive, harmonious and complex with good evidence of red fruits. With an immediate presence the palate has fine, silky tannins. There is a wonderful freshness, due in no small part to the combination of moderate levels of alcohol and good levels of acidity, this freshness gives a lovely lift to theastonishingly long finish. The 2017 vintage which started in difficult conditions, has, in the end allowed us to make a wine of character, true to the style of Branaire-Ducru and redolent of the greatvintages.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 6.5% Petit Verdot