Chateau Branaire

“A wine is like a temperamental woman “said Patrick Maroteaux , the owner of a Fourth Growth Chateaux Branaire Ducru, while talking  about his wines at a dinner held recently.

On a visit to Delhi to promote the Grand Vin Chateau Branaire DuCru and the Second Wine, the Duluc De Branaire Ducru , he described with so much passion ,how a wine behaves and grows, which had me captivated .

For those who are not familiar, Chateau Branaire is a winery in the St Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The main appellations here are the Medoc , Haut_Medoc and Graves. The main form of branding for the premier quality Bordeaux wines is the Chateaux. The most complex and long lived wines in the world come from this region .

St. Julien is a small but important appellation of the Haut -Medoc district of Bordeaux. It is often overlooked as it does not have a first growth chateau. Chateau Branaire was classified as one of the ten “Fourth Growth” in Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It is known for producing very elegant and age worthy wines. 

Now Bordeaux is a classic home for the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety and the Left Bank , where Chateau Branaire is situated, produces blends which comprise mostly , if not all, of this noble grape . Due to its intense fruit flavor and high levels of tannins and acidity , it is a good variety for making wines that age well. But it has one drawback. The wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon have a great start and finish but lack a mid -palate. For this reason one cannot make a 100% varietal and often grapes like Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are added to overcome the “doughnut effect”.

Among the five wines that we tasted, two were the second wines, the 2010 and 2009 Duluc de Branaire Ducru. These wines are younger and less expensive than the grand vin. Usually the wines are tough when young, but with age the tannins soften and the fruit and oak flavours develop into more complex ones like tobacco, mushroom and chocolate. Comparing the two I found the aromas of 2010 Duluc  to be more open than that of the 2009 which was more restrained. The 2010 was fresh and forward in style while the 2009 was less fragrant and more delicate with a tart edge of juicy blackberry. Both were and wonderful and liked by those present at the dinner.

Coming to the first wines now, the Grand Vin ,which is the main wine made by the chateau. This does not necessarily mean that it is the best in the region. The best are classified as Grand Cru Classe.

One of my favourites of the evening was the Chateau Branaire DuCru 2005, the grand vin which had a huge structure but was subdued on the nose . Not an aggressive wine, I was told that this will be an outstanding vintage in another 30-40 years.

The next one the Chateau Branaire Ducru 2000 was a more ready and ripe wine, with a bouquet of mushroom and sweet tobacco, but was told that it had the potential for aging for another 50 years.

The last one Chateau Branaire 1995 was surprisingly fresher and fruitier than the 2000, which shows how differently a wine grows. It had minty notes and prominent cedar and liquorice. The pairing for this wine was wrong so the flavours and textures got somewhat lost.

For me, this wine dinner was very educative and a chance to try some well textured and savoury wines.

– Lavina Kharkwal