2018 Château Branaire-Ducru, St Julien, Bordeaux

53hl/ha yieldBranaire-Ducru has managed to produce an exceptionally balanced and refined St-Julien in a year when that was not the easiest task. Depth and complexity are clear, although it's just a little held back right now. The architecture is such that there are walls to scale and depths to plumb but with less generosity overall.Drink 2027 - 2040jane_anson_mw, Decanter.com (April 2019)

The 2018 Branaire-Ducru was picked from September 19 until October 10 at 53hl/ha and is currently being aged in 60% new oak. It has retained the sophisticated bouquet that I found last year, featuring beautifully defined blackberry and cedar and hints of iris flower and rose petals. The palate is well-defined with good density and backbone, something that you could argue was missing from Branaire-Ducru in the 1990s and early 2000s. It gently fans out on the finish but never wants to create too much of a commotion – that’s not its style. This indicates a property that is finding a new lease on life. Excellent.Drink 2023 - 2045Neil Martin, Vinous.com.com (March 2021)

Really ripe, heady perfumed fruit on the nose, no longer just floral aromas but proper perfume, so expressive - wild and evocative, the first one to be so seductively evocative on the nose. Smooth and sleek with silky tannins, a hefty dose of spice and ripe blackcurrant, black cherry and blueberry but extremely refined so you get all the flavours but with softness and grace. This feels concentrated and powerful no doubt but it's calm also, restrained and just holding back. Bold, but beautiful. I like this a lot.Drink 2028 - 2050Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com

The 2018 Branaire-Ducru is every bit as captivating as it was en primeur. Ripe, silky tannins give the 2018 a striking air of sensuality that only grows as the wine sits in the glass. Succulent red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal, mint, spice and gravel inflections all open more over time. Even with all of its natural radiance, Branaire remains a model of grace. It is unquestionably one of the under-the-radar wines of the year.Drink 2026 - 2048antonio_galloni, Vinous.com.com (March 2021)

Very attractive aromas of currants, tile and sandalwood with black and red currants. It’s full-bodied with a tight, dense centre palate that remains closed in and tight. Yet there is underlying seriousness and length to this. Perhaps the greatest Branaire-Ducru ever made. Try after 2026james_suckling, jamessuckling_com (February 2022)

The deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Branaire-Ducru begins just a tad reduced with broody tar, rubber and fried herbs scents giving way to a fragrant core of warm cassis, blackberry pie and blueberry coulis with touches of smoked meats and tobacco. Full-bodied, firm and rugged in the mouth with brawny, muscular fruit and a sturdy frame of grainy tannins, it finishes long and savory.Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 23/04/2019

The 2018 Branaire-Ducru has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and an upfront, expressive nose of baked black plums, boysenberries and Morello cherries with an undercurrent of dried mint, spice box and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate packs a very pleasant fruit wallop, featuring juicy black fruits and a firm, grainy frame, finishing long with lovely purity.Drink 2023 - 2043Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2021)

Tasted blind. Not that deep a crimson. Light and fresh – lunchtime claret?! Easy-peasy. Until some pretty grainy tannins on the end.Drink 2026 - 2040jancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2022)