April 25, 2025
97-Points - Exceptional value back vintage beauty from Branaire-Ducru 2022
Back vintage offer: Branaire-Ducru 2022
“One of the standouts of the vintage that impressed equally on three different occasions. […] Exceptional quality and drinkability on offer with a delicious salty, graphite and flint finish that puts you at the estate. Overlook this at your peril” - Decanter, Georgina Hindle
One of the pleasures of tasting En Primeur at Chateau Branaire-Ducru is their thoughtful approach to showing wines: each visit includes not just the latest release, but also the two preceding vintages. It’s a rare opportunity to track the evolution of the wine and see how it develops in bottle—a true window into the estate’s consistency and style.
We started with the 2024 and went backwards to the 2023, then the 2022 and with each vintage, the wine got more serious and fuller bodied. The 2022 vintage is the best they have ever produced at this address, and it certainly showed in real life. The wine took us by surprise—in the best way. We were genuinely impressed.
Critics agree: both Decanter and Jeb Dunnuck awarded the 2022 vintage 97 points, praising it as a “concentrated, flawlessly balanced Saint-Julien” and “one of the standouts of the vintage that impressed equally on three different occasions.” These are among the highest scores Branaire-Ducru has ever received, and well deserved.
We’ve secured a small parcel of this exceptional 2022 to offer today. Like many wines from the stronger Bordeaux vintages, it will benefit from time in the cellar, but the potential here is clear. At €47 In Bond per bottle, this is undoubtedly one of the smartest buys of the 2022 campaign. Don’t miss it.
Branaire-Ducru 2022
€47* In Bond per bottle
97 Points | Jeb Dunnuck
Darker currants, leafy herbs, graphite, tobacco, and subtle orange zest-like nuances all emerge from the 2022 Château Branaire-Ducru, a ripe, concentrated, flawlessly balanced Saint-Julien. With medium to full-bodied richness, a concentrated, layered mouthfeel, and plenty of tannins, it's another no-brainer of a 2022 that readers will love to have in their cellar. The 2022 is 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in oak.
97 Points | Decanter, Georgina Hindle
One of the standouts of the vintage that impressed equally on three different occasions. Fragrant and expressive on the nose, lovely scents and dark fruits. Smooth and crisp, silky but concentrated, such precision and detail straight away with succulent and juicy acidity. There’s concentration no doubt, it’s ripe and intense, the dark perfumed blackcurrants and black cherries give a serious backbone and tension to the wine, while the minty, stony freshness carries the flavour and gives the energy and definition. Excellently weighted on the palate, with structure and a mouthwatering sensation that comes in once the weight settles. So well constructed with a beautiful texture and overall integration of all the elements. Exceptional quality and drinkability on offer with a delicious salty, graphite and flint finish that puts you at the estate. Overlook this at your peril. 2.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.65pH. Harvest 12 - 24 September. 60% grand vin production. A yield of 34hl/ha. Tasted three times. This vintage was the first to be made 100% in the new cellar with double the number of vats than were available in 2020 for more precise fermentations. HVE3 certified. Harvest 12 September - 24 September.
96 Points | Vinous - Neal Martin
The 2022 Branaire Ducru, bottled mid-June, was one of the most impressive I tasted from barrel. It retains a wonderful bouquet with more red fruit compared to its peers, hints of iodine and a touch of desiccated orange peel. The wine shows fine, almost clinical delineation. It is medium-bodied with an extremely well balanced palate, slightly powdery tannins and a sense of tension and brightness that, like some of the best Saint-Juliens in 2022, puts it above the 2019 or 2020. Quite linear and mineral-driven towards the sapid finish, this is a classic Branaire-Ducru that will age with style in bottle.
96 Points | Wine Advocate, William Kelley
The 2022 Branaire-Ducru has turned out just as brilliantly as I had hoped. Offering up a deep bouquet of crème de cassis and blackberries mingled with pencil shavings, burning embers and cigar box, it's medium to full-bodied, velvety and unctuous, with a rich core of fruit, lively acids and sweet structuring tannins. Iterated and complete, it concludes with a long, broad finish. This blend of 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot is worth a special effort to seek out.
96 Points | Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux
This is an estate that can be so understated as to almost miss its complexity, but this vintage, with its excess and exuberance, does a wonderful job of drawing it out. The concentration is impressive, but there you'll also find a softness and balance that is juicy and enticing. Great job Branaire Ducru. Francois Xavier Maroteaux owner. I honestly think the best example of this chateau that I have ever tasted En Primeur (and god I hate it when critics say that).
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.