1989 Château Branaire-Ducru
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Tasting notes
The 1989 Branaire-Ducru appears youthful, not unlike the 1982 served alongside. There is plenty of perfumed blackberry, black olive and burnt toast scents, with time potent undergrowth aromas join the chorus line. The palate is medium-bodied with mellow tannin, rounded in the mouth thanks to the slightly lower acidity. It is just missing the complexity of the 1989 on the second half and regrettably runs out of ideas about two-thirds of the way through. Whilst not as good as recent vintages this would still be worth checking out. Tasted at the Branaire-Ducru dinner.
Critic scores
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
I have always felt that the 1989 Branaire was better than the 1990, and that was once again demonstrated in this blind tasting. The 1989 was exhibiting far more power and intensity than I expected. It has always been an impressively crafted, elegant, seamless wine with cassis fruit nicely dosed by high quality oak. The wine is currently revealing more expansiveness, fuller body, and plenty of lusty richness, a sure-fire formula for producing a crowd pleaser. There are no hard edges to this opulently-textured, rich, ripe, complex, savory style of wine. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.
Harmonious, balanced and very fresh '89. Color is medium-dark ruby, with lovely fresh floral and raspberry aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, well-integrated tannins and a fruity, minty aftertaste.--1989 Bordeaux horizontal. Best after 2001. James Suckling,Wine Spectator 1999.
About the producer
This Fourth Growth estate, just a stone’s throw from the wide expanse of the Gironde estuary, has been revitalised under the stewardship of former banker and businessman Patrick Maroteaux, who purchased the property in 1988.