#16 Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2019
Blend: 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc
96 Points Wine Spectator
The core of this red is loaded with pure plum, blueberry and black currant fruit flavors. The polished structure is integrated, with alluring ganache, anise and sweet tobacco notes throughout, all in a polished and balanced frame. A very classy red that isn't shy about its power but pushes its purity to the fore. Best from 2024 through 2039.
95 Points Wine Enthusiast
The estate, at the southern end of Saint-Julien, has produced a wine that is both structured and stylish. This bold, ripe wine shows opulent black fruits and generous tannins. Juicy and structured, it has good aging potential. Drink from 2025.
95 Points James Suckling
The best vintage of this wine since 2009! Effusive, fresh redcurrant and cassis aromas give this St.-Julien terrific drive and energy, the elegant, dry tannins beautifully married to the medium body, right through the long, agile finish. Drink or hold.
94+ Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Branaire-Ducru is a real classic, and in the fullness of time, it will likely rival or even surpass the more charming, demonstrative 2019. Unwinding in the glass with deep aromas of dark berries, cassis, loamy soil, pencil shavings and cigar smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with a taut, structured profile and a long, penetrating finish.
94 Points Decanter
You can immediately see the quality and the depth of the 2016 vintage in the complexity of the expression and construction. Bottled in early July, extremely rich and full of black brambly hawthorn-edged fruits. The quality of the tannins is extremely impressive, there are lots of them, and they build over the course of the palate, but they are not constraining, and have a fine texture. After five minutes in the glass the blackcurrant fruit starts to come out. The tannins close in again on the finish, suggesting there is a long life ahead. A vintage that is so good for St Julien, not to be missed
