Château Branaire-Ducru 2019

The 2019 Branaire-Ducru is rich, layered and sumptuous. Black cherry, licorice, spice, leather tobacco and tar build effortlessly in the glass. The 2019 impresses with its density and pure power, which makes it perhaps atypical for Branaire by its historic standards, but it may be the direction the château seems to be headed in. The aromatics are a bit closed right now, but time in bottle should help take care of that. Drinking window: 2029-2049. Score – 95. (Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, Feb. 2022)