94 pts – Wine Advocate
A saturated purple color offers up notes of graphite, plum, raspberry, and blueberry fruit in that distinctive Branaire style. Always a singular wine, even for St.-Julien, the wine boasts superb purity, rich, medium to full-bodied flavors, with loads of sweetness, some subtle toasty oak, and strength and richness that builds incrementally on the palate. A top-flight Branaire, this is the finest wine made at this property since the 1996 and 1982. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025. RP
92 pts – Wine Spectator
92 pts – Vinous
(77% cabernet sauvignon, 17% merlot, 4% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc; 3.8 pH; 12.7% alcohol): Medium red with an amber rim. Precise aromas of red fruits, dried herbs and earth. Then more herbs, minty chocolate and dark fruits on the palate, lifted by a note of faded flowers. The long, creamy finish features truffles and brown spices. While a recently tasted magnum was drinking beautifully, another 75-ml. bottle was tired, earthy and drying. This note reflects the better 75, which I think is more typical of this wine. Harvested between September 25 and October 1.- Ian D’Agata (3/214)
