Château Branaire Ducru 1994
Château Branaire Ducru 1994 is a red wine from the Saint-Julien appellation in Bordeaux, produced by Château Branaire Ducru, owned by the Maroteaux family. Classified as a Quatrième Grand Cru Classé in 1855, it blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. The Wine Advocate awards it 89/100 and describes a supple and savory wine with dark fruits, cassis, spices, and floral notes, featuring tannins that are more accessible than those often associated with the vintage. Recommended drinking window: 1997 to 2013.
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- Red
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Bordeaux
- Appellation
- Saint Julien
- Producteur / Domaine
- Château Branaire Ducru
Cépage et assemblage
- Grape Variety
- 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot
Château Branaire Ducru
Château Branaire-Ducru is an estate in the Saint-Julien appellation, in the Médoc, classified as a Fourth Grand Cru in 1855. Its 60-hectare vineyard, spread across some fifteen micro-terroirs of gravel, has been managed by the Maroteaux family since 1988. François-Xavier Maroteaux now runs the family estate.
- Owner
- Famille Maroteaux (groupe familial présidé et dirigé par François-Xavier Maroteaux)
- Maître de chais
- Jean-Dominique Videau
- Surface (ha)
- 60.00 ha
- Production (average bottles per vintage)
- environ 300 000 bouteilles/an
Histoire du domaine
The estate dates back to 1680, when Jean-Baptiste Braneyre became its first owner. The Duluc family succeeded him between the 18th and 19th centuries; they had the château built in 1824 and helped to establish the wine’s reputation. In 1855, Branaire-Ducru was classified as a fourth growth in the Médoc. Patrick Maroteaux and his family acquired the estate in 1988. They then undertook major works on the vineyard, the fermentation cellar, the wine cellars and the château buildings, and created the second wine, Duluc de Branaire-Ducru. A gravity-fed fermentation room was installed in 1991 and subsequently expanded in 2010. Jean-Dominique Videau, an agricultural engineer and oenologist, has led the technical team since 2002 and is involved in the blending process. François-Xavier Maroteaux joined the family business in 2015 and took over as estate manager in 2017. After more than three years of work, a new gravity-fed fermentation room comprising 75 vats, 65 of which are suspended, was inaugurated in April 2024.
