2000 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (10/10/2018)
Consumed over the course of two night, side by side with the 2001 Leoville Las Cases, this showed great class and poise, albeit in a slightly fleshier style than the Las Cases. Ripe red and black fruit led the way, and after some substantial air were joined by emerging tones of earth, seared cedar and dark spice. There are no signs of truly mature notes (e.g. old tobacco), but the wine is well balanced to head in that direction in several more years. This is in an early maturity window, where it makes for fabulous drinking, but is not yet up to intellectual contemplation. Give it five or more years to be ready for civilized conversation.