Chateau Branaire-Ducru Saint-Julien 1996 bis-hidden The result is a bourbon

The result is a bourbon with less spice

most of today’s Finos give only a poor imitation of that thrill ride

They farm old bush vines organically and biodynamically on chalky limestone

Separate vinification of villages

A lighter-style port achieves a nice balance between youthful fruit and mellowness achieved with 3 years maturation in oak casks

Chateau Branaire-Ducru Saint-Julien 1996 bis-hidden The result is a bourbonBranaire Ducru has long been the connoisseur's Saint Julien Fourth Growth pricing, classical winemaking, no flash. The 1996 vintage is now thirty years old and squarely in mature territory, made in one of those classic cool vintage years where ripe Cabernet held onto bracing Left Bank acidity. The result is everything you'd want from a fully resolved Mdoc: cedar, tobacco, dried red and black fruit, leather, and that beam of acidity keeping it lively.