It's always an eye opener for me to discover a world class wine that somehow slipped by me over the years. Branaire Ducru, the fourth growth Bordeaux wine estate situated in St. Julien, was taken over by current owner Patrick Maroteaux in 1988. While his approach to winemaking elevated the quality of wines through the 1990's, it has been since the turn of the century that his visions of excellence has come to fruition, producing one outstanding vintage after the other.

A Cabernet Sauvignon dominated wine with some Merlot and a little Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, I had the opportunity to taste both the Grand Vin as well as the under the radar second wine Duluc.

In this video, Patrick gave us a sneak peak at a 2011 barrel sample and his top flight 2005. As you'll see, the '11, sitting in the shadows of the '09 & '10, is a superb wine, with laser precision aromas of black cherry, currants, a hint of tar and moderately chewy tannins. Just a delicious wine that should be drinkable on release in 2014 and drink well through 2025. The '05 is a far richer wine with lots of deep raspberry and blueberry notes, spice, hints of chocolate, aged leather and wonderful notes of spring flowers. This is wine that's just so well balanced, deep and broad that it will reward enthusiasts for the next 15-20 years.

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