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 to 2025. WA 93.