This was interesting but reserving judgement. Couldn't tell if there was any cork taint (not really the smell of it) but it seemed lacking in fruit and rather thin. Still some interesting coffee and tobacco/cedar box notes on the palate. PLeasant but underwhelming. I have a few more bottles and would try one again soon, but I am positive that there is no room for improvement/need to wait and I"m concerned it's on the decline.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Odd nose and acidic palate upon opening, so left over night. Next day, clean ruby color, with soft red fruit nose. Old style claret on the palate. Mostly red fruit, with touch of tobacco and sous bois..and maybe a hint of green. Tilts to the acidic side, but in a pleasant way. Tannin mostly resolved. Very nice. Have 6 more to study over time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Between the perfect cork, the bejeweled ruby color, and (following a 3 hour decant) the nose of fresh currant and pencil / graphite, you'd swear this wine could be 5 years old rather than 23. The tannins have melted into the wine without losing structure, the texture is lovely. I stored this bottle for 15 years and wish I'd bought more! A beautiful bottle that should grow deeper and more complex over the next 10+ years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
20 Vintages of Brane Cantenac: My limited experience with Brane has been mostly positive, and this tasting confirmed my initial thoughts: these days, Brane is A) usually quite accessible and charming, even young; B) the quality has steadily improved over the years, the wines are becoming more complex, precise and balanced; while vintages pre 2015 often seemed a bit simple, more recent vintages show better, C) the aromatics in recent vintages remind me of Ch. Margaux, with beautiful ripe red fruit core, as well as floral and coffee components; and D) the quality/price ratio is exceptionally good (not considered for the ratings). E) The best wine was the ethereal 2020 (96 points), followed by a superbly fresh 2010 (95 points). Although the quality is exceptional these days, the Chateau didn't fully nail every vintage, the 2019 (93pts) and, more surprisingly, the 2016 (93pts) were strong but a tad too ripe and sweet.
TN: This bottle felt a bit too pushed at first but revealed a charming wine with medium+ complexity and loads of drinking pleasure with some air. Like many 2000 Bordeaux wines, it is not yet ready and probably still 10-20 years away from its peak. This had an intense ripe dark fruit core, some coffee and oak notes, some herbs on the dark and dense nose. Lots of power and intensity on the palate too with the same aromas, some more minerality along some more oak notes which will have to further integrate. At first it seemed a bit too dense but with time the wine opened-up and revealed the fine tannin structure, a well-integrated acidity, and a satin-like texture. The 92/93pts are certainly not the ceiling for this wine.
Decanting: Not decanted. I guess that this needs 2-3 hours minimum in a decanter.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
These library vintages from Brane-Cantenac are such treasures and an irrefutable argument for stocking up on the new ones, because if they are going to end up even better than this, then there is no smarter buy in Bordeaux. Near the beginning of what should be a long peak period, the aromatic and flavor accents here are kaleidoscopic in complexity with earthy scents of white truffles and porcinis swirled with cigar smoke and scorched poblano peppers, against a red-fruited backdrop starting to veer into autumnal crimson tones but still showing plenty of youthful plushness and sweetness. The texture is tender and caressing, the overall effect very much like drinking Palmer without nearly the damage to the wallet.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Vertical of 20 vintages - Chateau Brane-Cantenac: - Accessible nose, red and dark fruit, very nice, wood in the background, coffee, you already notice that something nice follows on the palate. - Wow, round, filigree, ripe fruit, round tannins and everything where it should be. At most, just a little too little acidity. But the aromas make it a lot of fun. A bit ponderous with time? - When tasted again, beautiful tetrary aromas come to the fore and the acidity is also very coherent. Must correct upwards here. - 92-93p
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
4th of 12, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, seems to have retreated a bit to its shell since last bottle in Jan 21, even so more nuanced and classier than H Batailley 2000 on same night, upside, 20+ years. Just about F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Commanderie de Bordeaux: Spring Parlement - Chateau Brane-Cantenac (Minneapolis Club, Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Double decanted and put back in bottle, slow-O for 5 hours more. Drank a glass over an hour. Now we're talking. Cedarbox and very earthy on a high toned nose, with cassis, boysenberry, Asian spices, pencil, and floral overtones. The palate is deep and layered, compelling black and blue fruits, full bodied, plush texture and tannins, quite earthy with a strong vein of pencil, black cherry, soil and peat on a robust finish. This is a complete wine coming into its own now. My wine of the flight. Others felt the '89 took honors (there were 4 different bottles - so variation was likely present), though I found mine less compelling. Rank '00, '78, '89, '82. 93+pts, maybe better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 40 minutes. Really delightful and intense nose - gentle graphite and rosemary with light ripe blackcurrant in the background. Palate is mature and lively - lovely gentle freshness matching a little garrigue, ripe (but not jammy) black fruits - mature but not in the least tired. Lovely aftertaste but lacking in a long persistence. Lovely claret that is drinking now. Drink next 18 months.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh, and soft in texture, the wine opens with its blend of flowers, truffle, tobacco leaf, and currants. The wine is vibrant and fresh with an edge to the red berries in the finish. This is clearly in its drinking window. Drink 2022-2035.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Aromas of redcurrants, red cherry and wild strawberry, then quite a rich, jammy mouthful of blackberry, before the red cherry and strawberry flavours kick in, wrapped up in an elegant, fairly long and intense finish.
Two years have aged this quite a bit. It's still a delicious wine, but the primary freshness of the fruit has gone, at least on the basis of this bottle, so it has entered a new phase. I'm not concerned about the next few years but for the really long term, it could do with a little more grip and body.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep red purple. Perfumed nose, mature leafy and earthy nose with black and blue fruit and touch of tobacco. Palate black and blue fruit, blueberry dark cherries balanced with mature tertiary leaves and earth and a touch of tobacco, cedar and menthol. Decently long finish showing the fruit and mature notes with a touch of vanilla too.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted off substantial deposit 1 hour, followed over 2 hours. Typical Médoc, but not necessarily Margaux scent, quite restrained, mainly oak/cedar/pencil, not a hint of violets or floral action. The whole palate is tight and scrawny, gaining an unpleasant bitter edge as the remaining tannins kick in. Raw, leathery finish. I have always loved Brane Cantenac in the past (1970 waaaaaay back in the day, more recently 1975, 1982, 1985, 1989...) but this 2000 seems like a very tough customer indeed. Blind I would have guessed a Cru Bourgeois from further North, perhaps Sociando caught in a rough intermediate phase of maturity. Or Phélan in a tough, tannic year. Perhaps my remaining bottles might blossom in 8–10 years, but I'm afraid the best I can offer tonight for this one is 87–88P
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep ruby core and only a slight bit of browning towards the edges. Bouquet of dark florals and ripe cassis. Soft tannins, whilst full-bodied, and complex flavours of cassis, cloves, tarragon, liquorice and dried grass. Lengthy, fairly complex. Enjoyable!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2 decades of age has been kind to this wine, adding weight, complexity, and richness. Now you find a medium-bodied, soft, fresh, energetic, earthy wine filled with sweet, red fruits and dried floral notes. Elegant, balanced, and fresh, the wine expresses purity in a reserved manner, finishing with earth and herb overtones with a touch of thyme and hint of cocoa to go along with the sweet cherries in the finish. This is drinking beautifully today. The wine is a blend of 55% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. Note to self... Drink more old vintages of Brane Cantenac!
1 Hour Decant though drinking well from the get go
In a very good spot; fresh and vibrant, gorgeous dark red and soft black fruit. Effeminate palate with soft tannins and a balanced approachable structure. Good solid finish.
Delicious and prime drinking
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Still a youthful colour with a hint of purple - no bricking at all. Nose also still fresh - cedar and pine, hints of fresh herbs. Lovely fresh palate, fine tannins fullY integrated. Finish isn’t the longest but lingers just enough to entice you back for another sip. This really is singing at the moment!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 1hr15. Rich nose full of pencil shavings, ripe blackcurrant with a background of iodine and fennel. Excellent. Palate is medium weight with a slight lightness; shows blackcurrants against a backdrop of medium+ acidity and very light, fine tannin - background notes of lavender. Slight astringency on the finish perhaps but with good persistence. Drinking now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bordeaux 2000 - 20 Years On - 48 Reds: All tasted blind, not decanted. Observations: 1) It´s a good vintage but not on par with more recent great vintages like 09/10/15/16. Why? A smaller group of top wines reaching lower highs and in general a tad less depth, purity and finesse. 2) Right bank is ready, the left bank still needs time to integrate and open up. 3) Not much tertiary aromas yet - peak drinking window at least 10 years away for most wines. 4) 2000 is a bit a cooler vintage which is great for the right bank (not too much ripeness). 5) Winners? Pomerol with the highest ratings. Le Pin (97+ pts) leading the pack for me (narrowly beating the consensus winner Pavie (97 pts).
More information, top and worst 10 lists, appellation rankings, out- and underperformer from five participants in the story link. As always, in such tastings (lots of wines, not a lot of time per wine, not decanted) the ranking of wines/appellations might be more informative than the scores.
TN: While the nose was quite muted this shined bright on the palate with quite intense aromatics of red fruits and floral notes but especially a lot of that intriguing coffee and burnt sugar notes so many Margauxs showed today but no other wine in that intensity. The wine showed integrated and balanced with a soft Margaux structure and medium length. Technically, probably not the best wine (complexity, finish, nose) but lots of joy to drink. I would have scored it even 95 if the nose would have been more expressive. I thought, I’m quite an outlier here but looking at the more recent scores over the past 2 years, it shows that this Brane entered a nice drinking window.
Decanting: Good from the go. A short decant should be sufficient.
Group average: 93.25 pts Group rank: 17th out of 48
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: Some green notes, otherwise a bit restrained and closed initially. Not showing much at this point. Mostly red berry fruit, some sweet accents. Sweet palate with red berries, tension and lots of structure – in fact very palatable and I would imagine with 1-2h decant this would be singing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of black berry, black cherry, earth, bell pepper, and barnyard, on the palate, big body, mouth filling fruit, very tasty, delicious, elegant, at peak but easily last another 10 years, improved over the 3 hours tasted, worth searching for, lovely, long finish and terrific aftertaste.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Finish had an unusual note that I could not really put my finger on; however, with a little food and a couple of hours (after 3hr decant) it seemed to reside. Has the "green pepper" I find typical of all 2000 Left Bank Bordeaux I have had, although more subdued than in past experiences.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
3rd of 12, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, continuing the progress to maturity noted in July, almost too well mannered, attractive, upside. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Again....drinking really well. The fruit is still very vibrant but the tertiaty notes are there. I will likely wait another few years now having had 2 bottles in the last month as I would like a little more age on these.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I like Brane Cantenac but am finding their 2000 again rather underwhelming. Almost 5 years since my last bottle, this wine has matured a fair bit. Nice Bordeaux nose, medium weight body, already plenty of leather notes, clearly mature, lacks depth and concentration compared to the better 2000. No rush to drink those but will not improve either. 90-91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
An earthy, truffled, animal-driven medium-weight Bordeaux with soft tannins, berry, mushroom, and au jus. It’s dark red, has a forestry-meaty nose, and a silky, precise, deft, and almost light mouthfeel. Somewhere in the nose and finish are meadowy flowers.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was smoke’n tonight! Fantastic elegant nose, quite expressive with some cedar notes. Palate shows some red fruit notes but is showing mostly tertiary notes of mint and leather. Fine tannins this present. May evolve but not sure it’ll impressive. Impressive and enjoyable now. Big fan of the ‘00 Brane Cantenac.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very similar to previous bottle...in a great place now but no rush at all with well stored bottles. Fruit is still very present but the tertiary notes are really starting to come.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 1 hour plus and consumed over 3 hours. The last hour was the best. Fragrant nose, with berry fruit, balance and good finish. For the first 2 hours, there was a greenness to the finish that disappeared.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty identical to bottle 16 months ago: garnet color, mildly floral nose with leathery, sweet dark cherry fruit, cassis and graphite. A joy to drink.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This one perplexes me. Magnum in seemingly great shape (I was not original purchaser) with good fill, solid cork, etc. Very tannic and little if any fruit. Color and nose both maybe a bit off but nothing major. I can't imagine this was just drinking it too early, because I'm not sure what flavors would be left if the tannins went down. Did get a bit better with decanting, but not in any big way. Not at all terrible, but if I had paid anywhere near retail for this bottle I would have been very disappointed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Outstanding wine. Drank over 3 hours - kept improving the whole time. Amazing bouquet and layer upon layer of flavor. Very fruity for a French bordeaux, yet still has the classic french characteristics too. Fresh tasting, smooth, nicely balanced. In a great spot right now, but many years left. Loved it.
2nd of 12, opened 80 minutes, perfect cork and level, flavour profile as described for first bottle in April only much cleaner and fresher, simply more attractive, if without any stand out features to elevate it above the crowd, looks to be still approaching full maturity. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1st of 12, pnp but half decanted into half bottle, recorked and drunk 2 days later, perfect cork and level - dark but not dense ruby, little development; cassis and redcurrant, touch of earth and lightest touch of tobacco, bit muddy and muted; medium bodied, decent length, not particularly persistent or concentrated for vintage, youthful and a tad dumb so hard to rate, sense of a better wine trying to show, hopefully upside. VG+ (16.5)...last night's half was little changed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Coming after the PC 03, this was like a colour photo compared to black and white. The aromas were zinging all over the place - blackcurrants, spring flowers, raspberries, wet stone, pencil shavings, a bit of earth, then back to the blackcurrants. Amazing stuff, one of the most expressive bouquets for months. The taste is along similar lines - red cherry at first, then blackcurrant, then a bit of blackberry, then it zooms off to the four corners of the palate in the middle section with added redcurrant and raspberry, like a starburst, but without ever losing control - this is no Rolland creation - the sweetness of the fruit, still quite primary, is tempered by the dusty Margaux elegance and poise. As for the finish, it's quintessentially Margaux. La classe!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
What an amazing nose....pencil lead, graphite, pure powerful blackfruit, truffle, leather, cedar, flowers and earth...nose is stunning Palate is lush but lovely balancing acid...pure, pure blackfruit...layers of flowers, soy, cedar, leather, truffle pencil lead, earth, and moss. There is a lovely balance betwen powerful primary fruit and developing secondary flavours. Finish is long...wow, layers of flavour....peacock's tail....so expansive. Stunning wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for an hour. Beautiful cooked black and blue fruits, lots of tobacco, bay leaf, cedar, organic earth. Tannins are pretty chilled out. Elegant finish. This is in its window.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP. All graphite, some florals, orange. All secondary aromas/flavour. Light and seems open with the fruit receding but this may be shrouded in light tannins throughout. Not the best moment for this wine but it may come again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 1hr30. A ripe and intense nose full of pencil shavings, blackcurrant, violets. Palate has light acidity and fine tannins with a little blackcurrant fruit; secondary notes of violets and rosewater with a little salinity. Some good persistence but perhaps lacking a little depth on the palate. Fully mature. Drinking now-2022.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A touch over 50% Merlot, this wine was in a really good spot. The news had fig and raspberry and some verbal qualities. The entry had a little bit of cola and wild strawberry with dirty raspberry and fig. Got a little bit darker as it finished, but the body of this wine stayed much more to the full side and never really leaned out. Still quite young with a very rounded quality. Silky tannin finish on this wine. Medium acidity. This one tastes like it is 5 years old. I really think that additional celler aging for up to 10 years will really help the integration process, although it is in a really good spot right now!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Brane-Cantenac's 2000 is a blend of 55% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. Despite being 19 years of age, this pristinely-cellared bottle reveals a very youthful elixir. Deep garnet and highly aromatic, it flaunts scents of blackberries, lavender, anise, leather, loamy earth, cedar and orange creamsicle. Full-bodied and with low-to-medium acidity, it delivers flavors mirroring the nose. The wine's alcohol (13%) is a non-issue and the tannins at this point, while present, are silky in texture. Solid in the middle and long on the finish, this is really coming into its own and will, if properly cellared, last much longer than previously projected. Drink now-2030.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
One hour decant. Great great. Mature aromas of majik marker, leather, and cedar. What a nose full. Great mouth feel. Big, big wine with lots of saturated fruit flavors. This was heaven with my osso bucco.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep ruby red in color. Gorgeous aromas of black and red small fruits, cedar, leather and dark flowers. Medium bodied palate shows silky sweet and ripe reddish black berries, hint of graphite, no tannins, medium(+) acidity and a long cedar and floral perfumed finish. Lovely and drinking perfectly well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
B-C is the first Bordeaux I ever tasted, back when I was still not quite legal. Fun to revisit now that I know so much more. This bottle's at absolute peak: garnet color, mildly floral nose with leathery, sweet dark cherry fruit, cassis and graphite. Drink remaining bottles sooner than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose has floral (violets) and dark berries. A well balanced mature wine with integrated tannins. Elegant and complex, with graphite, blackberry, black pepper, and leather notes. Paired well with a pepper steak. I would say it's at it's peak and should be consumed in the next 3-4 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Mature, very perfumed wine. Classic Margaux nose and taste profile. Red garnet color, minimal bricking, nose of blackberry, cassis, plums, leather, vanilla, oak, graphite, some licorice and flowers. Palate is medium body, fairly balanced, tannins are mostly mellowed down, although some rough edges remain, cherry, blackberry and vanilla on the palate, good if not a bit high acidity. Finish a bit drying. Nearing peak, probably has at least 5 more years to go. Overall I liked this wine although I've tried better wines from Margaux. 92 points
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Second Sunday Group: Priorat (Frank's): Courtesy of (?), popped and poured with dinner following the tasting. Dark youthful color. Lovely Margaux perfume with lots of elegant floral elements over dark berry fruit. Perfectly ripe dark berry fruit. Medium tannins soften slightly as it breathes in the glass. Lovely. Still on the young side, I'll hold off on the first of my three for a few years yet.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 90 minutes. Medium intense nose with graphite, saddle leather, blackcurrants, brambles. Palate is very good - ripe fine tannins, excellent acid balance and full blackcurrants, brambles. Notes of iodine, graphite, light violets. Delicious. Drinking very well now but will continue to age well. Drink now-2025.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Brilliant stuff and very much in the zone. Quite aromatic with some secondary notes of leather, tobacco and soil. A savory, earthy sheen to the fruit, quite smooth and integrated. Could it get even better in 5+? 93+ pts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
In line-up with 2011, 2009 and 2005 this wine at first reminded me of why am generally not a huge fan of the millennial vintage - it seemed quite herbaceous on the nose, a bit under ripe. Also a bit awkward on the palate at first confirming that picture. With more air though to my surprise it did get better and more resolved, I picked up some nice sous bois and it was good with a selection of dried meats. Drink now-2025 but I recommend to decant for 1-2 hours.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted an hour before tasting. Appearance: garnet at core, cherry at rim. Medium depth and bright. Nose: intensity stronger than I expected. Lovely intense perfumed nose of violets, strong woody notes of oak and cigar box and cassis. A hint of cooked meats, mushrooms and leather. Palate: Medium bodied, soft tannins, balanced. Once it had opened up it had good length. Very good.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pop and pour with salad and duck French style, went very well. Feminine and well balance. Gentle perfume on the nose, nice color and no browning, delicious and seductive mid palate, fine acidity, lingering and long after taste, seductive and understated. Very pleasant and memorable, my wife loves it a lot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 90 minutes. Only showing slight ageing on rim. Good ripe nose with very ripe blackcurrants, cedar, tobacco and leather - light violets. Palate is soft, ripe and opulent with fine tannins, medium acidity providing excellent freshness and balance - fruits are brambles and blackcurrants - slight element of iodine which is very appealing. A fine wine with good balance and drinking ideally now. Slightly lacking in persistence on the palate. Drink now-2024.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
WOTN, great aromatics, all tobacco and earth but not funky. Great fruit, held up beautifully. Time to drink up. Out shined a 2000 Grand Puy Lacoste we compared it against.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep red, with very slight lightening at the rim. This opens up with a complex nose of new saddle leather, cigar box, red currants and a whiff of iris. It is medium-bodied, with red berries, underbrush, and minerals. There is gentle grip, good acidity and a moderately persistent finish. This bottle seems squarely in its drinking window, where I would imagine it will stay for a number of years. This is very good, but more recent vintages here (e.g. 2015) show better concentration and refinement. 93.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Vad skall man säga, Brane Cantenac levererar som vanligt, mörk i färgen, mörka bär, stall, höstlöv, och cigarrlåda med en gel del tobak. Mjuka men befintliga tanniner Medellång eftersmak
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The predominant aroma is tobacco. On the palate is sour cherry, tobacco, barnyard, to a distraction, soft tannins and a nice long finish. Worked well with our ribeye, but on its own, the brett was overwhelming.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Purchased on futures from Prima Vini. Decanted. 42% Cabernet, 55% merlot, 3% cab franc. Sadly, this bottle corked. It took me a little while to recognize it. See K&L website for a nice smattering of reviews for this, some rather recent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Appearance: The wine presented itself as an opaque garnet with a pink/red rim. There was no brick or orange characteristic to the color and little to no sediment.
Aroma: While this wine had a significant amount of brett phenols, the characteristics of the fruit in the wine was very youthful. When the wine was initially opened the predominant aromas were sweet tobacco leaf and saddle-leather. As the wine was allowed to breathe, over time this characteristics fell into balance with the rest of the aromas, finally expressing red currant, rhubarb, and cherry with hints of baking spices and freshly ground coffee in the background.
Body/Texture: The wine had a medium body and was supple in character, however it felt a bit more rough than the 1983 BV wine.
Taste: The wine had medium acid, low sweetness, and medium tannins that faded quickly. The wine came across much less fruit forward on the palate, with licorice, saddle-leather, loads of spice, and a subdued red-currant character. It had a long, elegant finish.
Overall Impression: This wine was heavily influenced by brettanomyces however it was still very enjoyable. The structure and fruit were youthful and I believe this wine has great many years ahead of it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lovely wine drank from a 3 L bottle from a dear friend. Great graphite and floral nose and long finish. This is in a great place from this large format.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Heirloom and Tilia Collaboration Dinner (Heirloom, St.Paul, MN): Very dark red/purple color. This had gotten a double decant, but I do not know the length; drank 1 glass over 40 minutes. Gorgeous, all around. Nice purity of fruit on the nose and palate, cassis, creme de cassis, red berries, earthy, floral. The palate translates the nose perfectly and shows a perfect ripeness to the fruit, silky tannins, and a Margaux elegance. Really in good place - no rush though, this has a long life ahead. 93+pts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I have always enjoyed this vintage of Brane-Cantenac. Showing a bit more evolution than the previous bottle from two years ago. Fruit is still at the forefront, with black currant and black cherry. The aromatics round out nicely with truffle, coffee, leather, cedar, and some earthy funk. Nice medium weight on the palate, with smooth tannins. Medium-plus length on the finish. Acidity showing a bit more but balances nicely.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Saturday night blinds (Chez Nanda, Chicago IL): Nose: The nose is open, expressive, and classic Bordeaux with tobacco, red cherries, mint, red florals, red berries, spice box, and some leather. The nose is well balanced with excellent depth with it having a seamless quality as well.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. While the structure is starting to resolve, the tannins still have a firmness to them. The feel is refined and balanced with tobacco, red cherries, red florals, spice box tones, and red berries.
Overall: This is a beautiful Bordeaux. It's just starting to fully drink and feels like it can still hit another gear. This is a classy and elegant wine and Brane is routinely a favorite of mine because of that.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The bouquet is better developed and more interesting than that of the 2000 Gruaud Larose, but that still does not yet make it the stuff of dreams. Nice, but you won't get lost in it. The impression on the palate is satiny smooth elegance so clean as it slips towards the throat that if it were not for the discreet reminder of Cabernet and Merlot one would think it was burgundy. The palate is not nearly as complex as that of 2000 Gruaud Larose, nor as powerful, but the satiny elegance is seductive. Did I say it was drinking beautifully now, fully open for business? And it has the balance easily to go another decade.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A little too rustic for my taste despite a cracking vintage for Margaux. Very earthy nose initially dissipating after an hour in the decanter. Deep crimson color, black currants and earth on the nose and palate, good lift mid palate, not overly complex and a decent finish but no fireworks.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
During a merchant tasting. Medium ruby. Nose of cedar, dark fruit, bakery and some barnyard. Pleasant and aromatic on the palate but needs a bit more stuffing, a touch acidic. In general I think, mid mouth palate stuffing is the weak point of Brane Cantenac while aromatics is ok.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened, poured into a decanter, rinsed out the sediment, and poured back into the bottle. Left the bottle open until about two hours later and served with food. Nice nose of cigar box and some ripe plums. Hint of mint as well. Wonderful flavors of plums and some black cherries. Round, velvet texture - rich and engaging but not overtly sweet. Very tasty.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very interesting to try with Rauzan-S and Boyd Cantenac. The latter will probably have a longer career, but Brane is at a higher level of quality. Similar notes of red berries but more finesse and elegance. Of the two, the Brane is drinking better now but judging from my experiences with the 96, 98 and 99, the 00 could improve further still. Wonderful wine. I bought practically all the Margaux CCs in 00 and I'm really enjoying them now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A big fan of Brane Cantenac of the 70s and 80s, was curious to try the 2000 vintage. Pnp and drank over about 2h this was open and ready from pulling the cork. Forest floor, sweet dark fruit, earth, some leather. Juicy and entirely ready in my eyes now, this was very pleasant but lacked a bit depth and complexity which I am not convinced more time in bottle will unearth. Another just slightly disappointing 2000.
Much more colour fade at the rim here than the 1996 Langoa; better nose here, good rich varied berried fruits, good richness; nice elegance here, tannins still a little chunky, I might give this a couple more years - however it is a little drying on the finish. Perhaps as good as it will ever be.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine is in a wonderful spot right now! Nose of cigars, wood, dark fruit and a deep meaty tone - and truffles maybe? The palate is smooth and medium-bodied, classic, nice dark fruit and blackcurrant. Soft but present tannins. This had a good balance between fruit, tannins and emerging complex notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A lovely brawny Margaux that seems to have more stuffing than other 2000 bordeauxs that I've had recently. Despite secondary flavours being somewhat shy, the nose was over floral and expressive. In fact equal to the Ducru enjoyed a few days earlier.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Another great showing 3yrs from y last bottle. very aromatic upon opening with a strong menthol note that I can't recall ever getting from a Marguax before. Also has plenty of pipe tobacco, leather, and fine pure red fruits. Still has a strong core of tannins, but quite fine and polished. Lengthy finish. Approachable and enjoyable if you like your bdx with a little primary fruit--otherwise will need 5+yrs to integrate the tannins and reach full maturity(I said that 3yrs ago too).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Another wonderful, perfumey showing for this earth, barnyard, and dark berry driven wine. The nose on this wine gave such pleasure that half the times I went in for a sip, I just lingered with my face in the glass, sniffing. The soil, wildflowers, and touch of barnyard on the nose were captivating. On the palate, the 2000 came out of the gate with dark berry flavors, like blackberry cobbler, and a generous touch of wet earth, mushroom, tobacco leaf, and a subtle funk in the background. Low alcohol, medium acidity, and an overall delicate impression. Wonderful. Underrated. And drinking beautifully.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
2.5 hour decant, medium bodied, average balance, in prime. Should hold for another 5 years and then start to thin out. Overall good fruit still and well made. Average value.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cedar, earth, and savory notes with underlying mature fruit. At peak, but will hold for a while. Nice bordeaux experience, but it lacked umph and lenght....even though it is not at its end...I don't think it will improve from here. Drink
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
K&L High-End Bordeaux Tasting - October 2015 (K&L): 2000 Brane-Cantenac Really nice nose. A lot of development. Sweet cedar, hint of tamari, sweet tobacco. Mushrooms, leather. Savory and earth-driven but with ripe fruit (blackcurrant and also plump-chocolate merlot character). Great flavor concentration. Longer than the Kirwan or l'Evangile. Less tannins.
Score: Between 9 and 9.5
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
K&L Bordeaux Tasting (K&L, Redwood City): Nose is highly aromatic with roasted red pepper, mostly red but some blackberry fruit; palate is full bodied, still superb tannins structure but very easy to drink, not drying at all, black fruit, moderately complex; finish is medium-long. Superb. 93
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1990's Cali Cabs vs Bordeaux tasting. Biggest surprise for me. Rocked my boat. Big nose. Complex fruit, tea, subtle savory notes, and was drinking very well tonight from pop and pour to multiple retastes over the night and next day. Good buy. Glad I have many more to drink over the next few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
On the nose: Black currant, dust, some hints of green herbs and stable On the palate: Green herbs, grass, black currant with a very high acidity Medium + finish
Will improve over time
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Blind, and my wotn in the “actual tasting”. Very typical left bank nose, showing early maturity, with pencil shavings, gravel, leather, cedar wood, spices and herbs, hay, and fine blackcurrants. Palate mirrors pretty much the nose. Fine fruit, ripe currants, some tobacco and minerals, with good balance despite perhaps a bit low acidity. Rather feminine, not a big wine in anyway, but a slender and fragile. I liked this very much, despite perhaps on the lighter and thinner side of things. Fine overall balance, perhaps not a wine for the very long haul, but we will see. (92 – 94)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wines over Labor day Weekend; 9/5/2015-9/8/2015: Decanted for sediment and served. Finally, a nice bottle of B2K, bought on release and cellared and this was mature. In fact, I would say at peak, so if you have any, while no hurry, pop a cork. Ruby/purple in color. The nose is great with cherries, cassis, tobacco and ever so slight duty spice box. On the palate, medium to full bodied. Soft texture. Layers of cassis, cherries, damp earthiness and a bit of forest floor. Nice finish. great with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
pretty decent wine, showcases the vintage in the precision of its fruit. Deep ruby red, decanted an hour and drank over two. I don't think further aeration would have helped but I will try next time as the wine is young. Nice nose dominated by earth, tobacco, cigar box, cassis and flowers. Medium to full bodied on the palate, not overly complex at this stage with good show of dark red fruits, minerality, acidity, and finishes slightly tannic. Wait another few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I keep hearing it is too early to be drinking the 2000 vintage from Bordeaux. I have had a few from Margaux that are showing nicely, as is this Brane Cantenac. This hits all the right notes. Beautiful perfume, deep fruit balanced by florals, tobacco, good acidity and soft tannins. A couple of nits to pick would be a thinness on the mid palate that leads to an abrupt finish. Still very much enjoyed with tonight's NY Strip.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium ruby, still no bricking. Pretty decent legs. Softly fragrant, mellow, feminine. Cherry. Fairly full and rich in the mouth, fruit kissed by noticeable but not overwhelming oak. Quite feminine. 4-12-16-8: 90/100.7
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
4th time tried from my cellar and least favorite to date. Not much nose. Boring palate of earth, charcoal and minerality. Forgive me for asking, but where is the fruit? Online debates going on critical of CA cabs. I'll take the fruit in my wine every time . Is this really a great vintage?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Served with venison casserole and salad. Not as distinctly classic claret tasting as the first bottle a year ago but not as heavy-footed or cloying either.
Can only really remember a warm sheen of petrol and red fruit. No real under taste or signs of maturity but not actively annoying either. Expected a little more than ho hum at this price level.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 90 minutes with benefit - more open as evening progressed. Garnet with purple/ brick. Nose has dark fruits, perfume, flowers baking spices and slight licorice and earth. Palate has medium fruit that is framed with fine tannins that persist to finish. Light, balancing acidity and mineral. Definitely feminine and finesseful. Complexity of texture and flavors. Great with a ribeye. Seems to be easing into peak. Has a long future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Consistent with previous bottle. Dark fruit, coffee, and a pleasant earthy funk. Excellent balance of fruit and tannins. Medium-plus finish. Maybe not quite as complex and interesting as the '05 Brane-Cantenac.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I really liked this wine when I opened previous bottles, and it has been a while since I opened one.
As usual, poured a bit in to a glass, and venturried a bit into a decanter to do a mini comparison to see how much aeration helps.
A huge difference, both had some bottle funk (bret-like), but aerated was significantly better, and needed.
I actually venturried it twice, and it still needed time to get back to my happy place.
A nice purple color, fine sediment adhering to the bottle. Some Red fruit, but more Forrest floor with hints of cedar. This was a little lighter in the tannins than I remember, still a nice smooth drinker for the less complicated meals, DECANT !
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Post Christmas lunch tipple and what a way to end. Lovely perfumed nose and soft, subtle palate. A little lacking in staying power on the finish but none the less excellent wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (La Belle Vie, Mpls): Small pour, from Mag. The limited notes i was taking were largely gone by this point, but the nose exceeds the palate by a fair bit. Loved the nose, perfumed, typical Margaux, aromatic. The palate was a bit more restrained, dark fruits, some earth and still firm tannins with lingering oak influence. This had a 2 hour decant, but from Mag may have needed even more. 91+pts.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
I never tasted this last night but Tom, who brought it, stuck in front of my nose a few times and I have to agree the nose was classic Bordeaux. Lots of tobacco and scorched earth. Not from Pessac but reminded me of such. Didn't taste but I'd rate the nose 93+. Those few wiffs may end up costing me a purchase along the way.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 1st half of bottle for 3 hours on day one and for 2 hours for rest of bottle on day 2. Both experiences were quite similar and quite delightful. Good, clean fruit on the palate with a long finish. There were subtle hints of green pepper, but did not really distract from overall impression. Nose showed extremely well with notes of chocolate, smoke, tobacco, and ripe fruit. I had occasion to partake of a 2000 Bordeaux tasting a few days earlier. This wine would have placed in the middle of the pack; beating out the Chateau Angelus, but being nipped by the Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou and the Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux. A couple of days after this bottle I tasted Chateau Rouget and Chateau Siran. The Rouget gives the Brane-Cantenac a run for its money, but Brane still comes out on top of these 3. The Siran was a bit disappointing, although not a bad wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted. Strong notes of lead pencil and terroir driven/Margaux characteristics. Decent fruit too but as the night wore on (2hrs or so) it watered down. I wouldn't be aging this much longer and think it probably drinks at its peak right here. Enjoy.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wine not quite ready. I would give it another 18 months or so. Tannins dominate. Fruit is there, but not overpowering. Slightly disappointed with this.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wine needed time to open up, I would suggest a decant of at least a couple of hours . It needs it. There was no fireworks, decent lower end Bordeaux. Pair with duck or veal.
Luckily, both financially and hedonistically, Bdx 2000 was a vintage which I bought in spades. Back then I thought prices were outrageous, but now I can't believe how attractive they were especially for the premiers. I have tasted 30+ Crus of this vintage many times over the past years. In general, several of the top Pauillac/St.Juliens are still quite closed (e.g., Latour, Lafite, Lynch Bages, Leo Las Cases) while on the right bank they are mostly ready now (exceptions like Eglise Clinet exist though). The Margaux have now also entered the drinking window (except may be Chateau Margaux itself). So to Brane Cantenac, to me this is a good example of a great value buy. Medium garnet, expressive nose of cedar wood, cloves, red fruit with a bretty/animalic undertone, very Bordeaux, very Margaux in its fragrance. On the palate medium body with soft tannins, quite delicate, may be a tad shy in the mid palate. Excellent with food, especially meat. There is a bit too much acidity on the finish preventing a higher note. Fully mature now. As the fruit retreats with further age the acidity will only accentuate, so drink up.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
I liked this wine. It seems to just be entering its drinking window. I few more years would definitely benefit this wine IMO. Wine is ready to go, but it should improve a bit with a little more time or longer decant (most likely the culprit). I will try again and give this a 2 to 3 hour aeration and see if it improves.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
With slices of breaded pork in tomato sauce, potato gratin, spinach and courgette confit.
Dine and wine for different seasons? This seemed too heavy and heated for early summer. Fairly familiar perfume of blue and black berries with definite earth underneath.
Admirable balance and length but like a too warm dessert after a heavy meal. Actually overall experience improved a little with chocolate fondant ice cream though maybe this was the cocoa infusion.
Second bottle will perhaps produce a winning winter's tale.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Ultimately disappointing sadly to say. I had a lot of anticipation on this wine - decanted for 3 hours and served with steak and salad - I expected it to be the highlight of the meal - but it was ordinary. It is certainly ready to drink - not harsh at all and with a flat after taste with a touch of minerality it is ideal with food. The aroma is typically bordeaux -strong heady but with an earthy background and the can sauv is definitely easy to detect - slightly mineral but alas the slight flat draw on the tongue is sadly a little disappointing. A good wine - yes - A GREAT wine? maybe not....Would not buy again.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
no decant necessary. Truly lovely. Classic Margaux--silky smooth,medium bodied. Tannins extremely well integrated, dark fruits are showing quite well. This is a balanced wine right in its prime right now. should still last a number of years, but no reason not to drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Did not decant, it was ready to drink after few minutes. The wine is well balanced, there isn't much tannin left. It has medium body and nice complexity and nice finish. In summary a great wine, can't wait to drink another bottle, but next time without a meal.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
So, this is a zed-zed Bdx. Of course it is going to be strutting like bitch - all dark fruit, pencil lead, leather and bend-over-boyfriend. If that is ur jag, then happiness erupts.
Not gonna argue as it is a lovely wine with all that. B-C is truly Margaux and it will dominate you here on those terms. Not unhappy. OTOH, if you want a dynamic relationship with your BDX or more subtly, Mgx, zed-zed ain't gonna submit. Maybe ... and that is a really low percentile maybe - down the road.
Take your pick. If u want ur wine to define itself 2 u, then this is it. Submit. And pleasure is there. If u know B-C and want to have an exchange of mutual benefit, then this ain't it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This deep red wine was "double" Vinturi-decanted, twice being aerated with the device. It was allowed 90 minutes in decanter prior to funneling back into the cleaned bottle. The wine was presented in double-blind fashion to our tasting group. My taste was unblinded. The nose delivers an impressive floral and dark fruit mix, with complementary truffle and earth components. Medium-bodied on the palate, with low-to-medium acidity, soft tannins and well-integrated alcohol (listed as 13%). The wine is seamless and graceful, with a silky mouth texture and flavors mirroring the nose. The middle palate is solid and the lengthy finish is smooth. An absolute pleasure to drink at this point, this wine is likely in early plateau. Parenthetically, a sample in a glass showed even more fruit on the following day (having been left overnight unrefrigerated). Assuming that you have a well-cellared bottle, enjoy it over the next decade. Drink now-12/22.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Did not decant, it was ready to drink after 30 minutes in the glass. Very refined, moderately complex and a beautiful finish. All around an excellent wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bdx and Pizza (1201 Avenue B): Decanted 2hrs before trying. Nose was a little shy (seemed like it may have actually closed down from opening) but showed some subtle floral aromas, red fruit, and some tobacco. Palate was much more forward, with dense concentrated pure red fruits, prominent cedar spice and leaf tobacco. Finishes strong, with repeating red fruits, leafy herbs, and cedar box. Tannins are still prominent, but polished and fine. Well structured with great purity of fruit, clearly still needs 5+ yrs but very enjoyable now. On the more subtle side of bdx, classy, and slightly forward for margaux, but somewhat boring compared to some of the others this night. 92-93
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wonderful wine. Will definitley seek out some more of this in both older and newer (2009-2010) vintages. Earthy, funky, herbacious with rich silky tannins. Paired with grilled hanging tender, fondue blue, roasted wild mushrooms and hakurei turnips.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Moderate depth of color, red ro ruby rim. Aromatically quite open with flowered red and black fruits, minerals, baking spice from new oak use, touch of brett. On the palate dry, high acidity, modererate amount of depth and midpalate flesh, tannins are soft, ripe, and well integrated for cab based wine, low to moderate alcohol. Balanced wine with good length, great intensity, very good complexity at this stage. Wine has finesse, a fine texture without any rough spots, classic expression of place. Hard to argue this wine isn't "outstanding..." feels like it is has 2-4 before hitting it peak and should hold there without difficulty for another decade. Well made, classically styled Margaux... quite nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Terrific, traditional, complex bordeaux nose of dark fruits, blueberries, damp earth, mushroom, spice and a bit of brett. Very soft and smooth on the palate with a bite of acidity at the end. Nice flavors on the attack and then fades to a short to medium finish. Good balance with dry tannins that linger beyond the flavors of the finish. Nice flavors and textures and overall very enjoyable, but lacks intensity and depth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just a wonderful earthy soft-spoken Margaux from a great vintage. The nose was the best part, with currant, berry, floral, and soil aromas. Medium bodied. Up front you definitely get the berries, but they are soft-spoken. Mid-palate is mostly damp earth, soil, mushroomy, and cedar flavors. If it weren't so delicate, I'd have thought it was a Pauillac. Had it with duck liver stuffed pasta in mushroom broth and fire-roasted veal tenderloin with black truffles for New Years at Chez Panisse. I was most pleased to encounter Denise Lurton while drinking this wine!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Soft, fragrant, medium weight and elegant claret. Reasonably full flavoured, with a hint of aniseed. This has all the ingredients, but lacks a little concentration.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasting at Chateau Gallo (Chateau Gallo): Dark deep ruby in the glass. A wonderfully powerful nose of dark fruits, cedar, leather, graphite, humidor, crushed stone, mushroom, coffee, undergrowth, earth and florals. Over time, a green steak emerges of peppers, menthol and green tobacco. On the palate, dark fruits, cassis and earth. Well balanced with medium acidity and mild lingering tannin. Focused, yet complex. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for 1 hour. A bit disappointing frankly. Fairly muted and earthy. Only a hint of that beloved Margaux perfume. I've had other 2000 Margaux that I've enjoyed more. Not really worth the price IMO. I have one more bottle. Will let it rest for a few years and see where it goes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A standout at a recent tasting of wines from the Margaux commune. This one really has a bright future...and still drinks well now with some rich fare. Alongside a roasted beef tenderloin, this wine exploded with cool fruit and a touch of menthol. Very fine structure with tannins that will carry this wine for decades. Shows its Margaux lineage and should be a real treat as it approaches maturity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From a magnum, decanted for 2 hours +. Somewhat muted nose of red and blue berries, spice and a hint of earth. Medium body and a smooth, balanced texture. Not much going on in the mid-palate and a somewhat short finish. Nice, easy drinking bordeaux, but not enough flavor or structure to be anything outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
gorgeous florals red currant and tobacco on the nose. This is what margaux smells like feminine and perfumed. In the mouth pure silk with fantastic purity of fruit and extraction. Fantastic length and balance. Love this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is now drinking very well, with refined, musky fruit, medium weight and real elegance. Earlier bottles showed an element of dilution in mid-palate, but this seems to have more flesh. Unlikely to improve further.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
With a developed nose, tobacco, truffle, cassis and earthy scents are easy to find. Medium bodied and elegant in style, the wine ends wine a sweet cherry and cassis filled finish. This is close to full mature and should be enjoyed over the next decade for maximum freshness.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark and youthful looking, with a compelling bouquet evolvng over the 90+ minutes it was open. Initially, I thought this was a bit tight but clearly well made, with a sleek, medium bodied structure. There was a good balance of sweet fruit and some smokiness on the palate. With air, an herbal element emerged that had me thinking there might be cab franc in the blend (I have no idea whether or not that's true). I'd be curious to see how this might drink with 4-5 more years of maturity, although it's certainly not an infant at this stage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bought as futures and 3rd bottle drunk from my cellar, each about 2 years apart. Popped and poured. More red fruit and less floral than prior bottles. Plum and cherry with floral notes on the nose. No sign of maturity and still purple plum in color. No tannin, delicious now and seems ready to drink, although still a long life ahead. Plum, cherry, earth and minerals with fruit dominant. Good finish. Went well with venison and red wine sauce.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Retail purchase held several years. Decanted 2 hours. Absolutely gorgeous wine, and a can't miss Margaux fragrance. Medium bodied, elegant, but long and complex. Red fruit, well balanced. Peak of youth is now. Can go another 10+ years but why wait? This is a wonderful 2000 vintage and a great value today. I rate the 2005 just ahead.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Je l'ai classé en 3e... Et oui 42 % de Merlot... Superbe nez, coté florale marqué très attirant. J'avais identifié rive droite en misant sur La Gaffelière, mais pardonable avec tout ce Merlot :| :| :| La bouche suit bien les attentes bâtis au nez. Beaucoup de matière, tannins très fins, belle rondeur. Longueur moyenne.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Minneapolis Wine Club does a Blind Tasting: Nice wine with gravel, funk, raspberry, cherry and earth. Classic Bordeaux flavors and medium finish. Drinking well right now but has another decade of fine drinking.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
10/29/10 w/ Bruce at Le Meridien hotel in SF. Not good. B says too much Brett. I agree there was something off-putting in both nose and mouth. Not rated.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for 35 Minutes. A tale of two halfs. The Nose is open, expressevive, lots of cherry , some sweet notes. Smoky feel to it. Mouthfeel feels incomplete with some notes out of tune. This is not there yet and hopefully time will improve it. Medium body and finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted and poured. Subdued nose of red and black berries, spice and earth. Medium body with rounded edges and a very smooth texture. Finish is just a bit short. Classic Margaux profile and drinking very nicely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very pleased. Nose has some cherry and hints of pencil and menthol, palate is cassis, graphite and cherry. Good balance and weight and (I hope) a decent life ahead as the fruit fades to reveal secondary notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is not a "pop and pour" as it definitely needs some air time. I did not really like it for the first 30-45 minutes, but then it opened up dramatically. Very bordeaux nose - some funk, dark fruits/cassis and oak. Big and rich on the palate, and then fades a bit on the finish. Lots of fruit, good balance and soft, round edges. Classic Margaux flavors and profile.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Subtle nose. Cassis, mint, flint with nice rounded tannins. Popped and poured. Drinking well now - not clear to me if this will improve further, as it is open and smooth, but no rush. Very nice margaux.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This opens with a red and black fruit filled perfume, complicated by notes of tobacco, forest and spice. Elegantly textured and medium bodied, most of the tannins have already melted away.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose: Graphite, ash, currants, hint of cocoa powder. Palate: Cherries and currants on the attack. Cedar, spice, more currants on the mid-palate through to the long finish, along with well-integrated tannins and vibrant acidity. Excellent structure and a very nice floral component. Good, not great Margaux.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I thought this Brane-Cantenac was very good. Great classic cassis nose, really nice up front fruit that slowly drifted away off the tongue in a teasing "am I gonna give you a little more? Do you want that mid palate rush? Or should I just slowly fade like as if I were a super model walking deeper into the ocean off of a sand bar into the sunset and youre staring at my ass?"
Tasted at the Decanter fine wine encounter Jewels of Margaux masterclass in London 21/11/09. Guest speaker, Henry Lurton, Alexander Van Beek, Dominique Befve, John Kolasa. Caramel and perfume to the nose, strong fruits, long silky meaty aftertaste, with tannins, needs times.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
this wine appearance id medium/deep ruby colour. on the nose it shows aromas of slightly stewed black fruits chocolate and black pepper. the palate on this wine consists of noticeable tannin well balance acid and alc, with lovely silky vanilla with young raspberry, strawberry, fruit and some earthy notes again for me this wine needed longer decanting time
overall this was a good wine but i would like to try it again with it having 2/3hr decanting or with a extra year and a half age
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
ICCCW 2000 Bordeaux Horizontal Tasting (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria): This was drinking beautifully. Great wine, Lovely nose, very Margaux, with smoky toast and a meaty edge integrated with an earthy, rustic elegance with sweet, plush cassis notes and subtle flowery underpinnings. Some nicely controlled coffee and tobacco tones added interest. Palate was every bit as integrated and charming. Sweet cassis, dark cherries, a touch of meat, some funky earth and sous bois notes, a little spice. Beautiful balance between freshness and intensity, with structure lent by very fine but still grippy woody tannins which emerged past the mid-palate. This came across as masculine, yet clearly Margaux in its elegance. Finish was lovely, with ripe, sweet tannins providing a counterpoint for dark fruit and bittersweet mineral tones. An excellent wine, drinking nicely now, I think it will be even better with a couple more years under its belt.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
ICCCW wine class (Jade Palace Forum): Green herbaceous capsicums and alluring florals. Very seductive wine with dark florals-scented, smooth, rounded, generous and plummish dark fruits Some gorgeous integrated dark mocha notes and fresh tobacco leaves showing at the finish too. A beautiful classical margaux. Extremely drinkable now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opaque Ruby but still has a purple tint. Medium intensity nose, blackcurrent, graphite, sweet spices, maybe a hint of rasberry as well. Wonderful layers of smells developed over the first hour or so. Nice bright black fruit on the front, lingering spices, and well integrated smooth tannins. A wonderful long finish. Overall the balance and elegance of a great bordeaux. Of course it could go longer but it's darn good now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Surprised how well this was drinking right out of the bottle, with good evolution over an hour. Wood fully integrated, margaux florals going on with leather and cedar. Very good. Drink by 2015.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Holiday Dinner w/ L,M,A,C,B,L: Great earthy nose with background of vanilla oak. Great mouthfeel and long finish. Very elegant balance of dark blueberry fruit and fine tannins. A hint of green pepper provides structure. Drinking great now, an excellent and classic Margaux.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped and poured resulting in initial disappointment for this classed growth from a highly rated vintage. After an hour. lovely, but not expansive nose emerged of flowers and plum. Palate, at first, closed consisting of earth, charcoal and cassis. With time, more fruit with added notes of cherry and plum. No tannin and dark purple in color. Nice, but I expected more from this wine. Maybe with time, and at a minimum, with a several hour decant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Great Margaux characteristics, rose petals, clean stone earth, rich dark berry, and nice oak touch. Drank with a Ribeye, Lyonaise Pots, and acorn squash. Really sang with food! Nice and open, not really holding back. Juicy acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drinking wonderfully right now- rich and dark with a real velvety mouthfeel. I decanted it for about an hour and it could have used more time, but IMO this is getting into a sweet spot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, with a rather strong, cedary element which is almost woody; fairly full palate, reasonably mature, good balance; would have been very good indeed without the excess woodiness.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Soft, well rounded, nicely mature with very harmonious fruit (blackcurrants, plums plus a touch of mint). Good length and medium weight, but not quite the intensity of the best.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Historical note from 08. Starting to show maturity at the disc. Elegant, dark re fruit. Oak. Cherries and wood on the palate; a little weedy. Pleasant, but a bit hollow.
3/5
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Presented in double-blind fashion to our tasting group. The wine was taken from my cellar, decanted (moderate sediment) and aerated in the decanter at home for approximately four hours. The wine was then double-decanted back into the cleaned bottle and brought to the tasting. My tasting (unlike that of all other tasters) was accordingly unblinded. Bright disc. Opaque ruby robe with ruby rim. Clean nose, developing over several hours to show a quite intense bouquet of exotic spices, black plums, currants and creme de cassis. Full-bodied on the palate, with low-to-medium intensity and big ripe tannins. The flavors are youthful and mirror the nose. Long, smooth finish. Very nice and extremely well-received by the blinded tasters. Will benefit from additional time in bottle. Drink 1/12-12/25.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner at Kev & Vals (Kilmacoo House): Everyone loved this wine. Tannins integrated and full bodied, cedar, tobacco etc. Beautiful wine. Totally underrated and does not disappoint. So much better than the 2000 Calon-Segur we had the night before.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very nice wine. Very young. Requires much more time in the bottle. For the first two hours after decanting, the tannins were extremely prominent, and the wine seemed quite hot. Later, however, it softened to reveal notes of plum, lavender, cedar. Not as earthy as some Bordeaux. Quite fruit-forward after the tannins dissipate. I bought and opened one bottle of this to try it before buying a larger volume. I likely will buy more, but it will stay in the cellar awhile before it makes another appearance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Time to try the first 2000 Bordeaux from my stash. Not decanted, just popped, poured and consumed over two hours at a BYOB dinner with Stan who brought a 2000 Figeac. Very impressive. Deep red, almost black color with no sign of maturity. Wonderful floral margaux nose that jumped out on popping the cork and became even more expansive in the glass. A slight tannic sensation on the initial pour which disappeared by the end of the first glass. Wonderful fruity berry taste. Not particularly complex, but delicious nonetheless. Can clearly be drunk now, but I intend to either decant it in advance or wait 2-3 years before the next bottle to see how it evolves. A very nice wine that I favored over the Figeac that was also very good (89), but seemed less ready to drink and lacked some of the fruitiness which I attribute to the greater proportion of merlot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A nice, comfortable Bordeaux. Soft as one would expect from a Margaux. Mint and cedar with a bit of acidity on the finish. Over time, it opened up with cherry and plum flavors and the acidity mellowed out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
had a sip at beekman liquors with chateau proprietor, henri lurton. the wine is closed at this time but seems destined for greatness on all dimensions.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2000 Bordeaux Tasting (Chicago, IL): yummy Margaux cherry licorice and cassis on the nose. Lots of cherry, herbs, sage and earthy notes. Overall, exceptionally balanced.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux (2000 Vintage) (Intercontinental Hotel Chicago): Nose of crushed grape skins and cassis. Flavors of tart raspberry, cherry and pomegranite (the latter being my wifes contribution since I have never had a pomegranite). This wine had gripping tannins and was medium bodied. I liked it. 92-93 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2/24/2024 - cnichelson wrote:
This was interesting but reserving judgement. Couldn't tell if there was any cork taint (not really the smell of it) but it seemed lacking in fruit and rather thin. Still some interesting coffee and tobacco/cedar box notes on the palate. PLeasant but underwhelming. I have a few more bottles and would try one again soon, but I am positive that there is no room for improvement/need to wait and I"m concerned it's on the decline.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2023 - smctipton wrote: 93 Points
Odd nose and acidic palate upon opening, so left over night. Next day, clean ruby color, with soft red fruit nose. Old style claret on the palate. Mostly red fruit, with touch of tobacco and sous bois..and maybe a hint of green. Tilts to the acidic side, but in a pleasant way. Tannin mostly resolved. Very nice. Have 6 more to study over time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/25/2023 - Wicker Parker Likes this wine:
Between the perfect cork, the bejeweled ruby color, and (following a 3 hour decant) the nose of fresh currant and pencil / graphite, you'd swear this wine could be 5 years old rather than 23. The tannins have melted into the wine without losing structure, the texture is lovely. I stored this bottle for 15 years and wish I'd bought more! A beautiful bottle that should grow deeper and more complex over the next 10+ years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/19/2023 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
20 Vintages of Brane Cantenac: My limited experience with Brane has been mostly positive, and this tasting confirmed my initial thoughts: these days, Brane is A) usually quite accessible and charming, even young; B) the quality has steadily improved over the years, the wines are becoming more complex, precise and balanced; while vintages pre 2015 often seemed a bit simple, more recent vintages show better, C) the aromatics in recent vintages remind me of Ch. Margaux, with beautiful ripe red fruit core, as well as floral and coffee components; and D) the quality/price ratio is exceptionally good (not considered for the ratings). E) The best wine was the ethereal 2020 (96 points), followed by a superbly fresh 2010 (95 points). Although the quality is exceptional these days, the Chateau didn't fully nail every vintage, the 2019 (93pts) and, more surprisingly, the 2016 (93pts) were strong but a tad too ripe and sweet.
TN: This bottle felt a bit too pushed at first but revealed a charming wine with medium+ complexity and loads of drinking pleasure with some air. Like many 2000 Bordeaux wines, it is not yet ready and probably still 10-20 years away from its peak. This had an intense ripe dark fruit core, some coffee and oak notes, some herbs on the dark and dense nose. Lots of power and intensity on the palate too with the same aromas, some more minerality along some more oak notes which will have to further integrate. At first it seemed a bit too dense but with time the wine opened-up and revealed the fine tannin structure, a well-integrated acidity, and a satin-like texture. The 92/93pts are certainly not the ceiling for this wine.
Decanting: Not decanted. I guess that this needs 2-3 hours minimum in a decanter.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/14/2023 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 97 Points
These library vintages from Brane-Cantenac are such treasures and an irrefutable argument for stocking up on the new ones, because if they are going to end up even better than this, then there is no smarter buy in Bordeaux. Near the beginning of what should be a long peak period, the aromatic and flavor accents here are kaleidoscopic in complexity with earthy scents of white truffles and porcinis swirled with cigar smoke and scorched poblano peppers, against a red-fruited backdrop starting to veer into autumnal crimson tones but still showing plenty of youthful plushness and sweetness. The texture is tender and caressing, the overall effect very much like drinking Palmer without nearly the damage to the wallet.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/10/2023 - J_H Likes this wine: 93 Points
Vertical of 20 vintages - Chateau Brane-Cantenac: - Accessible nose, red and dark fruit, very nice, wood in the background, coffee, you already notice that something nice follows on the palate.
- Wow, round, filigree, ripe fruit, round tannins and everything where it should be. At most, just a little too little acidity. But the aromas make it a lot of fun. A bit ponderous with time?
- When tasted again, beautiful tetrary aromas come to the fore and the acidity is also very coherent. Must correct upwards here.
- 92-93p
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2023 - alamoave Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still drinking well. Splash decanted. Fruits still full and round, tannins fully resolved. Post -peak. Drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/28/2023 - Burgundywine Does not like this wine:
A bit thin on the palate. Drink up
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/12/2023 - liber Likes this wine: 91 Points
4th of 12, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, seems to have retreated a bit to its shell since last bottle in Jan 21, even so more nuanced and classier than H Batailley 2000 on same night, upside, 20+ years. Just about F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/3/2023 - rocknroller wrote: 93 Points
Commanderie de Bordeaux: Spring Parlement - Chateau Brane-Cantenac (Minneapolis Club, Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Double decanted and put back in bottle, slow-O for 5 hours more. Drank a glass over an hour. Now we're talking. Cedarbox and very earthy on a high toned nose, with cassis, boysenberry, Asian spices, pencil, and floral overtones. The palate is deep and layered, compelling black and blue fruits, full bodied, plush texture and tannins, quite earthy with a strong vein of pencil, black cherry, soil and peat on a robust finish. This is a complete wine coming into its own now. My wine of the flight. Others felt the '89 took honors (there were 4 different bottles - so variation was likely present), though I found mine less compelling. Rank '00, '78, '89, '82. 93+pts, maybe better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2023 - FiggySmalls Likes this wine:
sumptuous. sexy little wine with rich red fruit. maybe a bit too easy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/15/2022 - GNBB wrote: 93 Points
Decanted 40 minutes. Really delightful and intense nose - gentle graphite and rosemary with light ripe blackcurrant in the background. Palate is mature and lively - lovely gentle freshness matching a little garrigue, ripe (but not jammy) black fruits - mature but not in the least tired. Lovely aftertaste but lacking in a long persistence. Lovely claret that is drinking now. Drink next 18 months.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/25/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh, and soft in texture, the wine opens with its blend of flowers, truffle, tobacco leaf, and currants. The wine is vibrant and fresh with an edge to the red berries in the finish. This is clearly in its drinking window. Drink 2022-2035.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/21/2022 - Julian Marshall Likes this wine: 93 Points
Aromas of redcurrants, red cherry and wild strawberry, then quite a rich, jammy mouthful of blackberry, before the red cherry and strawberry flavours kick in, wrapped up in an elegant, fairly long and intense finish.
Two years have aged this quite a bit. It's still a delicious wine, but the primary freshness of the fruit has gone, at least on the basis of this bottle, so it has entered a new phase. I'm not concerned about the next few years but for the really long term, it could do with a little more grip and body.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/9/2022 - remyworldpeace Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep red purple. Perfumed nose, mature leafy and earthy nose with black and blue fruit and touch of tobacco. Palate black and blue fruit, blueberry dark cherries balanced with mature tertiary leaves and earth and a touch of tobacco, cedar and menthol. Decently long finish showing the fruit and mature notes with a touch of vanilla too.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2022 - rinnocenzi Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking great now hold but can hold for another 5 or more years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/3/2022 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Decanted briefly. Delicious!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2021 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Decanted. Drinking beautifully.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2021 - honest bob wrote: 88 Points
From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted off substantial deposit 1 hour, followed over 2 hours. Typical Médoc, but not necessarily Margaux scent, quite restrained, mainly oak/cedar/pencil, not a hint of violets or floral action. The whole palate is tight and scrawny, gaining an unpleasant bitter edge as the remaining tannins kick in. Raw, leathery finish. I have always loved Brane Cantenac in the past (1970 waaaaaay back in the day, more recently 1975, 1982, 1985, 1989...) but this 2000 seems like a very tough customer indeed. Blind I would have guessed a Cru Bourgeois from further North, perhaps Sociando caught in a rough intermediate phase of maturity. Or Phélan in a tough, tannic year. Perhaps my remaining bottles might blossom in 8–10 years, but I'm afraid the best I can offer tonight for this one is 87–88P
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/30/2021 - vinhonotte Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep ruby core and only a slight bit of browning towards the edges. Bouquet of dark florals and ripe cassis. Soft tannins, whilst full-bodied, and complex flavours of cassis, cloves, tarragon, liquorice and dried grass. Lengthy, fairly complex. Enjoyable!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/15/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
2 decades of age has been kind to this wine, adding weight, complexity, and richness. Now you find a medium-bodied, soft, fresh, energetic, earthy wine filled with sweet, red fruits and dried floral notes. Elegant, balanced, and fresh, the wine expresses purity in a reserved manner, finishing with earth and herb overtones with a touch of thyme and hint of cocoa to go along with the sweet cherries in the finish. This is drinking beautifully today. The wine is a blend of 55% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. Note to self... Drink more old vintages of Brane Cantenac!
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (4)
8/21/2021 - boillatm Likes this wine: 93 Points
I concur with the previous TN. Drinking beautifully now after a short decant. The wine kept evolving (in a good way) once in the glass.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/18/2021 - mchern02 wrote: 93 Points
1 Hour Decant though drinking well from the get go
In a very good spot; fresh and vibrant, gorgeous dark red and soft black fruit. Effeminate palate with soft tannins and a balanced approachable structure. Good solid finish.
Delicious and prime drinking
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/13/2021 - Wrighty Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still a youthful colour with a hint of purple - no bricking at all. Nose also still fresh - cedar and pine, hints of fresh herbs. Lovely fresh palate, fine tannins fullY integrated. Finish isn’t the longest but lingers just enough to entice you back for another sip.
This really is singing at the moment!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/31/2021 - GNBB wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 1hr15. Rich nose full of pencil shavings, ripe blackcurrant with a background of iodine and fennel. Excellent. Palate is medium weight with a slight lightness; shows blackcurrants against a backdrop of medium+ acidity and very light, fine tannin - background notes of lavender. Slight astringency on the finish perhaps but with good persistence. Drinking now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/14/2021 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux 2000 - 20 Years On - 48 Reds: All tasted blind, not decanted. Observations: 1) It´s a good vintage but not on par with more recent great vintages like 09/10/15/16. Why? A smaller group of top wines reaching lower highs and in general a tad less depth, purity and finesse. 2) Right bank is ready, the left bank still needs time to integrate and open up. 3) Not much tertiary aromas yet - peak drinking window at least 10 years away for most wines. 4) 2000 is a bit a cooler vintage which is great for the right bank (not too much ripeness). 5) Winners? Pomerol with the highest ratings. Le Pin (97+ pts) leading the pack for me (narrowly beating the consensus winner Pavie (97 pts).
More information, top and worst 10 lists, appellation rankings, out- and underperformer from five participants in the story link. As always, in such tastings (lots of wines, not a lot of time per wine, not decanted) the ranking of wines/appellations might be more informative than the scores.
TN: While the nose was quite muted this shined bright on the palate with quite intense aromatics of red fruits and floral notes but especially a lot of that intriguing coffee and burnt sugar notes so many Margauxs showed today but no other wine in that intensity. The wine showed integrated and balanced with a soft Margaux structure and medium length. Technically, probably not the best wine (complexity, finish, nose) but lots of joy to drink. I would have scored it even 95 if the nose would have been more expressive. I thought, I’m quite an outlier here but looking at the more recent scores over the past 2 years, it shows that this Brane entered a nice drinking window.
Decanting: Good from the go. A short decant should be sufficient.
Group average: 93.25 pts
Group rank: 17th out of 48
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/20/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: 93 Points
Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Some green notes, otherwise a bit restrained and closed initially. Not showing much at this point. Mostly red berry fruit, some sweet accents. Sweet palate with red berries, tension and lots of structure – in fact very palatable and I would imagine with 1-2h decant this would be singing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/19/2021 - JHH51 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for one hour. Floral notes on the nose. Lighter bodied, but with an elegant balance in the mouth and finish. Very nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/23/2021 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nose of black berry, black cherry, earth, bell pepper, and barnyard, on the palate, big body, mouth filling fruit, very tasty, delicious, elegant, at peak but easily last another 10 years, improved over the 3 hours tasted, worth searching for, lovely, long finish and terrific aftertaste.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/28/2021 - Kiranonwine Likes this wine:
In a great place!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2021 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Decanted for about 30 minutes, at which point it was fine but another hour would have brought the fruit and acidity into balance.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/30/2021 - VAGentleman wrote: 95 Points
What a pleasure. Rich blackberry and and bing cherry but sinewy evolving in the mouth. Decanted only briefly and immediately showing its qualities.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/25/2021 - Dave Canada wrote: 95 Points
Classic Bordeaux...drink now....or wait if you want more tertiary flavours but it is awesome right now!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/14/2021 - up4wine wrote: 91 Points
Finish had an unusual note that I could not really put my finger on; however, with a little food and a couple of hours (after 3hr decant) it seemed to reside. Has the "green pepper" I find typical of all 2000 Left Bank Bordeaux I have had, although more subdued than in past experiences.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2021 - liber Likes this wine: 92 Points
3rd of 12, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, continuing the progress to maturity noted in July, almost too well mannered, attractive, upside. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2020 - Dave Canada wrote: 94 Points
Again....drinking really well.
The fruit is still very vibrant but the tertiaty notes are there. I will likely wait another few years now having had 2 bottles in the last month as I would like a little more age on these.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/23/2020 - pavel_p wrote: 91 Points
I like Brane Cantenac but am finding their 2000 again rather underwhelming. Almost 5 years since my last bottle, this wine has matured a fair bit. Nice Bordeaux nose, medium weight body, already plenty of leather notes, clearly mature, lacks depth and concentration compared to the better 2000. No rush to drink those but will not improve either. 90-91
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2020 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 95 Points
An earthy, truffled, animal-driven medium-weight Bordeaux with soft tannins, berry, mushroom, and au jus. It’s dark red, has a forestry-meaty nose, and a silky, precise, deft, and almost light mouthfeel. Somewhere in the nose and finish are meadowy flowers.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/17/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was smoke’n tonight! Fantastic elegant nose, quite expressive with some cedar notes. Palate shows some red fruit notes but is showing mostly tertiary notes of mint and leather. Fine tannins this present. May evolve but not sure it’ll impressive. Impressive and enjoyable now. Big fan of the ‘00 Brane Cantenac.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2020 - Dave Canada wrote: 94 Points
Very similar to previous bottle...in a great place now but no rush at all with well stored bottles. Fruit is still very present but the tertiary notes are really starting to come.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/27/2020 - JHH51 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 1 hour plus and consumed over 3 hours. The last hour was the best. Fragrant nose, with berry fruit, balance and good finish. For the first 2 hours, there was a greenness to the finish that disappeared.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/14/2020 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 91 Points
Crowd-pleasingly floral with red fruit, cassis and oak. Medium length and body but not too much complexity. Drinking very well nevertheless.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/14/2020 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Pretty identical to bottle 16 months ago: garnet color, mildly floral nose with leathery, sweet dark cherry fruit, cassis and graphite. A joy to drink.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/25/2020 - vinopunk wrote: 88 Points
This one perplexes me. Magnum in seemingly great shape (I was not original purchaser) with good fill, solid cork, etc. Very tannic and little if any fruit. Color and nose both maybe a bit off but nothing major. I can't imagine this was just drinking it too early, because I'm not sure what flavors would be left if the tannins went down. Did get a bit better with decanting, but not in any big way. Not at all terrible, but if I had paid anywhere near retail for this bottle I would have been very disappointed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/17/2020 - wine4ever Likes this wine:
Outstanding wine. Drank over 3 hours - kept improving the whole time. Amazing bouquet and layer upon layer of flavor. Very fruity for a French bordeaux, yet still has the classic french characteristics too. Fresh tasting, smooth, nicely balanced. In a great spot right now, but many years left. Loved it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
7/8/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 91 Points
2nd of 12, opened 80 minutes, perfect cork and level, flavour profile as described for first bottle in April only much cleaner and fresher, simply more attractive, if without any stand out features to elevate it above the crowd, looks to be still approaching full maturity. F (17.5).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2020 - SteelerFan wrote: 90 Points
Drinking well. Lacks a bit of depth and middle, but very enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 89 Points
1st of 12, pnp but half decanted into half bottle, recorked and drunk 2 days later, perfect cork and level - dark but not dense ruby, little development; cassis and redcurrant, touch of earth and lightest touch of tobacco, bit muddy and muted; medium bodied, decent length, not particularly persistent or concentrated for vintage, youthful and a tad dumb so hard to rate, sense of a better wine trying to show, hopefully upside. VG+ (16.5)...last night's half was little changed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/7/2020 - Julian Marshall Likes this wine: 95 Points
Coming after the PC 03, this was like a colour photo compared to black and white. The aromas were zinging all over the place - blackcurrants, spring flowers, raspberries, wet stone, pencil shavings, a bit of earth, then back to the blackcurrants. Amazing stuff, one of the most expressive bouquets for months. The taste is along similar lines - red cherry at first, then blackcurrant, then a bit of blackberry, then it zooms off to the four corners of the palate in the middle section with added redcurrant and raspberry, like a starburst, but without ever losing control - this is no Rolland creation - the sweetness of the fruit, still quite primary, is tempered by the dusty Margaux elegance and poise. As for the finish, it's quintessentially Margaux. La classe!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2020 - Dave Canada wrote: 95 Points
What an amazing nose....pencil lead, graphite, pure powerful blackfruit, truffle, leather, cedar, flowers and earth...nose is stunning
Palate is lush but lovely balancing acid...pure, pure blackfruit...layers of flowers, soy, cedar, leather, truffle pencil lead, earth, and moss. There is a lovely balance betwen powerful primary fruit and developing secondary flavours.
Finish is long...wow, layers of flavour....peacock's tail....so expansive.
Stunning wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/28/2020 - AlphaMikeFoxtrot wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for an hour. Beautiful cooked black and blue fruits, lots of tobacco, bay leaf, cedar, organic earth. Tannins are pretty chilled out. Elegant finish. This is in its window.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/9/2020 - Cofxc Likes this wine: 89 Points
PnP. All graphite, some florals, orange. All secondary aromas/flavour. Light and seems open with the fruit receding but this may be shrouded in light tannins throughout. Not the best moment for this wine but it may come again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2019 - GNBB wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 1hr30. A ripe and intense nose full of pencil shavings, blackcurrant, violets. Palate has light acidity and fine tannins with a little blackcurrant fruit; secondary notes of violets and rosewater with a little salinity. Some good persistence but perhaps lacking a little depth on the palate. Fully mature. Drinking now-2022.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/21/2019 - mflesh wrote: 92 Points
A touch over 50% Merlot, this wine was in a really good spot. The news had fig and raspberry and some verbal qualities. The entry had a little bit of cola and wild strawberry with dirty raspberry and fig. Got a little bit darker as it finished, but the body of this wine stayed much more to the full side and never really leaned out. Still quite young with a very rounded quality. Silky tannin finish on this wine. Medium acidity. This one tastes like it is 5 years old. I really think that additional celler aging for up to 10 years will really help the integration process, although it is in a really good spot right now!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/15/2019 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 93 Points
Brane-Cantenac's 2000 is a blend of 55% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. Despite being 19 years of age, this pristinely-cellared bottle reveals a very youthful elixir. Deep garnet and highly aromatic, it flaunts scents of blackberries, lavender, anise, leather, loamy earth, cedar and orange creamsicle. Full-bodied and with low-to-medium acidity, it delivers flavors mirroring the nose. The wine's alcohol (13%) is a non-issue and the tannins at this point, while present, are silky in texture. Solid in the middle and long on the finish, this is really coming into its own and will, if properly cellared, last much longer than previously projected. Drink now-2030.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2019 - pouncey wrote: 93 Points
One hour decant. Great great. Mature aromas of majik marker, leather, and cedar. What a nose full. Great mouth feel. Big, big wine with lots of saturated fruit flavors. This was heaven with my osso bucco.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/4/2019 - devraj Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep ruby red in color. Gorgeous aromas of black and red small fruits, cedar, leather and dark flowers. Medium bodied palate shows silky sweet and ripe reddish black berries, hint of graphite, no tannins, medium(+) acidity and a long cedar and floral perfumed finish. Lovely and drinking perfectly well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/24/2019 - Neecies Likes this wine:
B-C is the first Bordeaux I ever tasted, back when I was still not quite legal. Fun to revisit now that I know so much more. This bottle's at absolute peak: garnet color, mildly floral nose with leathery, sweet dark cherry fruit, cassis and graphite. Drink remaining bottles sooner than later.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/6/2019 - The Hero wrote: 93 Points
Nose has floral (violets) and dark berries. A well balanced mature wine with integrated tannins. Elegant and complex, with graphite, blackberry, black pepper, and leather notes. Paired well with a pepper steak. I would say it's at it's peak and should be consumed in the next 3-4 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/13/2019 - alamoave Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great nose. Tannins fully resolved. Drink by 2021.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/9/2019 - advinm41 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Mature, very perfumed wine. Classic Margaux nose and taste profile. Red garnet color, minimal bricking, nose of blackberry, cassis, plums, leather, vanilla, oak, graphite, some licorice and flowers. Palate is medium body, fairly balanced, tannins are mostly mellowed down, although some rough edges remain, cherry, blackberry and vanilla on the palate, good if not a bit high acidity. Finish a bit drying. Nearing peak, probably has at least 5 more years to go. Overall I liked this wine although I've tried better wines from Margaux. 92 points
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/13/2019 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Second Sunday Group: Priorat (Frank's): Courtesy of (?), popped and poured with dinner following the tasting. Dark youthful color. Lovely Margaux perfume with lots of elegant floral elements over dark berry fruit. Perfectly ripe dark berry fruit. Medium tannins soften slightly as it breathes in the glass. Lovely. Still on the young side, I'll hold off on the first of my three for a few years yet.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/1/2019 - GNBB wrote: 93 Points
Decanted 90 minutes. Medium intense nose with graphite, saddle leather, blackcurrants, brambles. Palate is very good - ripe fine tannins, excellent acid balance and full blackcurrants, brambles. Notes of iodine, graphite, light violets. Delicious. Drinking very well now but will continue to age well. Drink now-2025.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/11/2018 - blanquito wrote:
Brilliant stuff and very much in the zone. Quite aromatic with some secondary notes of leather, tobacco and soil. A savory, earthy sheen to the fruit, quite smooth and integrated. Could it get even better in 5+? 93+ pts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2018 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 91 Points
In line-up with 2011, 2009 and 2005 this wine at first reminded me of why am generally not a huge fan of the millennial vintage - it seemed quite herbaceous on the nose, a bit under ripe. Also a bit awkward on the palate at first confirming that picture. With more air though to my surprise it did get better and more resolved, I picked up some nice sous bois and it was good with a selection of dried meats. Drink now-2025 but I recommend to decant for 1-2 hours.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2018 - BAJRiley Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted an hour before tasting. Appearance: garnet at core, cherry at rim. Medium depth and bright. Nose: intensity stronger than I expected. Lovely intense perfumed nose of violets, strong woody notes of oak and cigar box and cassis. A hint of cooked meats, mushrooms and leather. Palate: Medium bodied, soft tannins, balanced. Once it had opened up it had good length. Very good.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/2/2018 - likegoodwine wrote: 94 Points
Pop and pour with salad and duck French style, went very well. Feminine and well balance. Gentle perfume on the nose, nice color and no browning, delicious and seductive mid palate, fine acidity, lingering and long after taste, seductive and understated. Very pleasant and memorable, my wife loves it a lot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/1/2018 - GNBB wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 90 minutes. Only showing slight ageing on rim. Good ripe nose with very ripe blackcurrants, cedar, tobacco and leather - light violets. Palate is soft, ripe and opulent with fine tannins, medium acidity providing excellent freshness and balance - fruits are brambles and blackcurrants - slight element of iodine which is very appealing. A fine wine with good balance and drinking ideally now. Slightly lacking in persistence on the palate. Drink now-2024.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2018 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 95 Points
WOTN, great aromatics, all tobacco and earth but not funky. Great fruit, held up beautifully. Time to drink up. Out shined a 2000 Grand Puy Lacoste we compared it against.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/4/2018 - gout wrote: 90 Points
Seems to have matured nicely, a beter bottle than the previous one. Plenty of fruit nicely integrated tannin, long finish
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/15/2018 - J o e wrote: 93 Points
Deep red, with very slight lightening at the rim. This opens up with a complex nose of new saddle leather, cigar box, red currants and a whiff of iris. It is medium-bodied, with red berries, underbrush, and minerals. There is gentle grip, good acidity and a moderately persistent finish. This bottle seems squarely in its drinking window, where I would imagine it will stay for a number of years. This is very good, but more recent vintages here (e.g. 2015) show better concentration and refinement. 93.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/12/2018 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dekantert 3 timer. Vidunderlig vin, tobakk og kirsebær, imøtekommende syre, behagelige tanniner støtter det hele opp. Meningsløst å vente!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/12/2017 - Glifberg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Vad skall man säga, Brane Cantenac levererar som vanligt, mörk i färgen, mörka bär, stall, höstlöv, och cigarrlåda med en gel del tobak.
Mjuka men befintliga tanniner
Medellång eftersmak
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2017 - Jdwinedrinker wrote:
This needed several hours in the decanter to shine, but then it was very good. Mature characteristics and light on its feet.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2017 - Diane (LI) wrote:
The predominant aroma is tobacco. On the palate is sour cherry, tobacco, barnyard, to a distraction, soft tannins and a nice long finish. Worked well with our ribeye, but on its own, the brett was overwhelming.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/15/2017 - jeff nowak wrote: flawed
Purchased on futures from Prima Vini. Decanted. 42% Cabernet, 55% merlot, 3% cab franc. Sadly, this bottle corked. It took me a little while to recognize it. See K&L website for a nice smattering of reviews for this, some rather recent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2017 - skaies wrote: 89 Points
Appearance: The wine presented itself as an opaque garnet with a pink/red rim. There was no brick or orange characteristic to the color and little to no sediment.
Aroma: While this wine had a significant amount of brett phenols, the characteristics of the fruit in the wine was very youthful. When the wine was initially opened the predominant aromas were sweet tobacco leaf and saddle-leather. As the wine was allowed to breathe, over time this characteristics fell into balance with the rest of the aromas, finally expressing red currant, rhubarb, and cherry with hints of baking spices and freshly ground coffee in the background.
Body/Texture: The wine had a medium body and was supple in character, however it felt a bit more rough than the 1983 BV wine.
Taste: The wine had medium acid, low sweetness, and medium tannins that faded quickly. The wine came across much less fruit forward on the palate, with licorice, saddle-leather, loads of spice, and a subdued red-currant character. It had a long, elegant finish.
Overall Impression: This wine was heavily influenced by brettanomyces however it was still very enjoyable. The structure and fruit were youthful and I believe this wine has great many years ahead of it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/25/2017 - LWI wrote: 89 Points
Fully resolved tannin, lacking structure and freshness
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2017 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely wine drank from a 3 L bottle from a dear friend. Great graphite and floral nose and long finish. This is in a great place from this large format.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2017 - rocknroller wrote: 93 Points
Heirloom and Tilia Collaboration Dinner (Heirloom, St.Paul, MN): Very dark red/purple color. This had gotten a double decant, but I do not know the length; drank 1 glass over 40 minutes. Gorgeous, all around. Nice purity of fruit on the nose and palate, cassis, creme de cassis, red berries, earthy, floral. The palate translates the nose perfectly and shows a perfect ripeness to the fruit, silky tannins, and a Margaux elegance. Really in good place - no rush though, this has a long life ahead. 93+pts.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/11/2017 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 94 Points
Consistently perfumed, gamy, and earthy. Delicate as a Margaux should be. Just wonderful.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/11/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 93 Points
I have always enjoyed this vintage of Brane-Cantenac. Showing a bit more evolution than the previous bottle from two years ago. Fruit is still at the forefront, with black currant and black cherry. The aromatics round out nicely with truffle, coffee, leather, cedar, and some earthy funk. Nice medium weight on the palate, with smooth tannins. Medium-plus length on the finish. Acidity showing a bit more but balances nicely.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/5/2017 - NickM wrote: 91 Points
Lovely as always. Last bottle ...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/21/2017 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
Saturday night blinds (Chez Nanda, Chicago IL): Nose: The nose is open, expressive, and classic Bordeaux with tobacco, red cherries, mint, red florals, red berries, spice box, and some leather. The nose is well balanced with excellent depth with it having a seamless quality as well.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. While the structure is starting to resolve, the tannins still have a firmness to them. The feel is refined and balanced with tobacco, red cherries, red florals, spice box tones, and red berries.
Overall: This is a beautiful Bordeaux. It's just starting to fully drink and feels like it can still hit another gear. This is a classy and elegant wine and Brane is routinely a favorite of mine because of that.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/21/2017 - favorito Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened and decanted 3h before drinking. Perfect matured Margaux. It was a great pleasure, still after 5h perfect.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/1/2017 - aikane wrote: 93 Points
The bouquet is better developed and more interesting than that of the 2000 Gruaud Larose, but that still does not yet make it the stuff of dreams. Nice, but you won't get lost in it. The impression on the palate is satiny smooth elegance so clean as it slips towards the throat that if it were not for the discreet reminder of Cabernet and Merlot one would think it was burgundy. The palate is not nearly as complex as that of 2000 Gruaud Larose, nor as powerful, but the satiny elegance is seductive. Did I say it was drinking beautifully now, fully open for business? And it has the balance easily to go another decade.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/15/2016 - the player Likes this wine: 91 Points
A little too rustic for my taste despite a cracking vintage for Margaux. Very earthy nose initially dissipating after an hour in the decanter. Deep crimson color, black currants and earth on the nose and palate, good lift mid palate, not overly complex and a decent finish but no fireworks.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2016 - spillwine wrote: 91 Points
Bien frais au départ mais le dernier tiers n'a pas résisté à 24 heures au frigo, complètement oxydé.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: 93 Points
During a merchant tasting. Medium ruby. Nose of cedar, dark fruit, bakery and some barnyard. Pleasant and aromatic on the palate but needs a bit more stuffing, a touch acidic. In general I think, mid mouth palate stuffing is the weak point of Brane Cantenac while aromatics is ok.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2016 - t_moderne wrote: 91 Points
Opened, poured into a decanter, rinsed out the sediment, and poured back into the bottle. Left the bottle open until about two hours later and served with food.
Nice nose of cigar box and some ripe plums. Hint of mint as well.
Wonderful flavors of plums and some black cherries. Round, velvet texture - rich and engaging but not overtly sweet. Very tasty.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/30/2016 - Julian Marshall Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very interesting to try with Rauzan-S and Boyd Cantenac. The latter will probably have a longer career, but Brane is at a higher level of quality. Similar notes of red berries but more finesse and elegance. Of the two, the Brane is drinking better now but judging from my experiences with the 96, 98 and 99, the 00 could improve further still. Wonderful wine. I bought practically all the Margaux CCs in 00 and I'm really enjoying them now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/4/2016 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 91 Points
A big fan of Brane Cantenac of the 70s and 80s, was curious to try the 2000 vintage. Pnp and drank over about 2h this was open and ready from pulling the cork. Forest floor, sweet dark fruit, earth, some leather. Juicy and entirely ready in my eyes now, this was very pleasant but lacked a bit depth and complexity which I am not convinced more time in bottle will unearth. Another just slightly disappointing 2000.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
2/24/2016 - vespasian wrote:
Much more colour fade at the rim here than the 1996 Langoa; better nose here, good rich varied berried fruits, good richness; nice elegance here, tannins still a little chunky, I might give this a couple more years - however it is a little drying on the finish. Perhaps as good as it will ever be.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2016 - alamoave Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent w plush fruits and plenty of backbone. Great now. At least 5 fine years left.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2015 - MayValley wrote: 94 Points
This wine is in a wonderful spot right now!
Nose of cigars, wood, dark fruit and a deep meaty tone - and truffles maybe?
The palate is smooth and medium-bodied, classic, nice dark fruit and blackcurrant. Soft but present tannins. This had a good balance between fruit, tannins and emerging complex notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/30/2015 - Hazeo wrote: 93 Points
A lovely brawny Margaux that seems to have more stuffing than other 2000 bordeauxs that I've had recently. Despite secondary flavours being somewhat shy, the nose was over floral and expressive. In fact equal to the Ducru enjoyed a few days earlier.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2015 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Another great showing 3yrs from y last bottle. very aromatic upon opening with a strong menthol note that I can't recall ever getting from a Marguax before. Also has plenty of pipe tobacco, leather, and fine pure red fruits. Still has a strong core of tannins, but quite fine and polished. Lengthy finish. Approachable and enjoyable if you like your bdx with a little primary fruit--otherwise will need 5+yrs to integrate the tannins and reach full maturity(I said that 3yrs ago too).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2015 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 94 Points
Another wonderful, perfumey showing for this earth, barnyard, and dark berry driven wine. The nose on this wine gave such pleasure that half the times I went in for a sip, I just lingered with my face in the glass, sniffing. The soil, wildflowers, and touch of barnyard on the nose were captivating. On the palate, the 2000 came out of the gate with dark berry flavors, like blackberry cobbler, and a generous touch of wet earth, mushroom, tobacco leaf, and a subtle funk in the background. Low alcohol, medium acidity, and an overall delicate impression. Wonderful. Underrated. And drinking beautifully.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/11/2015 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 92 Points
2.5 hour decant, medium bodied, average balance, in prime. Should hold for another 5 years and then start to thin out. Overall good fruit still and well made. Average value.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2015 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 91 Points
C'était le vin idéal pour un cassoulet: bien présent avec juste les tanins qu'il fallait et très élégant par ses 15 ans.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2015 - Purple Tooth wrote: 91 Points
Cedar, earth, and savory notes with underlying mature fruit. At peak, but will hold for a while. Nice bordeaux experience, but it lacked umph and lenght....even though it is not at its end...I don't think it will improve from here. Drink
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/10/2015 - RajivAyyangar wrote: 92 Points
K&L High-End Bordeaux Tasting - October 2015 (K&L): 2000 Brane-Cantenac
Really nice nose. A lot of development. Sweet cedar, hint of tamari, sweet tobacco. Mushrooms, leather. Savory and earth-driven but with ripe fruit (blackcurrant and also plump-chocolate merlot character). Great flavor concentration. Longer than the Kirwan or l'Evangile. Less tannins.
Score: Between 9 and 9.5
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/10/2015 - aagrawal wrote: 93 Points
K&L Bordeaux Tasting (K&L, Redwood City): Nose is highly aromatic with roasted red pepper, mostly red but some blackberry fruit; palate is full bodied, still superb tannins structure but very easy to drink, not drying at all, black fruit, moderately complex; finish is medium-long. Superb. 93
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/2/2015 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 94 Points
1990's Cali Cabs vs Bordeaux tasting. Biggest surprise for me. Rocked my boat. Big nose. Complex fruit, tea, subtle savory notes, and was drinking very well tonight from pop and pour to multiple retastes over the night and next day. Good buy. Glad I have many more to drink over the next few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/2/2015 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Mid 90's Bordeaux vs. California Tasting: Dark red fruit w/brown (earth) tinge, tobacco, leather. Served blind @ Bordeaux vs. Cali Cab tasting
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2015 - Patrik H Likes this wine: 89 Points
On the nose: Black currant, dust, some hints of green herbs and stable
On the palate: Green herbs, grass, black currant with a very high acidity
Medium + finish
Will improve over time
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2015 - Ramberg wrote: 93 Points
Blind, and my wotn in the “actual tasting”.
Very typical left bank nose, showing early maturity, with pencil shavings, gravel, leather, cedar wood, spices and herbs, hay, and fine blackcurrants.
Palate mirrors pretty much the nose.
Fine fruit, ripe currants, some tobacco and minerals, with good balance despite perhaps a bit low acidity.
Rather feminine, not a big wine in anyway, but a slender and fragile.
I liked this very much, despite perhaps on the lighter and thinner side of things.
Fine overall balance, perhaps not a wine for the very long haul, but we will see.
(92 – 94)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 93 Points
Wines over Labor day Weekend; 9/5/2015-9/8/2015: Decanted for sediment and served. Finally, a nice bottle of B2K, bought on release and cellared and this was mature. In fact, I would say at peak, so if you have any, while no hurry, pop a cork. Ruby/purple in color. The nose is great with cherries, cassis, tobacco and ever so slight duty spice box. On the palate, medium to full bodied. Soft texture. Layers of cassis, cherries, damp earthiness and a bit of forest floor. Nice finish. great with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/23/2015 - the player Likes this wine: 92 Points
pretty decent wine, showcases the vintage in the precision of its fruit. Deep ruby red, decanted an hour and drank over two. I don't think further aeration would have helped but I will try next time as the wine is young. Nice nose dominated by earth, tobacco, cigar box, cassis and flowers. Medium to full bodied on the palate, not overly complex at this stage with good show of dark red fruits, minerality, acidity, and finishes slightly tannic. Wait another few years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/8/2015 - Diane (LI) wrote:
I keep hearing it is too early to be drinking the 2000 vintage from Bordeaux. I have had a few from Margaux that are showing nicely, as is this Brane Cantenac. This hits all the right notes. Beautiful perfume, deep fruit balanced by florals, tobacco, good acidity and soft tannins. A couple of nits to pick would be a thinness on the mid palate that leads to an abrupt finish. Still very much enjoyed with tonight's NY Strip.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/20/2015 - MicklethePickle wrote: 90 Points
Medium ruby, still no bricking. Pretty decent legs. Softly fragrant, mellow, feminine. Cherry. Fairly full and rich in the mouth, fruit kissed by noticeable but not overwhelming oak. Quite feminine. 4-12-16-8: 90/100.7
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/20/2015 - grapeless Likes this wine: 93 Points
There is moderate sediment in the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/5/2015 - cos82 Does not like this wine: 88 Points
4th time tried from my cellar and least favorite to date. Not much nose. Boring palate of earth, charcoal and minerality. Forgive me for asking, but where is the fruit? Online debates going on critical of CA cabs. I'll take the fruit in my wine every time . Is this really a great vintage?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/6/2015 - Exered68 wrote: 88 Points
Served with venison casserole and salad. Not as distinctly classic claret tasting as the first bottle a year ago but not as heavy-footed or cloying either.
Can only really remember a warm sheen of petrol and red fruit. No real under taste or signs of maturity but not actively annoying either. Expected a little more than ho hum at this price level.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/9/2015 - thomaskeil wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 90 minutes with benefit - more open as evening progressed. Garnet with purple/ brick. Nose has dark fruits, perfume, flowers baking spices and slight licorice and earth. Palate has medium fruit that is framed with fine tannins that persist to finish. Light, balancing acidity and mineral. Definitely feminine and finesseful. Complexity of texture and flavors. Great with a ribeye. Seems to be easing into peak. Has a long future.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/27/2015 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 94 Points
Consistent with previous bottle. Dark fruit, coffee, and a pleasant earthy funk. Excellent balance of fruit and tannins. Medium-plus finish. Maybe not quite as complex and interesting as the '05 Brane-Cantenac.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2015 - Heywood_ja Likes this wine: 90 Points
I really liked this wine when I opened previous bottles, and it has been a while since I opened one.
As usual, poured a bit in to a glass, and venturried a bit into a decanter to do a mini comparison to see how much aeration helps.
A huge difference, both had some bottle funk (bret-like), but aerated was significantly better, and needed.
I actually venturried it twice, and it still needed time to get back to my happy place.
A nice purple color, fine sediment adhering to the bottle. Some Red fruit, but more Forrest floor with hints of cedar. This was a little lighter in the tannins than I remember, still a nice smooth drinker for the less complicated meals, DECANT !
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2015 - NickM Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fantastic wine with a sirloin steak. Rich and deep, classic claret. Ready to drink, but could keep.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/25/2014 - Wrighty Likes this wine: 91 Points
Post Christmas lunch tipple and what a way to end. Lovely perfumed nose and soft, subtle palate. A little lacking in staying power on the finish but none the less excellent wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (La Belle Vie, Mpls): Small pour, from Mag. The limited notes i was taking were largely gone by this point, but the nose exceeds the palate by a fair bit. Loved the nose, perfumed, typical Margaux, aromatic. The palate was a bit more restrained, dark fruits, some earth and still firm tannins with lingering oak influence. This had a 2 hour decant, but from Mag may have needed even more. 91+pts.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2014 - chablis28 wrote:
I never tasted this last night but Tom, who brought it, stuck in front of my nose a few times and I have to agree the nose was classic Bordeaux. Lots of tobacco and scorched earth. Not from Pessac but reminded me of such. Didn't taste but I'd rate the nose 93+. Those few wiffs may end up costing me a purchase along the way.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2014 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous nose (A-/A)! Excellent palate (B++). Drank over a whole month (Coravin style!).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/23/2014 - vespasian Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still quite youthful on the nose, not a great deal of development; very nice flavour on the palate, this is ready to drink now but will keep.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2014 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 90 Points
Garnet. This is all about the nose, dark fruits, hint of cedar. Taste is thinnish on the midpalate, points off for this. Good luncheon Claret.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2014 - rossi.wine wrote: 91 Points
From double-magnum. Elegant on the nose, dark fruit notes, slightly floral, spicy. Really round and smooth on the palate, fresh, good length. 90-92
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2014 - andrewdl wrote: 93 Points
Love the earth!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/26/2014 - DrinkBordeaux Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted over three hours and it really opened up. Smooth, elegant wine, very enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/31/2014 - up4wine wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 1st half of bottle for 3 hours on day one and for 2 hours for rest of bottle on day 2. Both experiences were quite similar and quite delightful. Good, clean fruit on the palate with a long finish. There were subtle hints of green pepper, but did not really distract from overall impression. Nose showed extremely well with notes of chocolate, smoke, tobacco, and ripe fruit. I had occasion to partake of a 2000 Bordeaux tasting a few days earlier. This wine would have placed in the middle of the pack; beating out the Chateau Angelus, but being nipped by the Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou and the Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux. A couple of days after this bottle I tasted Chateau Rouget and Chateau Siran. The Rouget gives the Brane-Cantenac a run for its money, but Brane still comes out on top of these 3. The Siran was a bit disappointing, although not a bad wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/20/2014 - La Grappe Likes this wine: 90 Points
A fine, mature claret, with good depth, soft and smooth fruit and a lingering finish. Not a heavy wine, but elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2014 - NNV Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted. Strong notes of lead pencil and terroir driven/Margaux characteristics. Decent fruit too but as the night wore on (2hrs or so) it watered down. I wouldn't be aging this much longer and think it probably drinks at its peak right here. Enjoy.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/15/2014 - Highlander wrote:
Wine not quite ready. I would give it another 18 months or so. Tannins dominate. Fruit is there, but not overpowering. Slightly disappointed with this.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/8/2014 - wallstreet Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wine needed time to open up, I would suggest a decant of at least a couple of hours . It needs it. There was no fireworks, decent lower end Bordeaux. Pair with duck or veal.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
12/29/2013 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Went from wonderful to funky every 10 seconds.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2013 - gout wrote: 87 Points
A reasonable Brane Cantenac but far from outstanding considering the good vintage. Somehow underwhelming .
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/23/2013 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 88 Points
Took to dinner party. 4/4 favorite wine. Okay, but somewhat funky. Possibly an off bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2013 - gunnm wrote: 89 Points
Definitely a food wine, got hints of chocolate and roasted meat. Medium long finish with the right amount of acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/6/2013 - Collector1855 wrote: 92 Points
Luckily, both financially and hedonistically, Bdx 2000 was a vintage which I bought in spades. Back then I thought prices were outrageous, but now I can't believe how attractive they were especially for the premiers. I have tasted 30+ Crus of this vintage many times over the past years. In general, several of the top Pauillac/St.Juliens are still quite closed (e.g., Latour, Lafite, Lynch Bages, Leo Las Cases) while on the right bank they are mostly ready now (exceptions like Eglise Clinet exist though). The Margaux have now also entered the drinking window (except may be Chateau Margaux itself).
So to Brane Cantenac, to me this is a good example of a great value buy. Medium garnet, expressive nose of cedar wood, cloves, red fruit with a bretty/animalic undertone, very Bordeaux, very Margaux in its fragrance. On the palate medium body with soft tannins, quite delicate, may be a tad shy in the mid palate. Excellent with food, especially meat. There is a bit too much acidity on the finish preventing a higher note. Fully mature now. As the fruit retreats with further age the acidity will only accentuate, so drink up.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/29/2013 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
This is attractive, soft, fresh and elegant. It is well balanced, with good length and drinking very well now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/6/2013 - wallstreet Likes this wine: 91 Points
I liked this wine. It seems to just be entering its drinking window. I few more years would definitely benefit this wine IMO. Wine is ready to go, but it should improve a bit with a little more time or longer decant (most likely the culprit). I will try again and give this a 2 to 3 hour aeration and see if it improves.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/1/2013 - Exered68 wrote: 90 Points
With slices of breaded pork in tomato sauce, potato gratin, spinach and courgette confit.
Dine and wine for different seasons? This seemed too heavy and heated for early summer. Fairly familiar perfume of blue and black berries with definite earth underneath.
Admirable balance and length but like a too warm dessert after a heavy meal. Actually overall experience improved a little with chocolate fondant ice cream though maybe this was the cocoa infusion.
Second bottle will perhaps produce a winning winter's tale.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2013 - Spot Monkey wrote: 89 Points
Ultimately disappointing sadly to say. I had a lot of anticipation on this wine - decanted for 3 hours and served with steak and salad - I expected it to be the highlight of the meal - but it was ordinary. It is certainly ready to drink - not harsh at all and with a flat after taste with a touch of minerality it is ideal with food. The aroma is typically bordeaux -strong heady but with an earthy background and the can sauv is definitely easy to detect - slightly mineral but alas the slight flat draw on the tongue is sadly a little disappointing. A good wine - yes - A GREAT wine? maybe not....Would not buy again.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/13/2013 - MarkMich wrote: 92 Points
Very nice. A little muted on the nose. Tart cherries, white chocolate, cassis balanced with soft tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2013 - rpontual Likes this wine: 92 Points
nice red color, ready to drink wine. the wine is well balanced. I recommend to drink alone or with someone that can appreciate a good wine. ;-)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2013 - smkl123 wrote: 91 Points
no decant necessary. Truly lovely. Classic Margaux--silky smooth,medium bodied. Tannins extremely well integrated, dark fruits are showing quite well. This is a balanced wine right in its prime right now. should still last a number of years, but no reason not to drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2012 - rpontual Likes this wine: 93 Points
Did not decant, it was ready to drink after few minutes. The wine is well balanced, there isn't much tannin left. It has medium body and nice complexity and nice finish. In summary a great wine, can't wait to drink another bottle, but next time without a meal.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/2/2012 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice depth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2012 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
So, this is a zed-zed Bdx. Of course it is going to be strutting like bitch - all dark fruit, pencil lead, leather and bend-over-boyfriend. If that is ur jag, then happiness erupts.
Not gonna argue as it is a lovely wine with all that. B-C is truly Margaux and it will dominate you here on those terms. Not unhappy. OTOH, if you want a dynamic relationship with your BDX or more subtly, Mgx, zed-zed ain't gonna submit. Maybe ... and that is a really low percentile maybe - down the road.
Take your pick. If u want ur wine to define itself 2 u, then this is it. Submit. And pleasure is there. If u know B-C and want to have an exchange of mutual benefit, then this ain't it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/6/2012 - Georgewoods wrote: 93 Points
This was a lovely Margaux. Beautiful structure, but enough fruit / smoothness to be easy to drink. I'd say it was perfect now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2012 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 92 Points
This deep red wine was "double" Vinturi-decanted, twice being aerated with the device. It was allowed 90 minutes in decanter prior to funneling back into the cleaned bottle. The wine was presented in double-blind fashion to our tasting group. My taste was unblinded. The nose delivers an impressive floral and dark fruit mix, with complementary truffle and earth components. Medium-bodied on the palate, with low-to-medium acidity, soft tannins and well-integrated alcohol (listed as 13%). The wine is seamless and graceful, with a silky mouth texture and flavors mirroring the nose. The middle palate is solid and the lengthy finish is smooth. An absolute pleasure to drink at this point, this wine is likely in early plateau. Parenthetically, a sample in a glass showed even more fruit on the following day (having been left overnight unrefrigerated). Assuming that you have a well-cellared bottle, enjoy it over the next decade. Drink now-12/22.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2012 - NickM Likes this wine: 91 Points
Enjoyed this wine, dark purple, lots of blood / steel, but very nicely balanced, mid-weight. Slips down very easily, a bottle goes in no time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/31/2012 - wine.girl wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful wine, paired it with salad, chicken and rice for dinner, delightful finish, perfect celebratory wine!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/31/2012 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 95 Points
Did not decant, it was ready to drink after 30 minutes in the glass. Very refined, moderately complex and a beautiful finish. All around an excellent wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/15/2012 - Nutty08 wrote: 93 Points
Bdx and Pizza (1201 Avenue B): Decanted 2hrs before trying. Nose was a little shy (seemed like it may have actually closed down from opening) but showed some subtle floral aromas, red fruit, and some tobacco. Palate was much more forward, with dense concentrated pure red fruits, prominent cedar spice and leaf tobacco. Finishes strong, with repeating red fruits, leafy herbs, and cedar box. Tannins are still prominent, but polished and fine. Well structured with great purity of fruit, clearly still needs 5+ yrs but very enjoyable now. On the more subtle side of bdx, classy, and slightly forward for margaux, but somewhat boring compared to some of the others this night. 92-93
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/27/2012 - sbweston wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful wine. Will definitley seek out some more of this in both older and newer (2009-2010) vintages. Earthy, funky, herbacious with rich silky tannins. Paired with grilled hanging tender, fondue blue, roasted wild mushrooms and hakurei turnips.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/27/2012 - markjanes wrote: 90 Points
Moderate depth of color, red ro ruby rim. Aromatically quite open with flowered red and black fruits, minerals, baking spice from new oak use, touch of brett. On the palate dry, high acidity, modererate amount of depth and midpalate flesh, tannins are soft, ripe, and well integrated for cab based wine, low to moderate alcohol. Balanced wine with good length, great intensity, very good complexity at this stage. Wine has finesse, a fine texture without any rough spots, classic expression of place. Hard to argue this wine isn't "outstanding..." feels like it is has 2-4 before hitting it peak and should hold there without difficulty for another decade. Well made, classically styled Margaux... quite nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/19/2012 - rickspicks wrote: 91 Points
Terrific, traditional, complex bordeaux nose of dark fruits, blueberries, damp earth, mushroom, spice and a bit of brett. Very soft and smooth on the palate with a bite of acidity at the end. Nice flavors on the attack and then fades to a short to medium finish. Good balance with dry tannins that linger beyond the flavors of the finish. Nice flavors and textures and overall very enjoyable, but lacks intensity and depth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/13/2012 - Richard Hanson wrote:
Very much a classic Margaux - really enjoyed it and a good balance of tannin and fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/10/2012 - JJB007 wrote: 94 Points
this could be a 97 if aged a bit, goes with garlic and pasta, taragon, lamb
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/10/2012 - spendergast wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 45 minutes. Still closed a bit but opened up over time. Dark fruit, slightly tart with notes of cedar, damp earth. Good finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/6/2012 - misterstarre wrote: 94 Points
Just a wonderful earthy soft-spoken Margaux from a great vintage. The nose was the best part, with currant, berry, floral, and soil aromas. Medium bodied. Up front you definitely get the berries, but they are soft-spoken. Mid-palate is mostly damp earth, soil, mushroomy, and cedar flavors. If it weren't so delicate, I'd have thought it was a Pauillac. Had it with duck liver stuffed pasta in mushroom broth and fire-roasted veal tenderloin with black truffles for New Years at Chez Panisse. I was most pleased to encounter Denise Lurton while drinking this wine!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2011 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
Soft, fragrant, medium weight and elegant claret. Reasonably full flavoured, with a hint of aniseed. This has all the ingredients, but lacks a little concentration.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/12/2011 - alittle wrote: 95 Points
Tasting at Chateau Gallo (Chateau Gallo): Dark deep ruby in the glass. A wonderfully powerful nose of dark fruits, cedar, leather, graphite, humidor, crushed stone, mushroom, coffee, undergrowth, earth and florals. Over time, a green steak emerges of peppers, menthol and green tobacco. On the palate, dark fruits, cassis and earth. Well balanced with medium acidity and mild lingering tannin. Focused, yet complex. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2011 - Mark from Plano wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. A bit disappointing frankly. Fairly muted and earthy. Only a hint of that beloved Margaux perfume. I've had other 2000 Margaux that I've enjoyed more. Not really worth the price IMO. I have one more bottle. Will let it rest for a few years and see where it goes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/29/2011 - Blair Curtis wrote: 92 Points
A standout at a recent tasting of wines from the Margaux commune. This one really has a bright future...and still drinks well now with some rich fare. Alongside a roasted beef tenderloin, this wine exploded with cool fruit and a touch of menthol. Very fine structure with tannins that will carry this wine for decades. Shows its Margaux lineage and should be a real treat as it approaches maturity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/20/2011 - rickspicks wrote: 90 Points
From a magnum, decanted for 2 hours +. Somewhat muted nose of red and blue berries, spice and a hint of earth. Medium body and a smooth, balanced texture. Not much going on in the mid-palate and a somewhat short finish. Nice, easy drinking bordeaux, but not enough flavor or structure to be anything outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/31/2011 - LPskeleton wrote: 93 Points
gorgeous florals red currant and tobacco on the nose. This is what margaux smells like feminine and perfumed. In the mouth pure silk with fantastic purity of fruit and extraction. Fantastic length and balance. Love this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2011 - Georgewoods wrote: 91 Points
lovely. took about an hour to open up after decanting.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/9/2011 - La Grappe wrote: 89 Points
This is now drinking very well, with refined, musky fruit, medium weight and real elegance. Earlier bottles showed an element of dilution in mid-palate, but this seems to have more flesh. Unlikely to improve further.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/23/2011 - Porchino wrote: 94 Points
THIS MAY BE THE MOST UNDERRATED WINERY IN BORDEAUX EXCELLENT IN 11
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/15/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
With a developed nose, tobacco, truffle, cassis and earthy scents are easy to find. Medium bodied and elegant in style, the wine ends wine a sweet cherry and cassis filled finish. This is close to full mature and should be enjoyed over the next decade for maximum freshness.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/21/2011 - EMTAME wrote: 90 Points
Dark and youthful looking, with a compelling bouquet evolvng over the 90+ minutes it was open. Initially, I thought this was a bit tight but clearly well made, with a sleek, medium bodied structure. There was a good balance of sweet fruit and some smokiness on the palate. With air, an herbal element emerged that had me thinking there might be cab franc in the blend (I have no idea whether or not that's true). I'd be curious to see how this might drink with 4-5 more years of maturity, although it's certainly not an infant at this stage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/9/2011 - cos82 wrote: 92 Points
Bought as futures and 3rd bottle drunk from my cellar, each about 2 years apart. Popped and poured. More red fruit and less floral than prior bottles. Plum and cherry with floral notes on the nose. No sign of maturity and still purple plum in color. No tannin, delicious now and seems ready to drink, although still a long life ahead. Plum, cherry, earth and minerals with fruit dominant. Good finish. Went well with venison and red wine sauce.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2011 - jsebiri wrote:
Very nice nose, not overly complex in fact it was lacking complexity. More simple. Nice wine, yes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/29/2011 - City Wine Journal wrote: 93 Points
Retail purchase held several years. Decanted 2 hours. Absolutely gorgeous wine, and a can't miss Margaux fragrance. Medium bodied, elegant, but long and complex. Red fruit, well balanced. Peak of youth is now. Can go another 10+ years but why wait? This is a wonderful 2000 vintage and a great value today. I rate the 2005 just ahead.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/22/2011 - jarjarbinx99 wrote: 94 Points
Je l'ai classé en 3e... Et oui 42 % de Merlot... Superbe nez, coté florale marqué très attirant. J'avais identifié rive droite en misant sur La Gaffelière, mais pardonable avec tout ce Merlot :| :| :| La bouche suit bien les attentes bâtis au nez. Beaucoup de matière, tannins très fins, belle rondeur. Longueur moyenne.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/17/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Minneapolis Wine Club does a Blind Tasting: Nice wine with gravel, funk, raspberry, cherry and earth. Classic Bordeaux flavors and medium finish. Drinking well right now but has another decade of fine drinking.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/31/2010 - MicklethePickle Does not like this wine:
10/29/10 w/ Bruce at Le Meridien hotel in SF. Not good. B says too much Brett. I agree there was something off-putting in both nose and mouth. Not rated.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/29/2010 - Papies wrote: 89 Points
Decanted for 35 Minutes.
A tale of two halfs. The Nose is open, expressevive, lots of cherry , some sweet notes. Smoky feel to it. Mouthfeel feels incomplete with some notes out of tune. This is not there yet and hopefully time will improve it. Medium body and finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/26/2010 - twinmaple wrote: 89 Points
Earthy funk and a bit of spice on the nose, medium body with a smooth palate of cherry, earth, and a bit of menthol on the extended finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/9/2010 - rickspicks wrote: 90 Points
Decanted and poured. Subdued nose of red and black berries, spice and earth. Medium body with rounded edges and a very smooth texture. Finish is just a bit short. Classic Margaux profile and drinking very nicely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2010 - Wrighty wrote: 91 Points
Very pleased. Nose has some cherry and hints of pencil and menthol, palate is cassis, graphite and cherry. Good balance and weight and (I hope) a decent life ahead as the fruit fades to reveal secondary notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/21/2010 - rickspicks wrote: 90 Points
This is not a "pop and pour" as it definitely needs some air time. I did not really like it for the first 30-45 minutes, but then it opened up dramatically. Very bordeaux nose - some funk, dark fruits/cassis and oak. Big and rich on the palate, and then fades a bit on the finish. Lots of fruit, good balance and soft, round edges. Classic Margaux flavors and profile.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/22/2010 - SteelerFan wrote: 89 Points
Second bottle consistent with first.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/22/2010 - SteelerFan wrote: 89 Points
Subtle nose. Cassis, mint, flint with nice rounded tannins. Popped and poured. Drinking well now - not clear to me if this will improve further, as it is open and smooth, but no rush. Very nice margaux.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/30/2010 - ews3 wrote: 93 Points
Wine Spectator Grand Tour 2010 (Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, Washington DC): yum... some secondary notes starting to show on this. still quite a bit of fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/9/2010 - Vini Ciclismo wrote: 90 Points
Classic, mulberry and blueberry
Mellow, rich, quite smooth, drinking very well
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2010 - ruddy wrote: 90 Points
Nicely matured, with pencil lead and cedar on the nose. Pretty cherry and rose petal flavors and fine, mellow tannins lead to a nice finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/5/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
This opens with a red and black fruit filled perfume, complicated by notes of tobacco, forest and spice. Elegantly textured and medium bodied, most of the tannins have already melted away.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/16/2010 - gunpwdr wrote: 90 Points
Nose: Graphite, ash, currants, hint of cocoa powder. Palate: Cherries and currants on the attack. Cedar, spice, more currants on the mid-palate through to the long finish, along with well-integrated tannins and vibrant acidity. Excellent structure and a very nice floral component. Good, not great Margaux.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/13/2009 - ilvinorosso wrote: 90 Points
I thought this Brane-Cantenac was very good. Great classic cassis nose, really nice up front fruit that slowly drifted away off the tongue in a teasing "am I gonna give you a little more? Do you want that mid palate rush? Or should I just slowly fade like as if I were a super model walking deeper into the ocean off of a sand bar into the sunset and youre staring at my ass?"
I'd say the latter.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
11/21/2009 - winston churchill wrote: 88 Points
Tasted at the Decanter fine wine encounter Jewels of Margaux masterclass in London 21/11/09. Guest speaker, Henry Lurton, Alexander Van Beek, Dominique Befve, John Kolasa. Caramel and perfume to the nose, strong fruits, long silky meaty aftertaste, with tannins, needs times.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2009 - WineManWill90 wrote: 88 Points
this wine appearance id medium/deep ruby colour. on the nose it shows aromas of slightly stewed black fruits chocolate and black pepper.
the palate on this wine consists of noticeable tannin well balance acid and alc, with lovely silky vanilla with young raspberry, strawberry, fruit and some earthy notes again for me this wine needed longer decanting time
overall this was a good wine but i would like to try it again with it having 2/3hr decanting or with a extra year and a half age
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/20/2009 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
ICCCW 2000 Bordeaux Horizontal Tasting (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria): This was drinking beautifully. Great wine, Lovely nose, very Margaux, with smoky toast and a meaty edge integrated with an earthy, rustic elegance with sweet, plush cassis notes and subtle flowery underpinnings. Some nicely controlled coffee and tobacco tones added interest. Palate was every bit as integrated and charming. Sweet cassis, dark cherries, a touch of meat, some funky earth and sous bois notes, a little spice. Beautiful balance between freshness and intensity, with structure lent by very fine but still grippy woody tannins which emerged past the mid-palate. This came across as masculine, yet clearly Margaux in its elegance. Finish was lovely, with ripe, sweet tannins providing a counterpoint for dark fruit and bittersweet mineral tones. An excellent wine, drinking nicely now, I think it will be even better with a couple more years under its belt.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/20/2009 - Alex H wrote: 87 Points
ICCCW wine class (Jade Palace Forum): Green herbaceous capsicums and alluring florals. Very seductive wine with dark florals-scented, smooth, rounded, generous and plummish dark fruits Some gorgeous integrated dark mocha notes and fresh tobacco leaves showing at the finish too. A beautiful classical margaux. Extremely drinkable now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2009 - cigar52 wrote: 90 Points
6 hours to open ... tannins still too hard.. this rating will increase as tannins soften... give 2 years minimum...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2009 - JJH wrote: 89 Points
solid wine - good nose, but not as elegant as hoped for a margaux and lacking a bit in complexity. perhaps needed more time (decanted 1.5 hours).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2009 - aof wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful aromatics but monolithic on the palate, inspite of a 3 hour decant. Revisit in 2-3 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/4/2009 - zoeldar wrote: 91 Points
Very competent Bordeaux, took some time to open but then unveiled some wonderful layers...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/5/2009 - KWC3141 wrote: 93 Points
Phenominal wine!!
Opaque Ruby but still has a purple tint. Medium intensity nose, blackcurrent, graphite, sweet spices, maybe a hint of rasberry as well. Wonderful layers of smells developed over the first hour or so.
Nice bright black fruit on the front, lingering spices, and well integrated smooth tannins. A wonderful long finish. Overall the balance and elegance of a great bordeaux. Of course it could go longer but it's darn good now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/2/2009 - alamoave wrote: 92 Points
Surprised how well this was drinking right out of the bottle, with good evolution over an hour. Wood fully integrated, margaux florals going on with leather and cedar. Very good. Drink by 2015.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2008 - CallahanCellar wrote: 94 Points
Holiday Dinner w/ L,M,A,C,B,L: Great earthy nose with background of vanilla oak. Great mouthfeel and long finish. Very elegant balance of dark blueberry fruit and fine tannins. A hint of green pepper provides structure. Drinking great now, an excellent and classic Margaux.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/20/2008 - cos82 wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured resulting in initial disappointment for this classed growth from a highly rated vintage. After an hour. lovely, but not expansive nose emerged of flowers and plum. Palate, at first, closed consisting of earth, charcoal and cassis. With time, more fruit with added notes of cherry and plum. No tannin and dark purple in color. Nice, but I expected more from this wine. Maybe with time, and at a minimum, with a several hour decant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2008 - P.A. Cross wrote: 94 Points
Great Margaux characteristics, rose petals, clean stone earth, rich dark berry, and nice oak touch. Drank with a Ribeye, Lyonaise Pots, and acorn squash. Really sang with food! Nice and open, not really holding back. Juicy acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2008 - grossie wrote: 92 Points
Drinking wonderfully right now- rich and dark with a real velvety mouthfeel. I decanted it for about an hour and it could have used more time, but IMO this is getting into a sweet spot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/9/2008 - La Grappe wrote: 85 Points
Blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, with a rather strong, cedary element which is almost woody; fairly full palate, reasonably mature, good balance; would have been very good indeed without the excess woodiness.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/8/2008 - spendergast wrote: 93 Points
Deep ruby red, notes of cassis, earth, grilled meat with nice finish. A very nice bordeaux that's drinking well right now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/3/2008 - Tubbs wrote:
Just starting to open up, this is very elegant and balanced. Wait 5 years before trying another.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/21/2008 - La Grappe wrote: 89 Points
Soft, well rounded, nicely mature with very harmonious fruit (blackcurrants, plums plus a touch of mint). Good length and medium weight, but not quite the intensity of the best.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/14/2008 - englishman's claret wrote: 88 Points
Historical note from 08. Starting to show maturity at the disc. Elegant, dark re fruit. Oak. Cherries and wood on the palate; a little weedy. Pleasant, but a bit hollow.
3/5
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/2/2008 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 94 Points
Presented in double-blind fashion to our tasting group. The wine was taken from my cellar, decanted (moderate sediment) and aerated in the decanter at home for approximately four hours. The wine was then double-decanted back into the cleaned bottle and brought to the tasting. My tasting (unlike that of all other tasters) was accordingly unblinded. Bright disc. Opaque ruby robe with ruby rim. Clean nose, developing over several hours to show a quite intense bouquet of exotic spices, black plums, currants and creme de cassis. Full-bodied on the palate, with low-to-medium intensity and big ripe tannins. The flavors are youthful and mirror the nose. Long, smooth finish. Very nice and extremely well-received by the blinded tasters. Will benefit from additional time in bottle. Drink 1/12-12/25.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/1/2008 - ctwomey wrote: 94 Points
Dinner at Kev & Vals (Kilmacoo House): Everyone loved this wine. Tannins integrated and full bodied, cedar, tobacco etc. Beautiful wine. Totally underrated and does not disappoint. So much better than the 2000 Calon-Segur we had the night before.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2007 - Julex wrote: 92 Points
Drinking nicely after only 30 -60 minutes decant. Suggest you open one soon if you have more than one to experience this wine at 7 years of age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/22/2007 - A&C wrote: 90 Points
This was very nice, and very approachable right now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2007 - goldstein wrote: 93 Points
parker and spectator have it right. damn fine wine. buy what you can if price still fair. bg
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/18/2006 - James B wrote: 90 Points
Very nice wine. Very young. Requires much more time in the bottle. For the first two hours after decanting, the tannins were extremely prominent, and the wine seemed quite hot. Later, however, it softened to reveal notes of plum, lavender, cedar. Not as earthy as some Bordeaux. Quite fruit-forward after the tannins dissipate. I bought and opened one bottle of this to try it before buying a larger volume. I likely will buy more, but it will stay in the cellar awhile before it makes another appearance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/18/2006 - cos82 wrote: 91 Points
Time to try the first 2000 Bordeaux from my stash. Not decanted, just popped, poured and consumed over two hours at a BYOB dinner with Stan who brought a 2000 Figeac. Very impressive. Deep red, almost black color with no sign of maturity. Wonderful floral margaux nose that jumped out on popping the cork and became even more expansive in the glass. A slight tannic sensation on the initial pour which disappeared by the end of the first glass. Wonderful fruity berry taste. Not particularly complex, but delicious nonetheless. Can clearly be drunk now, but I intend to either decant it in advance or wait 2-3 years before the next bottle to see how it evolves. A very nice wine that I favored over the Figeac that was also very good (89), but seemed less ready to drink and lacked some of the fruitiness which I attribute to the greater proportion of merlot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/8/2006 - t_moderne wrote: 90 Points
A nice, comfortable Bordeaux. Soft as one would expect from a Margaux. Mint and cedar with a bit of acidity on the finish. Over time, it opened up with cherry and plum flavors and the acidity mellowed out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/28/2006 - bacchus wrote: 92 Points
had a sip at beekman liquors with chateau proprietor, henri lurton. the wine is closed at this time but seems destined for greatness on all dimensions.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/27/2004 - Julex wrote: 90 Points
As of December 2003 ready to drink after at least two hours decanted. Perfect with steak at Pacific Dining Car.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/21/2003 - R2-D2 wrote: 92 Points
2000 Bordeaux Tasting (Chicago, IL): yummy Margaux cherry licorice and cassis on the nose. Lots of cherry, herbs, sage and earthy notes. Overall, exceptionally balanced.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/17/2003 - Vino Me wrote: 92 Points
Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux (2000 Vintage) (Intercontinental Hotel Chicago): Nose of crushed grape skins and cassis. Flavors of tart raspberry, cherry and pomegranite (the latter being my wifes contribution since I have never had a pomegranite). This wine had gripping tannins and was medium bodied. I liked it. 92-93 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment