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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.9 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 10 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by vagrantone on 5/26/2024 & rated 92 points: Low-mid shoulder fill level.
The cork came out in one piece but clearly well past its expiration date.
Decanted just prior to serving.
Still noticeable tannin; a clear sign of this vintage.
A bit austere for a Margaux, but undoubtedly the tannins have helped this wine survive.
Still a little red fruit present on the palate, but the tertiary aromas are clearly dominating. A certain elegance and "reserved" character to this wine, which isn't very generous but still impressive.
The palate shows more structure than texture but very enjoyable with a prime rib.
Very interesting to taaste as it's approaching 100 years of age... (7 views) | | | Tasted by Boone's Farm on 8/10/2020 & rated 92 points: First rate old Bordeaux with plenty of life. Earth, forest floor, dark fruit but not fading at all. Elegant, integrated and long on the palate. (2048 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 10/1/2019: This bottle with a low shoulder fill was pleasurable in the tertiary if anonymous way that very old Bordeaux can be. A better kept bottle last year (different source) still showed incredible vitality and personality. (2925 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 12/10/2018 & rated 96 points: Poured directly from a pristine Nicolas bottle with an upper shoulder fill to glass and followed, this showed brilliantly from the first moment. Big, plush, sublime nose of raspberry, rose, violet, sous-bois. A tiny bit of volatile acidity actually seems to add to the surprisingly refreshing nose. Delicious palate; all silk now. Remarkable longevity - I do hope that whoever is making Brane at the moment has tasted this to serve as a template! 96+ (3160 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 4/6/2017 & rated 93 points: Acker Merrall Pre-Auction Tasting (Le Cirque - New York NY): Tasting, brief note. Cigar box aromas with fully mature black cherry and spice notes. Surprisingly bright flavors as well, even if slightly lean at the very end. Good length. What a treat. (4581 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 4/20/2011 & rated 93 points: Brick colored, this piece of history is filled with complex aromas of Cuban cigars, pipe tobacco, cherry blossoms, leather, soy and smoke. With the beautiful patina of age, rusty black cherries, spice, backed dark berry pies and spice. The wine began to fade after 20 minute. But those initial moments were memorable. It is always a treat to enjoy history. (7483 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 7/29/2010 & rated 75 points: This bottle made me feel like either I needed to take up smoking, or quit, I was not sure which message it was sending. This could have been a Graves. Smoke, ash, cigar box, earth, tobacco, wood fire, lit cigar and cigarettes, along with pipe tobacco and hint of cassis made up the smoke filled perfume. Full bodied, but with only faint hints of dark berries poking through, this was an interesting experience. Interestingly, I recently discovered the 1928 was kept in wood for 4 years before bottling. This may have had some effect on the quality of the wine. However, the saying about wines over 20 years of age holds even more truth when the wine is over 80 years old! After 20 years of age, there are no great wines, just great bottles. But it will remain a great memory having tasted a wine with my father that is almost a decade older than he is! (6513 views) | | | Tasted by City Wine Journal on 5/31/2008 & rated 96 points: Provenance & Handling
80 year old Chateau bottle, served in USA. Wine removed, sampled, re-labeled, recorked at Chateau Brane-Cantenac, December 2007. Received at the Waldorf-Astoria, NYC, 1/23/08, from Ms. Corrine Conroy, Marketing Director, Brane-Cantanac. Cellared five months prior to service in honor of another 1928 birthday -- my father's 80th. The bottle was opened using the “Audouze Method”, whereby the original cork is carefully extracted (intact in this case), and the bottle is then left to rest, opened, but not aerated. After consulting with Mr. Audouze himself, he recommended a 5 hour waiting period, undisturbed, before sampling and sharing.
Tasting Notes
May 31, 2008: The first unmistakeable aromatic impression is that of a natural wine cellar -- a cave that has experienced decades of vintages, barrels, and bottles. Musty, floral, venerable. This is class. Old, but very much alive. When shared with the family: fragile and precious elegance. Bright smiles, the wine demonstrates a deep constitution, exceptional finesse, but not complete fragility, and an unforgettable finish. We are all indelibly kissed. Glorious.
Angel's Share resealed.
June 1, 2008, Angels Share. Pooling blue color, orange rim. Pipes & channels forming as the wine sits in the glass and settles out even more. Nose is a faded rose garden, softly waning fragrance. Sediment, silt is collecting. The color and now the bouquet both evoke dried rose petals. Fleeting whiffs -- mushrooms, and essence of compost. Gently slow-roll the glass, and the deep red-blue pool of fine silt stays in place, “climbing the glass” as the elixir separates and moves over it. Now more porcini mushrooms. And, an hour later... at the end, cool, sweet, serene. Everlasting, mouth-watering, and incredibly long & beautiful. Love. It is love.
Photo of label & final sample uploaded to www.Cellartracker.com. (6269 views) | | | Tasted by SimonK on 1/11/2008 & rated 86 points: Bodeaux Raritäten Probe Day 1 1864-1949 (Haus der Harmonie, Bochum, Germany): Slightly opaque dark brick with small orange rims
In the nose some plum and slightly sour
Full of Cherries, very nice but is dying pretty quick (7117 views) | | | Tasted by agallut on 9/7/2003 & rated 95 points: Ch. Brane Cantenac 1928 - Mid shoulder level - Tasted September 7th, 2003. Nice bright light ruby color with slight amber on the rim that cannot betray its old age. This 1928 is outstanding both by its youth on the nose and palate. Black berries with some spices on the nose, a good freshness and a "creme de cassis" -blueberry liquor- aroma on the palate, this wine still holds a lot of fruit and can probably be kept for an extra 5 to 10 years easily. The finish is just a little dry and tannins can be felt over on the palate although well integrated. The after taste stays on cherry and "creme de cassis". Hard to tell this wine is 75 years old! and glad to have a second one in the cellar...
Ch. Brane Cantenac 1928 - niveau mi epaule- deguste le 07/09/2003 -Robe legerement tuilee sur les bords qui ne trahait en rien son age avance. Le 1928 etonne par sa jeunesse tant au nez qu'en bouche avec a la fois un arome de fruit noir au nez et une pointe de creme de cassis en bouche. Encore plein de fruit a deguster pour ce vin qui supportera probablement encore quelques annes en cave. La finale est legerement seche avec des tannins bien fondus mais encore present. On reste sur des aromes de liqueur de cassis/cerise en retro-olfaction. On a du mal a croire que ce vin fete ses 75 ans !!! (6303 views) |
| Château Brane-Cantenac Producer website - Read more information about Chateau Brane Cantenac
Château Brane-Cantenac is a 2nd growth estate.
Production Area: 75 hectares in the Margaux appellation.
Terroir: There are 3 main terroirs on the estate: the first and the most valued is a large sweep of gravel in front of the château at the top of the Margaux-Cantenac plateau. The plateau de Brane has a thick layer of surface gravel, which provides both radiant heat to the vines as well as excellent drainage. The second section is centered around and behind the château; here there is still gravel, but a higher proportion of sandy soil, and no clay. The third section is on the other side of the Route d’Arsac; this is La Verdotte, a 10-hectare vineyard planted 35 years ago; here the soil is a gravelly sand again. There is a fourth vineyard, Notton, a 13-hectare plot of coarse gravel over clay, and more distant from Brane-Cantenac than the other vines.
Plantation Density: 8,000 vines per hectare
Average Age of the Vines: 35 years old
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon covers 55% of the vineyard, with 40% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, and 0.5% Carmenère
Harvest: The fruit is picked by hand with typical yields around 45 hl/ha, and then transported to the cellar using the Air Tec system which cushions the fruit, protecting it from damage with its pneumatic suspension. The freshly harvested fruit enjoys a cold soak; for wet vintages, the team uses concentration methods, reducing the water content of the must by vacuum extraction.
Vinification: The fermentation is induced by inoculation with yeast, and in the first few vats there may also be contemporaneous inoculation with malolactic bacteria. The fermentation is naturally temperature controlled, and may last between 7 and 10 days. As it progresses, the wine can see a lot of handling, not only pumping over but sometimes pigeage and even délestage. The fruit will see a maceration lasting between 20 and 30 days before pressing using two pneumatic presses, and both the free-run and press wines are then fed into barrels, using 60-70% new oak, ready for malolactic fermentation.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.Margaux Read more about Margaux and its wines As with a large part of the Bordeaux vineyards, vines first appeared in Margaux during the Gallo-Roman period.
In 1705 a text mentions Château Margaux . But we have to wait for the end of the eighteenth century and the coming of the earliest techniques in aging for the concept of wines of high quality to develop. The confirmation of this was the famous 1855 classification which recognized 21 Crus Classés in the Margaux appellation. One hundred years later, the Viticultural Federation and the Margaux appellation of controlled origin were born. The appellation, which stretches out over five communes, is actually unique in the Médoc in that it is the only one to contain all the range of wines, as rich as they are vast, from First Great Cru Classé to the Fifths, not forgetting its famous Crus Bourgeois and its Crus Artisans.
In Margaux there is a predominance of Garonne gravel on a central plateau of about 4 miles in length and one and a quarter wide. To the east-south-east, it overlooks the low lying land by the estuary. Its east side is marked by gentle, dry valleys and a succession of ridges.The layer of gravel in Margaux was spread out by a former Garonne in the early Quaternary. Rather large in size, it is mingled with shingle of average dimension and represents the finest ensemble of Günz gravel in the Haut-Médoc. It is on this ancient layer on a Tertiary terrace of limestone or clayey marl that the best Médoc crus lie. All the conditions for successful wine are present : a large amount of gravel and pebbles, poor soil which cannot retain water and deep rooted vines.
It is customary to say that Margaux wines are the "most feminine" in the Médoc, thus stressing their delicacy, suppleness and their fruity, elegant aromas. This does not affect their great propensity for aging; just the opposite, for the relatively thin terroir imparts tannins which give them long life. The other characteristic of these wines which combine an elegant vitality, subtlety and consistency, is their diversity and personality. Over and above the flavour which is their "common denominator", they present an exceptional palette of bouquets, fruity flavours which show up differently from one château to another.
Production conditions (Decree dated August 10 1954)
In order to have the right to the Margaux appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Margaux, Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labarde, "excluding the land which by the nature of its soil or because of its situation, is unfit to produce wine of this appellation".
- satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare).
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot
Soil: Gravel and silt plateau on a layer of limestone or silt on clay
Surface Area: 1,530 ha |
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