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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.9 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 97 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by bestdamncab on 12/15/2023 & rated 92 points: Nose of black berry, mint, forest floor, mushroom, and barnyard, same on the palate, medium/big body, tasty, mouth filling fruit, lots of subtle complexity, got better and better as the night went on, the medium/long finish was its best feature, very flavorful finish. (693 views) | | | Tasted by ATL on 11/24/2023: Perfect! (620 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 11/19/2023 & rated 92 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: 1983 is a vintage for Margaux and this Brane showed that impressively. Nice complexity and precision with an impressive density for a 40-year-old wine. This deserves 92/93pts easily and one gets the impression that it can improve for a little bit longer. Intriguing bouquet with dark berries (the hot summer is on display here), cola and some burnt sugar notes. On the palate the same dark berry core, burnt sugar, herbs and good, balancing minerality component. Intense aromas, dense structure with still lots of fine tannins. Not as perfectly balanced as the 1989 in the next glass but still quite harmonious.
Decanting: Not decanted. My guess is that this needs a good two hours in a decanter to fully blossom. (1347 views) | | | Tasted by LWI on 10/8/2023 & rated 96 points: Vinøs hyttetur 2023: Blind. Krydret, fanstastisk kompleks nese; balasert, rik og silkemyk - men et fint tannindryss i en lang finish. Ungdommelig. Den aller beste flasken B-C jeg noen gang har drukket. Tippet Ch. Margaux 89 eller 83. (946 views) | | | Tasted by J_H on 9/10/2023 & rated 92 points: Vertical of 20 vintages - Chateau Brane-Cantenac: It was a pleasure to taste 20 vintages of Brane-Cantenac. All wines were tasted blind and with little time (10min per flight of 4 wines). Coming from the Margaux appellation, the wine convinced 1) with its accessibility of all vintages, 2) often very feminine and fresh vinification and 3) especially the consistency of quality to be emphasized. So it was not surprising that all 20 bottles (for the first time in this tasting with 12 people) were empty. At the same time, it could also be noted that the very great complexity for ratings above 94 points is often somewhat lacking. Very exciting to observe were the significant change in fruit. Until the 2009 vintage, this was often primarily red-fruited, light and very strongly Cabernet influenced. From the 2009 vintage on, a clear shift to more extraction and sweetness of the fruit is noticeable. The last, often great vintages from 2015 to 2020 are ripe but still with a good freshness/acidity (except for 2015 according to my impression).
Tasting Note:
- Intriguing nose, surprisingly good, has pretty good fruit too, almost as much fruit as the 1989 but not the balance as this.
- Nice to drink on the palate, also feminine with lots of Cabernet fruit. Great acidity but also has some rough edges, still lots of tannins present that probably won't fully integrate. But still wonderful to drink!
- 92 points (1129 views) | | | Tasted by LiteItOnFire on 4/25/2023 & rated 93 points: Zero notes due to insane En Premier march. Killer wine out of Mag tasted shortly after the 2022. Gorgeous wine with depth, fruit, earth, leather and a gorgeous finish. Could drink this for days and be perfectly happy.
*this 100% benefited from being a Mag vs 750 (1471 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 4/25/2023: En Primeur campaign for the 2022 vintage Day Four (Bordeaux): From Magnum. It is a bit of a treat to try this after the same vintage from bottle earlier in the week. Unsurprisingly this is fresher with more obvious dark hued fruits, brambles but still with Autumn leaves, leather. Juicy, softly fruited, savoury tannic burr is integrated, talcy and persistent. All travels long. Good. (1350 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 4/24/2023: En Primeur campaign for the 2022 vintage Day Three (Bordeaux): Leather, earth, Autumn leaves, slightly meaty, touch of caramel, brambly fruit. Medium plus intensity acidity, juicy, savoury, meaty underpin, the fruit is a little dried out on the palate, yeast extract, drying talc textured tannins. Nice (1070 views) | | | Tasted by ATL on 7/5/2021: A very type-y Margaux with plenty of life left. Drink or hold. (2497 views) | | | Tasted by paulst on 6/9/2021 & rated 92 points: Cedar and nicely mature with earthy semi sweet blackberry. (2497 views) | | | Tasted by misterstarre on 5/16/2021: Opened too late in the evening to recall the details, but pretty and delicious as always. (2235 views) | | | Tasted by bestdamncab on 5/15/2021 & rated 90 points: Nose of black berry, forest floor, mushroom, and hint of barnyard, on the palate, medium/big body, tasty, mouth filling fruit, lots of subtle complexity, held up for 3 hours tonight, medium/long finish, thank you Derrald for the treat, label and cork photos uploaded. (2161 views) | | | Tasted by jordanj on 3/10/2021 & rated 89 points: Bottle was fine but on its decline. (2299 views) | | | Tasted by NewFrenchClaret on 2/21/2021 & rated 92 points: Delightful- musty dark fruit, cloves and Worcester sauce nose. Nicely structured with a good mix of acid and tannin. Medium-long finish. (1326 views) | | | Tasted by ljl on 1/3/2021 & rated 95 points: Cork crumbled while opening. Cherry red in appearance. Lovely nose and taste of vanilla, strawberry and cherry. A real delight. (1555 views) | | | Tasted by Lype on 12/25/2020: At first closed but opens after one hour in a carafe, light and fragrant, fully resolved and balanced, nicely fresh despite the age. Earth, mushrooms, cedar, cloves and spices, well structured even though the fruit is getting a bit thin in an elegant manner. A good bottle which lasted well up till 3-4 hours after opening. An attractive claret which is very enjoyable now, this is the way to go if one likes aged, a tad austere Bordeaux. (1405 views) | | | Tasted by Marc C on 9/6/2020 & rated 92 points: Nez évolué : sous-bois, épices, pot pourri, bois précieux, tabac, léger trait de vert. J'aime beaucoup !
Bouche superbe avec de la densité, de la rondeur, fondue mais encore précise avec de l'allonge. Quel équilibre, c'est proprement irrésistible !
Très belle finale qui prolonge l'harmonie perçue en bouche, tout en délicatesse et en assurance.
Pas le plus grand des bordeaux âgés que j'ai bu mais un très beau vin à boire. Comme souvent, il s'est avéré un parfait compagnon de table et n'a pas survécu au déjeuner (c'est bien dommage, j'ai quelques craintes à me pencher à nouveau sur le cas du Barbera 18 de Rinaldi...) ! (1874 views) | | | Tasted by johnh1001 on 6/15/2020 & rated 92 points: Probably past it’s prime, but very soft, elegant and earthy. Held up well for 3 hours but limited depth. (2009 views) | | | Tasted by Purple Tooth on 5/17/2020 & rated 93 points: A bottle in excellent shape for the age, this was cristal clear without any cloudiness...Very good provenance.
Light to medium body, wine needed 60 minutes to wake up. When it did, it replaced raisininess with red potpourri. As it exhaled it was truffle galore on the nose and palate followed by a light footed intense wine that became sweeter and more tannic and powerful. Definitely muscular for the appearance, this wine was very aristocratic and bone dry, giving it the classy weightlessness of a fine wine. I think this is at peak while having the acidity to stay intact for a long time to come...Drink (2431 views) | | | Tasted by chablis28 on 1/8/2020 & rated 94 points: Same btl as R&Rler. I'm scoring this wine based on how it drank, for maybe, all of 30 minutes. It was fairly closed for the first 15-20 minutes after pouring. Most everyone at the table missed out on its elusively narrow but impressive open for business timeframe. Then it closed down hard again and drank more like a 2001 :). For a very brief time frame this drank like a very fresh but layered fully resolved 35yr old BDX. Kind of perplexing but amazing while it lasted. During that interlude this wine was sublime with; forest floor, cigar box, mineral, cassis and such a lovely burgundy meets Margaux elegance & finesse. Then it reverted back to its closed more tannic youthful self. Dang! Score ranged from 86-89 on opening to 94-96 when singing and then, back to around 90pts. Call it 94pts based on the brief timeline when it singing. A very elusive wine at this point. My WOTN for about 15 minutes :). (2652 views) | | | Tasted by rocknroller on 1/8/2020 & rated 91 points: Three out of Five Ain't Bad (The Kenwood, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color with a 5mm margin. PNP, drank a glass over 90 minutes. This was actually best right after popping the cork. There was a rather infectious waft of fine tobacco at first, that seem to get more muddled and just lost some of the fine quality it had at the start. Still, quite good with more pencil to go with the tobacco and tobacco leaf (which seemed to fade away), cassis and blackberry fruits, fairly dense and almost even a little chewy yet despite some good age. This didn't feel like it had reached maturity yet, though we all thought it was best initially. I'd be curious to see this with a couple hours of air to start; that could backfire but I would take the chance I think. 91+pts. (2624 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 9/19/2019 & rated 90 points: HDH auction at Spiaggia; 9/19/2019-9/21/2019 (Chicago, IL): Slightly dirty nose, with a hint of brett. Underlying it is some very lovely red fruit and perfume, but it's not the most expressive overall. The palate shows its age, with a little bit of rust. Pretty good, but I'd be inclined to drink up. (2883 views) | | | Tasted by ljl on 6/29/2019 & rated 90 points: Same as the one I drank earlier this week (2052 views) | | | Tasted by ljl on 6/22/2019 & rated 90 points: Huge bouquet upon opening. Little age in appearance. Leathery with some fruit. (1888 views) | | | Tasted by Prinsen on 2/1/2019 & rated 93 points: Excellent mature bordeaux. Leather, farmyard, earth bit not toomuch and still fruit behind. Very long palate and very pleasant. (2142 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, April 2023 (4/1/2023)
(Château Brane-Cantenac Margaux Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, Long Distance Runner: Brane-Cantenac 1924-2015 (Jan 2019) (1/1/2019)
(Brane-cantenac Brane-cantenac Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Winedoctor and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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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