Community Tasting Note

Cailles wrote:

Sunday, November 19, 2023 - 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: Wow, this is a stunning wine. Yes, it is from a time when ripeness was pushed, yes, it was born in a hot vintage but in 2010, but the team at Brane Cantenac managed all this very well. The nose is expressive with intense fresh black and even fresher blue fruit, some coffee notes and minerality. Fascinating and all delivered with high precision. The same goes for the palate, which needed a bit of air to really shine. Quite layered with a wide range of well delineated fruit from black to blue with even some hints of red berries in there, coffee, herbs, minerality all wrapped around the fruit creating a beautiful aromatic balance. The structure is impeccable, with a wall of ripe, fine tannins, high acidity and a rather airy texture (especially compared to the denser, more slutty 2009 in the next glass). Quite complete and a lot of fun to drink.

Decanting: Not decanted. A short 1-2 hours should be enough.

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