Brane-Cantenac, Margaux
The 2025 Brane-Cantenac was picked from September 2 to 29, finishing with that 1% of late-ripening Carménère, cropped at 32.2 hl/ha. It has impressive purity on the nose, an aspect of the Grand Vin that Henri Lurton and his team have improved immensely over the last decade. Black cherries, bilberry, violet and crushed stone unfold in the glass, classical in style, which is Brane-Cantenac's signature. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, finely sculpted tannins allied with disarming sapidity and brightness. Not powerful like the 2022, yet pixelated with a mineral, tensile, complex finish. Another feather in the cap for Lurton and, moreover, this is often one of the best values on release. - Neal Martin
So aromatic with blackcurrant, blueberry and violet aromas that follow through to a medium body with ultrafine tannins that are extremely integrated and refined and go on for minutes. Some lead pencil and stone at the end. Very complex and subtle for the vintage.
2022 Brane-Cantenac unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, crème de cassis, black truffles, loamy soil, burning embers and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and velvety, with a fleshy core of fruit, terrific concentration and lively acids, it concludes with a long, perfumed finish. This is a terrific 2022 that may rival or even surpass the 2019 if it realizes all its potential in bottle. - Neal Martin
2022 Brane-Cantenac unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, crème de cassis, black truffles, loamy soil, burning embers and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and velvety, with a fleshy core of fruit, terrific concentration and lively acids, it concludes with a long, perfumed finish. This is a terrific 2022 that may rival or even surpass the 2019 if it realizes all its potential in bottle. - William Kelley
Lurton familiens 2. cru er efterhånden også ved at have krabbet sig op, hvor den hører til. Udtrykket er smukt klassisk med solbær, cedertræ, blyant, lakrids og en nærmest æterisk mynteagtig note. Fadet er lækkert, og man finder også en lille slikken tone, som det hører sig til i Margaux. Munden byder på masser af power og tannin. Fem store stjerner. - Søren Frank
This firm, structured wine is solid with tannins and with the weight associated with the vintage. The fruitiness is as important, an explosion of rich berry flavors that will give pleasure as the wine matures. - Roger Voss
This is really strong from Brane-Cantenac this year with toned muscles and beautiful fruit. Full-bodied, chewy and polished. Shows wonderful intensity and density yet remains reserved and very tight. Very impressive from here. Grabs you. One of the best ever from here.
Deep ruby colour. Classic fragrance, violets and fresh blackcurrants. Lovely nose. Silky entry, with a rush of fresh cassis fruit and vibrant acidity in tandem on the palate. Svelte but intense, retaining all the freshness of great bordeaux while exhibiting hints of the solar vintage in the ripeness of fruit. Long and fine with subtle spices lingering on the finish. Lots to enjoy here. - Tom Parker MW
Dark purplish crimson. Neat, unforced, smells fully ripe. Salty finish and a fine spread across the palate. Bone dry, but not too drying, finish. Cool, unforced and sophisticated. Very competent indeed. - Jancis Robinson MW
The 2018 Brane-Cantenac is deep garnet-purple in color and delivers expressive black cherry compote, blueberry coulis and crème de cassis scents with suggestions of cigar box, Provence herbs and lavender. Full-bodied with mouth-filling, rich black fruit preserves, it has a velvety texture and a long, perfumed finish. - Lisa Perotti-Brown MW
The 2016 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Carmenere picked from 22 September until 17 October (the tiny parcel of Carmenere picked three days later). The yields came in at 51 hectoliters per hectare and it is matured in 75% new oak and 25% one-year-old barrels, the final alcohol level 13.3%. It has a beautifully defined, very detailed bouquet with mineral-rich black fruit laced with cedar and graphite notes, living up to its nom de plume as the "Pauillac of Margaux." The palate is simply the best that I have ever tasted at the estate, without question. This has presence, but also weightlessness, filigree tannin and perfectly pitched acidity, with real intensity and drive. The tension here is outstanding and the persistence is incredibly long. It is not the showiest of all the 2016s by a long stretch, and yet it is everything you could possibly want from a Margaux. Like Beychevelle this year, the 2016 Brane-Cantenac puts recent vintages in the shade, thanks not only to the growing season, but also a new punching down system in their gravity-fed winery that was completed in 2015. The 2016 is a benchmark against which future vintages will be compared.
The 2018 Brane-Cantenac captures all of the natural richness of the year. Ample, creamy and resonant, the 2018 offers quite a bit of intensity while retaining its mid-weight sense of structure. Dark red cherry, mint, spice, and dried rose petals are some of the signatures. Even with its obvious volume the 2018 retains lovely aromatic freshness and nuance. The 2018 is an especially juicy, open-knit Brane-Cantenac. Grilled herbs, menthol, spice and anise add an attractive upper-register to the perfumed finish. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Tasted three times. - Antonio Galloni
The 2016 Brane-Cantenac has been on a roll of late, under the watchful eye of Henri Lurton. This latest bottled vintage is superb. The divine, pure blackberry and bilberry bouquet develops touches of graphite in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, silky-smooth texture and a superb bead of acidity. This is not a powerful Brane-Cantenac, and it is perhaps less austere than I suspected en primeur, but it should drink beautifully over the next three decades. If you have a penchant for traditional claret, it really doesn’t come better than this. - Neal Martin
