Château BRANE-CANTENAC
2ème grand cru classé

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The 2022 vintage in the press:

Vinous (A. Galloni - January 2025): 92/100 "The 2022 Baron de Brane is gorgeous second wine. Merlot drives the blend, and that comes through in the wine's plush contours and forward, succulent fruit. Black cherry, plum, licorice and menthol all meld together in an effortless wine that is all charm. This is beautifully done."

J.M Quarin (February 2025): 92/100 "Dark, intense colour. Very aromatic nose, subtle for the first time. Smooth on the palate, savoury in the middle, with a melting body, the wine builds gently before shining through with its aromatic brilliance on the finish. Normal length. Delicious overall."

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The 2019 vintage in the press:

Vinous (A. Galloni - January 2022): 92/100 "The 2019 Baron de Brane is a gorgeous second wine. Succulent black cherry, plum, spice and leather are front and center. This racy Margaux offers a compelling interplay of bright red-toned fruit and silky contours."

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The 2022 vintage in the press:

J-M Quarin (February 2025): 99/100 “Intense purple-black color. Magnificent nose: intense, fine, subtle, pure and complex. Grows a little more intense with agitation, becoming captivating, with nuances of vanilla, cherry and zan. Full-bodied on the attack, fleshy in the mid-palate, with a great burst of flavor, the wine glides across the palate, savory, rich, mellow and deep. The finish is almost ethereal, taking it into another dimension that's impossible to spit out. The Médoc's most extraordinary advance towards ultra-luxury of taste! Bravo et merci.”

Vinous (A. Galloni-February 2025): 97/100 “The 2022 Brane-Cantenac showed supremely well from barrel. Now in bottle, the aromatics are tightly wound at first, opening with each swirl to reveal blackberry, crushed stone, peony and cracked black pepper scents. It is quintessential Brane-Cantenac. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins that lend this MArgaux unerring sym. Indeed, this is the finest balanced Brane-Cantenac that I have encountered to date. It is almost pixelated in quiality and very focused, with wonderful depth, precision and gentle grip toward the finish. So much energy is packed into this wine that it is almost impossible to detect the 100% new oak. It's brillant.”

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The 2016 vintage in the press:

J-M Quarin (September 2023): 96/100 “Dark color, medium intensity and slightly evolved. Very aromatic, fruity and creamy on the nose. Soft on the palate, tasty in the middle, with class in the touch, the wine melts on the palate, deep, delicate, taut and tender at the same time. Great aromatic persistence, with a fine grain. Superb!"

Vinous (N. Martin - December 2018): 96/100 "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."

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The 2015 vintage in the press:

J-M Quarin (September 2023): 97/100 “Dark, intense, slightly evolved color. Very aromatic nose, with pure, ripe, suave fruit. Ample on the attack, mellow in the mid-palate, with class in the touch and a very fine ascent between the middle and the finish, the wine evolves long, liquorice and deep. It's superb and the right expression of this vintage compared to the previous one.”

Vinous (N. Martin - February 2025): 93/100 “The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is a classy Margaux that is drinking beautifully at ten years old. It still has those blackberry and bilberry scents mixed with tobacco and light minty aromas that I have not noticed in previous bottles. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, a keen line of acidity, bright red fruit mixed with curry leaf and touches of black tea. It doesn't have the chutzpah of a truly great Brane-Cantenac on the finish but conveys a sense of class."

Re-tasted 10 years later by the Revue du Vin de France and rated 18/20 "very seductive, with an intense palate, still marked by fresh fruit flavours".

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The 2010 vintage in the press:

Vinous (N. Martin - April 2024) : 94/100 "The 2010 Brane-Cantenac opens up the nose, gaining fruit concentration with aeration. Black plum, blackberry, wild hedgerow and tobacco scents emerge from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and pencil lead notes infusing the black fruit. This is quite Pauillac-like, with a tingle of black pepper on the finish. It is very fine but needs time."

J-M Quarin (September 2023): 95/100 “Dark, intense, purple color, beautiful and slightly evolved. Nose very aromatic, fine, with pure, ripe fruit, evolving complex and noble with shaking of the glass. A touch of toast. Full-bodied on the palate, particularly aromatic in the middle, with a classy touch, the wine grows on the finish, fine, long, tender and tasty. Nevertheless, it retains a slightly lively touch (Cabernet franc?) ”

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