Chateau Brane-Cantenac (Futures Pre-Sale) 2011

Professional Ratings

• 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Made in a sexy, perfumed style, this 2011 seduces the taster with its wonderful aromatics of blue, red and black fruits, flowers, damp earth and forest floor. With excellent to outstanding concentration, fresh acidity and velvety tannins, this plush Margaux is atypically opulent/flamboyant for the vintage. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.
  Barrel Sample 90-93 Points
• 93 Wine Enthusiast
  Solid and dominated by dry tannins from both wood and fruit, this wine has intense, juicy black-fruit flavors. It's open and lively, but shows a core of dense dryness.
  Barrel Sample: 91-93 Points
• 93 Decanter
  This is a great example of how 2011 is evolving. There's a softness and grace to the fruit that was perhaps not expected in the austere early years - and even during a tasting I did of this wine in late 2017. Today, it's starting to open up, with an emphasis of rose petals and light spices that give the appellation signature but in a less concentrated form than, say, 2010 or 2015. It's enjoyable and good quality, a welcoming bottle that has plenty of complexity to get hold of, and tannins that suggest there's still a long way to go. It speaks of the success of Brane Cantenac in recent years. 0.5% Carmenère completes the blend. 39% of production.
• 90 Wine Spectator
  Offers a pretty, dusty edge, with lightly mulled cherry and plum notes, stitched with floral hints and a touch of singed sandalwood. Shows good flesh through the finish, with a pebbly backdrop. Best from 2016 through 2026. 8,330 cases made.