Winemaker Notes
Remarkable intensity on the nose, with rare notes of apricot, pineapple and peach. Hints of white pepper and red fruits reveal themselves on the second nose. The attack is round with very elegant tannins. The wine is wonderfully smooth and velvety in texture, with exceptional length, reinforced by a strong aromatic finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a complete wine, full of both tannins and great swathes of ripe fruit. It has a serious side as well in its solid structure and concentration. The juicy blackberry fruits are beginning to calm down and meld into a fine dense wine that will age very well. Drink from 2025. Cellar Selection.
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James Suckling
A solid wine with good juicy fruit and typical Brane-Cantenac restraint and class. Medium-bodied, with cassis, paprika, spices and a touch of tobacco. Tannins are fine-grained with a long finish. 77% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot and 2% cabernet franc.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Brane-Cantenac has a very classy bouquet, very well defined with blackberry, cedar and tobacco scents, that trademark graphite scent emerging with a few swirls of the glass. It is exactly what you expect from this Margaux estate. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, well-judged acidity, graphite and cedar towards the linear finish that will clearly need several years to unfold. Classic Margaux really, but wise owls will cellar it away for several years.
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Decanter
Lovely fragrance, the class evident from start to the finish. Very Brane-Cantenac: floral, great finesse, elegant persistence and a good future.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc that was aged 18 months in 70% new French oak, the 2014 Château Brane-Cantenac is a much more Cabernet-driven style in its cassis and currant fruits as well as leafy herbs, graphite, and lead pencil nuances. It's nicely textured, medium-bodied, and has notable purity of fruit and ripe tannins. This classic, focused Margaux will continue drinking beautifully for another 20-30 years.
Lucien Lurton's grandfather acquired the estate in 1925, and was succeeded by his grandson in 1956. Lucien Lurton's son, Henri, currently manages the estate and puts all his efforts into producing a great Margaux in each and every vintage, reflecting Brane-Cantenac's superb vineyard soil.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.