Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
While the wood flavors are palpable in this wine, so are the firm tannins and dense black fruit. These elements suggest a wine that will have power and great concentration while also generous blackberry fruits. Drink from 2024.
Barrel Sample: 94-96 -
Decanter
Dark cassis fruit notes run right through the body of the wine, the oak slightly overpowering on the attack but brought perfectly back into balance by the time you are halfway through. It's enjoyable and confident, there is plenty of character, and it stretches out nicely through the palate, maintaining interest. Accomplished winemaking.
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James Suckling
Fresh herb, black currant, paprika and berry aromas. Juicy and nicely fluid, with a medium body and firm tannins. Not an excellent vintage, but the wine has good freshness, balance and juiciness. 74% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Brane-Cantenac starts off a tad restrained and reluctant to show, opening out to notes of baked blackberries, plum preserves and crème de cassis with hints of cigar box and tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wearing a lot of muscular fruit with firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with great length. Needs time! Rating: 92+
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot aged 18 months in 70% new French oak, the 2017 Château Brane-Cantenac is a spicy, complex, nuanced wine offering red and black fruits, leather, tobacco, and baking spice. Medium-bodied and focused, it has a certain austerity on the palate, yet it's ripe and beautifully balanced, with integrated tannins and a great finish. This classic, satisfying, rock-solid effort has another two decades of longevity.
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Wine Spectator
A light singed alder hint leads the way here, along with light bay leaf and savory notes, while the core of gently steeped black cherry and plum fruit fills in slowly. Shows modest intensity through the finish but the flavors knit nicely.
Barrel Sample: 88-91
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.