Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A solid effort, this is a wine with great fruit and firm structure to support it. Ripe and full in the mouth, it’s a firm and complex wine with a delicious juicy aftertaste.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 Points -
Decanter
Still austere at this point, it is certainly serious for a 2012. It's extremely young, silky and polished, opening beautifully in the glass to reveal rich chocolate, gourmet damson and cocoa-dusted edges. An impressive wine that needs time. 60% new oak. 53% of production.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Cantenac Brown, one of the most impressive Margaux I tasted, is the complete package – from the initial attack to the layered, rich finish. Dense ruby/purple-hued with notes of licorice, mulberries, black currants, asphalt and spring flowers, this medium to full-bodied, concentrated, rich effort does not reveal an excess of rusticity or astringency.
Barrel Sample: 90-93 Points -
Wine Spectator
This offers beguiling aromas of bergamot, roasted sandalwood and black tea, before giving way to a well-endowed core of plum, blackberry and raspberry reduction notes. The structure is remarkably fine-grained, showing seamless integration through the long finish. A really great showing.
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James Suckling
This is very intense for the vintage in the Médoc with blueberry, mineral and blackcurrant character. Full and chewy. Needs two or three years to soften but already there.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2012 Château Cantenac Brown is spot-on for the vintage. The wine exhibits a pleasing balancing of the elements—ripe fruit, creamy oak, and layered textures. Drinks nicely now with a simple grilled steak, topped with diced shallots. (Tasted: January 30, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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.