| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
It is hard not to give kudos to proprietor Henri Lurton, as he’s done such a great job at this famous estate in Margaux. The 2012 has an opaque ruby/purple color and beautifully sweet, velvety tannins. It had to be more difficult achieving this level in the Médoc in 2012 than in Graves or the Right Bank sectors of Pomerol and St.-Emilion. With a lush, supple texture, medium to full body, and beautiful flowery blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, this opaque wine is pure and impressively endowed. Another beauty from Lurton, it is soft enough to be drunk early on, but promises to age well for 15-20 years. Drink: 2015 - 2035.
The 2012 Brane-Cantenac was a relatively late-ripening vintage for which harvest finished on October 16. This is far better than the 2011 with more fruit and vigour. Finely delineated blackberry, wild hedgerow and graphite scents continue to lend it a Pauillac-like allure. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and vivid black fruit laced with white pepper, leather and tobacco. Very harmonious and quite elegant in style, this has a very endearing poise on the finish. The 2012 is just entering its drinking window now and should give another 20 years' drinking pleasure. Impressive for the vintage. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château in September 2025. Drink 2025-2045.
A red with mineral, oyster-shell and currant character. Full body, chewy tannins and a long and muscular finish. Needs two or three years to soften. A racy 2012.
Dark crimson. Firm, fully ripe palate (contrasts with the lesser appellations of the southern Médoc). Spreads across the palate. Quite lip smacking and well judged. Not too sweet and, just, not too oaky. Broad.
Under the ownership of the Lurton family, Brane Cantenac remains classically Margaux in style but with a touch more polish than in days gone by. Always smooth and supple wine with no hard edges. This is one Margaux property that doesn't try to be something that it isn't. The blend is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 32% Merlot. This year only 32% of the crop will be used for the Grand Vin, with 38% going into Baron de Brane and 30% into the third wine Notton. Quite a deep colour with tar and coffee on the nose. The palate is medium-weight with some smoky/toasty notes and delicate, chocolatey fruit.
The fruit feels ripe with both nose and palate having lots of cassis and black cherry. Plum fills out the mid palate enriched by liquorice and chocolate with the sweetness of the fruit fleshing out the back palate and finish. 2020-30
One of the best wines in Margaux, as it often is, Henri Lurton's 2012 is typically fragrant,
subtle and well judged, expressing its terroir rather than imposing a style on it. Tobacco and
cedar wood are balanced by medium weight, granular tannins and refreshing mineral, cassis
and red fruit flavours.
Drink: 2020-30
A beauty from Henri Lurton, the 2012 Brane Cantenac exhibits classic notes of spring flowers intermixed with black raspberries, black currants and damp forest floor. This medium-bodied, sweet, ripe, quintessentially elegant, medium-bodied Margaux is nicely concentrated as well as sexy. Enjoy it over the next 10-12 years.
Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château, the 2012 Brane-Cantenac, now in bottle, has developed a satisfying bouquet of blackberry, tar and tobacco, keeping within the Brane-Cantenac style, but perhaps delivering a little more fruit intensity than it showed out of barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and well-judged acidity. There is a pleasant fleshiness here with a salinity on the finish that urges another sip. This is commendable for the vintage, although I would suggest it will offer more pleasure in its youth, rather than something that I would insist upon cellaring. Tasted January 2016.
