| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
I can't say enough about how beautifully classic, racy, and gracious the wines of Brane Cantenac have become over the last decade. The stunningly elegant 2006 exhibits a sweet, subtle smoke note intermixed with creme de cassis in its medium-bodied style with superb nobility, concentration, and sweet tannin. Possessing a complex, luscious personality with strikingly beautiful, velvety tannins, it should be at its finest between 2012-2025+.
The 2006 Château Brane-Cantenac has a typical nose from the estate, although it is more reminiscent of a Saint Julien than a Pauillac: savory red berry fruit, tertiary notes and sandalwood developing with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, a slight green-ish tinge underneath, quite structured and with plenty of freshness towards the finish. My quibble is that for a Brane-Cantenac it is more developed than its peers. As such, it is drinking better than the 2005 at the moment since the preceding vintage requires more bottle age. That said, I would not be inclined to cellar it any more than a dozen more years.
Balanced and pretty, with plum and currant. Medium- to full-bodied, with fine tannins and a medium-long finish. All in finesse.
Reasonably deep crimson. Full, meaty, even slightly bloody. Very upfront rather simple sweet fruit and hardly detectable tannin. Certainly could not be accused of an excess of ambition ... Bit of a wimp really.
Deep red. Expressive nose offers black fruits, espresso and musky dark chocolate lifted by an exotic floral component. Juicy, sweet and pliant, with a generosity of texture in the context of the vintage. Has the mid-palate flavor intensity to buffer its tannins and finishes with noteworthy persistence.
Tasted at the UGC. The nose is rather muted, faint scents of raspberry leaf with a touch of brown sugar in the back ground. Ripe, bit lacking some definition. The palate is full-bodied with spicy red-berried fruit, lacking a little freshness and vitality. Tannic, slightly green on the finish. A little underwhelming to be honest. (86-88) Tasted again in London where again the nose took some coaxing before revealing a ripe nose with more cigar box aromas than in Bordeaux. It also has a little more vigour on the palate with tobacco and blackberry leaf on the finish that still has a touch of greenness. (88-90) Tasted April 2007.
