Brane Cantenac 2014

Tasted blind. Rich, dense, pretty exciting with lots of nerviness. Complex. Deep flavoured.Drink 2021-2040

A wine that shows structure and ambition, with 70% new oak and a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon underpinned by freshnes, minerality and subtle concentration. Cedarwood notes add an extra dimension.

The 2014 Brane-Cantenac offers a mixture of red and black fruit on the nose, traces of cedar and tobacco, even a mote of chalk dust. It is understated but very complex. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, smooth and silky in texture, the acidity well judged but just a touch of greenness shows on the finish, as it often does with this château. Just give it the prerequisite bottle age of ten years or so and you will have a very fine Margaux. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2024 - 2045

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. Drink 2022-2045

The Château Brane-Cantenac 2014 is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, representing 38% of the total crop. It was picked between 22 September commencing with the Merlot up until 9 October finishing with the Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields came in at 44.8 hectoliters per hectare. It has a very typical nose for this Margaux estate: understated and reserved at first, touches of ground-up stone intermixed with brambly red berry fruit and damp undergrowth scents. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. There is moderate weight in the mouth, plenty of sous-bois character and a touch of graphite (à la Pauillac) leading to a tapered but sustained finish. This is your straight-down-the-line classic Brane-Cantenac, unashamedly classic in style, what you might call "good old fashioned claret." Never the beauty queen at primeur, my remarks reflect how this Margaux blossoms in bottle. Drink: 2020 - 2040.

A solid core of fruit here with lots of cabernet character, as well as currants and blueberries. Full to medium body. Chewy tannins, yet polished and refined.

A blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2014 Brane-Cantenac is deep garnet in color. It gallops out of the glass with notes of baked plums and cassis, plus hints of mossy tree bark, tar, and dried roses, plus a hint of charcuterie. Medium to full-bodied, firm, and grainy, the palate has a lively line cutting through the dense black fruits, finishing long with a peppery kick.

Dark, fairly evolved crimson. Sweet, light, a bit simple and green. This is the sort of casually made wine that gets classed growths a bad name - though of course it may not be a classed growth!? (It is.) Drink 2018-2026