Cantenac Brown - Margaux 2006

Jane Anson

93 / 100

byJane Ansonthe1/4/2022

« A great example of why it's important to think about serving temperature and aerating older Bordeaux. This is a little subdued on opening, but with just 30 minutes in a carafe it spills out rich pencil lead and liquorice notes, softened by hedgrowbrambled blackberry fruits and smoky vanilla spice in the mid palate. Classic Margaux 2006, with fairly high acidity that
helps emphasise the floral edge, with refined tannins and the beginning of a tertiary character. The finish emphasises the savoury tannins of a well-aged Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wine, slightly drying but a juicy mint leaf kick that shows there is plenty of life ahead. This is ready to go today and is extremely drinkable, but there is no rush and it will hold its own for another few decades. An unusual vintage at Cantenac Brown, where they produced only 30% of 1st wine, reflecting a new regime of greater precision in harvesting and sorting. 60% new oak.Coming back to it with food after a few hours, it's even better -definitely easy to recommend.»

Wine Advocate

88 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/31/2016

Tasted blind at Farr Vintners' horizontal, the 2006 Cantenac Brown offers a pleasant cranberry and raspberry coulis-scented bouquet with nicely integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with quite high acidity, fresh in the mouth, but rather steely and it seems to miss some depth on the otherwise elegant finish. The intentions are good here, but it does not quite pull it off. Tasted April 2016.

Jancis Robinson

16.50 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe1/27/2010

Now this smells rather Italian and savoury to me! Firm and not that dense but it has not totally lost connection with Margaux style.Drink 2015-2028

Wine Spectator

90 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe3/31/2009

A gorgeous nose of blackberry and plum jam, with a vanilla bean hint. Full-bodied and soft-textured, with round, chewy tannins and lots of fruit. A little loosely knit now, but will come together beautifully with age. Best after 2012.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

86-88 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2008

Good bright red-ruby. Perfumed aromas of blackberry and spicy oak. Nicely tactile flavors of dark fruits, licorice, minerals and game lead to a distinctly firm-edged finish featuring slightly dry, oak-driven tannins. A rather Pauillac style of Margaux.

La Revue du Vin de France

16.50-17.50 / 20

the7/6/2007

Belle matière sur des notes de fruits noirs, avec une bonne densité en bouche et une chair pleine. Un vin complet et de belle longueur.

Decanter Magazine

16 / 20

the6/30/2007

Intense colour, big tanky, meaty nose with a hint of violets above the concentration, solid and chunky, more robuts than elegant. 2012-20

Le Point

18 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/24/2007

Framboise, rose rouge, bouche très dense, pleine, épicée, tanins onctueux et serrés, très belle trame, large et long, une sorte de condensé de margaux mais sans rusticité ni vulgarité, beau fruit en finale.

WeinWisser

17 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/7/2007

2015-2028. Tiefes, sattes Granat mit bläulichem Schimmer. Florales Holunderbouquet, schöne Tiefe. Im Gaumen dicht, cremig, nicht mehr so vorstehende Tannine wie bei früheren Jahrgängen, blaubeeriges, homogenes Fnale. DIe neuen Besitzer sind auf sicherem Kurs, der Wein ist hervorragend gelungen und weistaufrund der fordernden Adstringenz ein interessantes Potenzial auf.

Wine Advocate

90-92 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/3/2007

New owner, Syrian Simon Halabi, has instituted a severe selection process (only 35% of the production was utilized), resulting in what may be the finest Cantenac-Brown I have ever tasted. Halabi has given his staff carte blanche in order to get this estate back on track after a succession of good, but somewhat rustic, nearly overly tannic wines. The 2006 offers hints of lead pencil shavings intermixed with blueberry, blackberry, and pain grille aromas. The wine is dense, concentrated, and moderately tannic, with loads of pure fruit and medium to full body. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030.

TAST

15 / 20

the4/30/2007

Robe convenable, texture veloutée, tannin élégant, mais pour le moment un peu trop simple dans son expression aromatique par rapport aux tout meilleurs. Vin bien vinifié et qui, certainement, en dira davantage sur lui dans un an !

Vinum

17.50 / 20

the4/30/2007

Mineralisch und beerig, von einr Fruchtigkeit und Frische, die ihresgleichen sucht, mit umwerfend leckeren, saftigen Tanninen, ellenlanges Finale -einmal mehr ein Topbuy. 2014 bis 2022

Wine Advocate

85-87 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/15/2007

Tasted at the UGC. A very sweet, almost cloying nose lacking poise and delineation. Heavy on the oak. The palate has high extraction, lacking some poise and delineation and bereft of a sense of naturalness. Very tannic and sinewy on the mid-palate with ripe blackberry and blueberry with a finish that somehow turns it all around and ends up quite elegant! Lacking any sense of focus at the moment, this is a wine I will keep my eye upon.

Wine Enthusiast

90-91 / 100

the4/15/2007

Sweet caramel aromas indicate a wine that is packed with new wood flavors. New world in style, heavy on the toasty wood. The fruit is just beginning to live up to the wood. —R.V.

Jancis Robinson

15 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/10/2007

Lustrous crimson. Sweet, slightly jammy nose. Not distinguished. Very green tannins and not much ripe fruit in evidence. Puny. New owner post AXA.

Wine Spectator

89-91 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe3/29/2007

Impressive blackberry and mineral aromas. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a medium finish. A little hollow, but I like it.