Cantenac Brown - Margaux 2022

Alexandre Ma

95

byAlexandre Mathe3/10/2025

Château Cantenac Brown 2022, now in bottle, reveals a luminous, juicy palate while leaving a subtle and intriguing depth that lingers. Aromas of hawthorn jelly, blackcurrant, and sour jujube greet me with vibrant immediacy as I lift the glass. With a moment’s pause, the sweeter notes of longan, pine resin, and rhubarb jam gradually unfold, adding layers of complexity. The wine’s 70% new oak and mature tannins (from polyphenols and grape seeds) shape a finely textured structure, complemented by a delicate metallic whisper of graphite and iron dust. The violet note, like a purple glow emanating from a hidden cave, draws you irresistibly closer.

Wine Advocate

95

byWilliam Kelleythe3/7/2025

Bottled in late June 2024, the 2022 Cantenac Brown has turned out well in bottle, exhibiting a complex bouquet of plums, dark berries and cherries, mingled with hints of pen ink, violets and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, dense and pure, with a rich chassis of sweet, integrated tannins, this is a serious, complete Margaux that's built for the cellar.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

95

byJane Ansonthe3/7/2025

Medium to full intensity, plenty of depth and character through the palate here. Excellent quality, vivid, character, not too sweet, has kept lift and character and tension, touches of fern and iris, with cassis puree, blackberry, graphite. Very good, 60% new oak barrels. Delivering on En Primeur promise.

The Wine Cellar Insider

95

byJeff Levethe3/4/2025

Cantenac Brown, Château

Jeb DUNNUCK

93

byJeb Dunnuckthe2/28/2025

Ripe red and black fruits, chocolate oak, graphite, and floral nuances all define the 2022 Château Cantenac Brown, a medium to full-bodied, nicely balanced Margaux that has integrated background oak, fine, polished tannins, and a great finish. Based on 69% Cabernet Sauvignon and 31% Merlot, from clay and limestone soils and aged 16 months in oak, it’s going to benefit from 3-5 years in the cellar and have 20+ years of prime drinking.

Yvesbeck.wine

96

byYves Beckthe2/25/2025

69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot On prend l'habitude, avec Cantenac Brown, d'avoir des vins dédiés à la finesse et aux détails. Le 2022 ne fait pas exception à la règle avec sa pluralité et sa complémentarité entre les différents éléments présents. De subtiles nuances de griottes créent le lien avec des effluves de pivoines, de sureau, d'épices douces et, finalement, de menthe poivrée. De bonne densité, le vin est légèrement crémeux, précis, friand et porté par des tannins suaves cautionnant vigueur et fraîcheur. Un vin invitant, harmonieux, tonique, salivant et persistant. C'est encore une fois une très belle réussite de José Sanfins et ses équipes. 2027-2047 96/100

Vinous

95

byNeal Martinthe2/12/2025

The 2022 Cantenac Brown was a stunner from barrel. Now in bottle, it has a vivacious bouquet highlighting blackberry, wild strawberry and cedar aromas, with hints of violet emerging over time. It shows wonderful delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, fruit that is a little blacker than its peers, gentle grip, nicely judged acidity and a very harmonious, persistent finish. This is a seductive, quite sensual Cantenac Brown worthy of their brand new winery. It’s superb.

Jamessuckling.com

96

byJames Sucklingthe2/3/2025

Gorgeous blackberry, blackcurrant and tapenade aromas follow through to a medium body with super-integrated tannins that are very refined. The thick, polished, silky texture is impressive. Best ever from here. Drink after 2029.

Vinous

92

byAntonio Gallonithe1/28/2025

The 2022 Cantenac Brown offers up copious dark fruit, chocolate, licorice, new leather and cloves. A wine of palpable volume and heft, the Cantenac Brown is a very big Margaux endowed with broad shoulders and plenty of volume. The tannins are large-scaled and imposing. I find the 2022 a bit tough in its overall feel, as it was _en primeur_. It will be interesting to see how it ages. Tasted two times with consistent notes.

Wine Spectator

95

byJames Molesworththe1/27/2025

Another beautifully rendered expression of the vintage, this marries lush boysenberry and blackberry fruit with fresh violet and iris notes, then stitches it all up gently with warm earth on the stylish, lengthy finish. It's hard to lay off already, but cellaring is warranted. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2026 through 2038. 9,000 cases made.

Decanter.com

96

byGeorgina Hindlethe5/25/2023

Juicy and lively, cool and crisp with concentrated but cool tannins that give the structure and density. It's massy, full, upfront, but retains a charm in that nothing is harsh or austere or too spiced. It's full but there's something very captivating about this, has excitement and vibrancy and will be totally delicious and moreish when the time is right. Lovely acidity, beautiful red fruits, crisp and tense yet layered and ripe, mineral too. Gives you the emotion! Harvest 7-27 September. Ageing in French oak, 60% new, 40% one year old.

Alexandre Ma

95-97

byAlexandre Mathe5/17/2023

Diverging slightly from its fresh and juicy style, Château Cantenac Brown 2022 revealed its profound, unfathomable power from the very beginning. The intense aroma of hawthorn cake and blackcurrant overwhelmed me as soon as I took a whiff. With 70% new oak and mature tannins (polyphenols and grape seeds), the wine boasts a fortress-like structure, filling the palate with graphite and metallic iron notes. However, just when I thought it would continue to gain strength, a familiar refreshing sensation approached: a medley of clove flowers, longan, rhubarb jam, and pine resin tantalized my taste buds. As Château Cantenac Brown prepares to vinify in a brand-new wine cellar next year, let us consider this vintage a fond farewell kiss.

Vinous

94-96

byNeal Martinthe5/17/2023

The 2022 Cantenac Brown has an elegant nose, showing pure black cherry, wild strawberry, blackcurrant pastilles and cedar aromas. I appreciate the mineralité here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple but firm tannins, nicely structured. There's a crescendo of fruit toward the mineral-driven finish. Cohesive and full of character, this is another superb Margaux from an estate in the ascendant under winemaker José Sanfins.

The Vintage Journal

95-96

byAndrew Caillard MWthe5/17/2023

Medium deep crimson. Attractive blackcurrant, blackberry, dark chocolate aromas. Generous and supple with lovey dark berry fruits, dense chcilaty tannins and underlyijng savoury nuances. Some chinotto/ bittersweet notes at the finish. (Cabernet Sauvign, Merlot, Cabernet Franc 60% new oak)

matthewjukes.com

15,5

byMatthew Jukesthe5/15/2023

The Wine Independent

92-94

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/15/2023

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 Cantenac Brown spills from the glass with expressive scents of cassis, blueberry pie, and Morello cherries, followed by touches of lavender and cinnamon stick. The medium to full-bodied palate has an impressive amount of vibrant red and black fruit layers with fine-grained tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and perfumed.

Yvesbeck.wine

96-98

byYves Beckthe5/10/2023

Cantenac-Brown se distingue par une exceptionnelle pluralité et par sa subtilité. D'une rare précision, le bouquet ne favorise aucun élément en particulier, il les laisse tous briller, tant au niveau fruité ou épicé qu'au niveau de la fraîcheur et de l'élevage. La logique affichée par le bouquet est parfaitement assumée et reprise par le palais. Ce dernier brille de son harmonie, de ses tannins fins et puissants et d'une acidité structurante qui assure la fraîcheur de la finale tandis qu'une fine amertume assure la persistance de la finale. Un vin qui se distingue par sa finesse, sa pertinence et qui a choisi une évidente voie axée sur l'élégance et la précision. Quelle magnifique réussite.

Bettane & Desseauve

93-94

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/10/2023

Belle couleur, corps complet, tannin bien extrait, grandes promesses pour cette propriété qui ne cesse d’aller vers le plus haut niveau de l’appellation, avec une finesse de plus en plus immédiate et éclatante.

Jeb DUNNUCK

93-95

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/10/2023

The dense purple-hued 2022 Château Cantenac Brown is based on 69% Cabernet Sauvignon and 31% Merlot. A beautiful Margaux, it offers lots of smoky red and black fruits intermixed with violets, graphite, and lead pencil-like nuances. With medium to full-bodied richness, a vibrant spine of acidity, and nicely integrated tannins, it plays in the more focused, elegant, pretty end of the spectrum. It's going to reward a solid 5-7 years of bottle age.

Vinous

90-93

byAntonio Gallonithe5/9/2023

The 2022 Cantenac Brown is a powerhouse. Dense and massively constituted, the 2022 stains the palate with inky black fruit, leather, dark chocolate, cloves and licorice. In this tasting, Cantenac Brown comes across as rather monolithic, with the radiance and very low yields of the year very much on display. Drinking window : 2028-2047

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96

byJeff Levethe5/5/2023

Deeply colored, the wine shows off its violets, lilacs, licorice, black cherry, and currant character with a single swirl. On the palate, the wine is rich, lush, polished, creamy, and loaded with black, red and blue fruits. There is length, opulence, and layers of ripe, sweet, pit fruits that linger. The wine is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon and 31% Merlot. 13.8% ABV, 3.64 pH. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. The Grand Vin was produced using only 52% of the harvest. Picking took place September 7 - September 27. Drink from 2027-2055.

Wine Advocate

94-96

byWilliam Kelleythe5/2/2023

A few years ago, this estate purchased 22 additional hectares in the heart of the plateau of Margaux, including old vine Cabernet Sauvignon that is now making an appreciable contribution to the blend, and that helps to explain why the 2022 Cantenac Brown is so good. Unwinding in the glass with notes of dark berries, plums, charcoal, pencil shavings and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and elegantly muscular, with a layered core, refined tannins and a penetrating finish. The finest wine that José Sanfins has produced to date, the 2022 only improved during the several weeks I spent in Bordeaux. It's a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon and 31% Merlot.

Jamessuckling.com

93-94

byJames Sucklingthe4/19/2023

A solid Margaux with creamy and fine tannins that spread across the palate. Medium-bodied, layered and already delicious. Hints of dried citrus at the end.