Château Brane Cantenac - Margaux 2009

Wine Advocate

94 / 100

par Neal Martin le 30/12/2016

Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château, the 2009 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 40% Merlot, 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc, has an extremely pure and sensual bouquet with ripe red cherries, blackberry, minerals and incense that is totally irresistible. The palate is silky smooth with very fine tannin, a great core of tensile red berry fruit with compelling mineralité towards the structured, Pauillac-like finish. This is a top-quality Brane-Cantenac, one of the best under Henri Lurton. One of the most prosaically "delicious" Brane-Cantenac releases in recent years. Tasted April 2015.

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

par Neal Martin le 01/01/2013

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. Always difficult to taste in its youth, I was mean with my score when I tasted the Brane-Cantenac '09 blind, but it revealed much more class with aeration. It has a very sophisticated bouquet: superb delineation and precision with wonderful minerality. The palate is medium-bodied with some hardness coming through. There is a touch of under-ripeness lurking underneath that is perhaps what diminished my score, although I have learnt that this is simply part of the youthful character of Brane-Cantenac that ebbs away with time. It will need at least a decade in the cellar as one of the vintages vin de garde. Tasted January 2013.
(93+ points)

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

91 / 100

par Stephen Tanzer le 31/07/2012

Good deep red. Pretty cassis and floral aromas. Silky, subtle and fresh, with sound acidity framing the pungent dark berry and lightly herbal flavors. Very nicely balanced wine with an elegant finish featuring suave tannins, an intriguing saline quality and subtle persistence.

Wine Spectator

92 / 100

par James Molesworth le 31/03/2012

Ripe and fleshy, with an enticing mix of linzer torte, currant confiture and crushed plum fruit offset by hints of briar and bay leaf. The long finish lets roasted apple wood, singed iron and tobacco leaf notes fill in, while staying plush in feel. Combines the ripeness of the vintage with a nice old-school feel. Best from 2013 through 2025. 12,500 cases made. –JM

Wine Advocate

95 / 100

par Robert Parker le 28/02/2012

A spectacular effort from this estate rivaling their 2005, but more flashy/flamboyant, this dark ruby/purple wine has a strikingly intense nose of licorice, flowers, plums and dark berries. Medium to full-bodied, very approachable and silky, this suave, very sexy wine can be drunk early on as well as aged for 20+ years.

Jamessuckling.com

93 / 100

par James Suckling le 15/02/2012

Beautiful aromas of crushed blueberries and flowers follow through to a full body, with earth, sliced mushroom and dried strawberries. Lemon rind character. Slightly earthy on the finish. Best after 2018.

Le Figaro

93-95 / 100

par Bernard Burtschy le 30/06/2010

Robe grenat. Nez fin et délicat. En bouche, le vin est souple et élégant avec des tannins très fins, le tout est de demi-corps comme d’habitude et de bonne longueur.

timatkin.com

94 / 100

par Tim Atkin MW le 30/06/2010

13.5% alcohol. 53 CS, 40M, 7CF Deeply coloured, very aromatic, with almost a leafy, green pepper note here. On the palate, this is stylish and well balanced, showing the elegance and poise you expect from a Margaux. The wine has as sweet core of fruit, nicely enveloped by tannins and underpinned by acidity. A great buy and one of the best wines in the commune in 2009. 15+ years.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

89-92 / 100

par Ian D'Agata le 30/06/2010

(a blend of 53% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot and 7% cabernet franc; 13.2% alcohol; ph 3.87; IPT 75; 37% selection) Aromas of spicy plum, stony minerals and herbs are currently a bit subdued. Suave and fine-grained, with a light touch to its rather wild flavors of blackcurrant, licorice, minerals and violet. Finishes with easygoing tannins that turned a bit dusty with air, as well as a touch of heat. This will need plenty of bottle age to pull itself together and develop complexity and flesh. But I like the way this wine expresses its appellation clearly in this very ripe year.

La Revue du Vin de France

15,5-16,5 / 20

le 31/05/2010

Le château n'a produit que 37% de premier vin. Il est élégant, avec une fraîcheur préservée et un degré alcoolique modéré (13,2) dans le cadre du millésime. Il privilégie la finesse, avec un côté infusé. On aimerait juste un peu plus de chair en milieu de bouche.

Le Point

16-16,5 / 20

par Jacques Dupont le 06/05/2010

53% cabernet sauvignon, 7% de franc, 40% de merlot. Olive, fruits noirs, petite note de cassis, on est beaucoup sur le plateau, bouche souple, bein fondue, fraîche, assez léger en milieu de bouche frais, tendre, en finesse. O=2016 G=20 ans

Falstaff

90-92 / 100

par Peter Moser le 30/04/2010

Feine Dörrobstnote, Orangenzesten, etwas verhalten, zart rauchige Würze. Elegant, mittlere Textur, frisch strukturiert, knackiger Stil, präsente Tannine im Abgang, Kirschen, elegant, gute Länge.

TAST

17 / 20

par Bettane & Desseauve le 30/04/2010

Certainement un vin fin et harmonieux, avec des notes florales discrètes mais charmeuses, souple, insinuant, tendre, mais on a le sentiment d’un petit manque de corps et d’énergie pour atteindre les sommets, ce qu’on attend de son niveau de classement.

Wine Advocate

91-93 / 100

par Neal Martin le 30/04/2010

A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc with 11.3% pressed wine, cropped between 22nd September and 9th October at 48.4hl/ha, this has a very precise nose with blackberry, cedar, sandalwood and a touch of mint, but returning after 20 minutes, boy does this open up with some lovely sweet raspberry and coffee aromas developing. The palate is medium-bodied, a little disjointed at first but coalescing beautifully over half an hour. Good acidity cutting through the fruit: soft raspberry and strawberry mixed with a hint of dark chocolate, veering towards a savoury finish. This wine only shows its true colours after some serious aeration. A second sample at the UGC was similar on the nose, but there was some vegetal notes coming through towards the finish that were not previously present. This is difficult to work out this Margaux at this stage, but the way it harmonizes gives me optimism. Tasted March 2010.

Wine Enthusiast

93-95 / 100

par Roger Voss le 30/04/2010

A richly structured wine, smoothed with wood, but based mainly on solid black berries and a firm fruit skin texture. It is big and very fruity.–

Wein Wisser

18 / 20

par René Gabriel le 30/04/2010

Sattes Purpur-Granat. Elegantes, fein ausladendes Bouquet, reife Brombeeren und schwarze gekochte Pflaumen, dabei aber nur eine dezente Süsse zeigend. Im Gaumen nobel, erhaben mit viel veloursartig gegliederten Tanninen, Black Currant im Finale. Gehört zu den besten Brane-Cantenac- Jahrgängen. 2016–2035

Wine Advocate

93-95 / 100

par Robert Parker le 28/04/2010

Only 37% of the production made it in to the 2009 Brane Cantenac (slightly lower than most properties because the fruit was so good). This is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.87 and finished alcohol of 13.2%. It is another offering that reveals no evidence of wood even though 70% new oak barrels were utilized. A dense plum/purple color is followed by a lovely perfume of flowers, boysenberries, black cherries, and black currants. Seamless in the mouth with stunning concentration, a seductive style, an exquisite Margaux delicacy, and levels of richness and intensity I have never before seen in Brane Cantenac, it should drink effortlessly for 30+ years. (Tasted four times.) Drink 2010-2040.

Periodic Review of Wine

94-96 / 100

par Alan Duran le 28/04/2010

This is a stunning achievement by Henri Lurton! It is a beauty, offering an opaque ruby-purple hue followed by white flower perfumes, crushed-pencil dust, plum/cherry liqueur, a la plancha meat juice, and wet-stone that reveal extraordinary purity. There are thrilling plum liqueur flavours, a medium to full-body, an elegant mouth-feel and a mass of fruit that reveals such length. This wine grips the palate with extract and gorgeous flavour that has to be tasted. Delicate precision is the hallmark of this nuanced, intellectual wine. A remarkable Brane-Cantenac for the next 25 years! Maturity period 2015-2038.

Anthony Rose

92-94 / 100

par Anthony Rose le 26/04/2010

Deep vivid ruby, very ripe, intense, dark fruits nose, nicely integrated oak, good rich dark concentrated fruits flavours and dark chocolate. There’s an awful lot of wine here, with nicely applied oak and fine, succulent tannins; overall fine-boned and balanced with plenty of sweet, opulent fruit and balance that delivers. This seems destined to turn out a lovely wine. 92-94+

Wine Spectator

89-92 / 100

par James Suckling le 09/04/2010

Blueberries with a chalky, mineral undertone on the nose. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a fresh finish. New wood already showing strong. Not giving much.

Decanter Magazine

18 / 20

par Steven Spurrier le 09/04/2010

Fine purple red, beautifully fragrant Cabernet nose, lovely expression of Margaux fruit, textured and dense, lifted and distinctive, both fleshy and classy, long and harmonious, very good. Drink 2015-30.

Jancis Robinson

16 / 20

par Jancis Robinson le 07/04/2010

Scented and sweet. Rather a heady perfume. Then sweet and sour on the palate – not especially harmonious or integrated, and there is some greenness about the acidity. Serviceable rather than thrilling. Drink 2015-2027