Brane Cantenac 2019 (1.5L)

97+ WI / 97 WA / 97 VM / 97 WCI / 96 DE / 96 JD / 95 JS / 95 JA / 95 FS / 16.5+ JR

#34 Jeb Dunnuck's Top 100 2022

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Carmenere, the 2019 Brane-Cantenac is deep garnet-purple colored. It reveals beautiful scents of kirsch, juicy blackcurrants, and redcurrant jelly with wafts of roses, Sichuan pepper, clove oil, and wood smoke. Full-bodied, concentrated, and impactful in the mouth, it has a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant. It is impressive to see a wine with so much energy!-Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

Derived exclusively from the château's holdings on the deep gravel soils of the plateau of Brane, the 2019 Brane-Cantenac has turned out brilliantly and merits a special effort to seek out. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries, pencil shavings, violets, sweet loamy soil and cardamon, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with lively acids, ripe tannins and a beautifully seamless, perfumed profile. Retaining all the estate's signature elegance but with an extra dimension of depth and intensity, it's the finest Brane-Cantenac of the modern era and one of the great successes of the 2019 vintage. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

The 2019 Brane-Cantenac is wild and exotic from the very first taste. The aromatics alone are dazzling. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, spice, tobacco, new leather, menthol and cinnamon are all kicked up in this flamboyant Margaux. The 2019 is radiant and generous, yet also retains a very classic sense of structure. The precision here is just unreal. In 2019, Brane-Cantenac is an absolute head-turner. It is the sort of wine that abounds in Bordeaux, a wine that offers tremendous quality and relative value. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Brane Cantenac is on fire lately! Vintage after vintage, they have really been on top of their game and 2019 continues their hot-streak! I do not know what is better, the silky, supple, sensuous, and sexy textures on the palate, or the complex set of aromas with all of its roses, lilacs, violets, cherries, plums, tobacco-leaf, earth and herbs. The wine has texture, length and purity along with the ability to age and evolve for up to 3 decades. This is a beautiful wine from Brane Cantenac. Drink from 2027-2060.-Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider

Creamy black fruit and dark chocolate alongside hints of coffee on the nose. Lovely sumptuous texture here, chewy with bite and grip. This has high acidity on the palate with tannins that are plush but focussed. This is glossy and quite glamorous, yet still refined with flavours shining brightly out the glass. Good persistence and a menthol, charcoal-edged finish that lingers satisfyingly. Drinking Window 2027 - 2035 - Georgina Hindle, Decanter

One of the standout Margaux, the 2019 Château Brane-Cantenac shows more elegance and finesse in its tannins and structure than most. Giving up a beautifully complex nose of cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as cedary spice and spring flowers, it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, has a seamless mouthfeel, beautiful purity and precision, and a great finish. This is certainly the finest vintage I’ve tasted from this Chateau, surpassing even the 2018, although comparing these two vintages side by side over the coming years will be a true treat. Drink this beauty any time over the coming 20-25 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

This shows lots of currant, chocolate, tobacco and herbal aromas and flavors. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and a juicy finish. Refined and complex. Needs at least four or five years to come together. Better after 2025. - James Suckling

Well handled and well placed fruits, this remains a little restrained now, but on opening up you get crushed stone and black pepper spice that adds a gourmet edge to the just-smoked oak. Extremely high quality, delivering on its En Primeur promise. 100% new oak. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

The grand vin 2019 Château Brane-Cantenac takes it up a notch, revealing a deeper, saturated purple color, gorgeous notes of cassis, new leather, cedar pencil, and flowers, medium to full-bodied richness, and the elegance and purity that are the defining features of the vintage. It's almost already hard to resist, with beautiful balance and purity, yet still has solid underlying tannins. Again, the balance here is brilliant. - Jeb Dunnuck

Dark ruby ??garnet, violet reflections, delicate edge lightening. Delicate blackberries and licorice, fresh orange zest, a hint of tobacco, nuances of vanilla in the background. Juicy, lively, seems light-footed, ripe red fruit nuances, fine, silky tannins, freshly structured, delicately nougat-like, a slightly leaner food wine at the moment with a sweet aftertaste and good potential.-Peter Moser, Falstaff

Tasted blind. Colour a little diffuse. High-toned. Not the most mellifluous, with evidence of winemaking rather than vineyard. But it should certainly deliver pleasure , even if the finish is a bit drying at present.-Jancis Robinson