Cantenac Brown 2022 (750ML)

96 DE / 94-96 WA / 94-96 VM / 95 JA / 93-95 JD / 93-94 JS / 92-94+ WI

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. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter

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. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

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 mediumbodied with supple but firm tannins, nicely structured. There's a crescendo of fruit toward the mineraldriven finish. Cohesive and full of character, this is another superb Margaux from an estate in the ascendant under winemaker José Sanfins. -- Neal Martin Vinous Media

A real golden patch for the Cantenac Brown team, with ever increasing confidence in extraction and expression, plenty of floral edges with inky plum and a vibrant violet rim. Things are pretty intense, with aromatics that are highly charged, with fresh acidities, intense violet and plum, good quality, rich and ripped texture. This is a good quality wine with heavy tannin imprint on the finish, and decades ahead of it. Fingerprints of the vintage, delivered with deft precision. 60% new oak barrels, 40% one vintage barrels for ageing. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

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. -Jeb Dunnuck

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. - James Suckling

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. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent