Chateau Brane-Cantenac 2eme Cru Classe, Margaux 2015

The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is powerful, structured and explosive in feel. A deep, resonant wine, the 2015 boasts off the charts ripeness allied to formidable structure and tannic heft. I imagine the 2015 is going to need a number of years to become approachable and more than that to be at its best. The dark stone fruit, smoke, tobacco, spice and leather flavors pack a huge punch, but it is the wine's balance that places it among the elite on the Left Bank in 2015. Brane-Cantenac is a total pleasure bomb. I can't wait to taste it with a little bottle age.

Incredibly dark in colour still at a decade of age. Initially slightly closed and inexpressive but begins to reveal rose, violets and jasmine after a few minutes in the glass. Floral, lifted and delicate and so fine. The palate is impeccably balanced and loaded with dark fruit and cherries. Really impressive length with fine, well-integrated tannin. A wonderful wine.

Out of the Medoc peninsula regions in 2015, AOC Margaux did the best, and this is a delicious, pretty electrifying wine. Creamy red and black fruits, smoked tea leaves, roses, beautifully welcoming with lift and momentum. Balanced, confident, fabulous, at a lovely moment to begin drinking. Harvest September 17 to October 19, 52.3hl/h yield. Eric Boissenot consultant, Henri Lurton owner, Christophe Capdeville technical director. Biodynamic trial over 10ha of vineyards, started by Pierre Auché. Grafted Merlot over to Cabernet Sauvignon in parts of the vineyard.

Ripe currants, cassis, graphite, spice wood, camphor, and flowery incense all emerge from the 2015 Château Brane-Cantenac, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Carmenère that was aged 18 months in 70% new French oak. Medium to full-bodied, supple, and layered, it has a sexy, rounded style that's impossible to resist, with velvety tannins and a great finish. This flat-out awesome beauty might be the best since the 2009 and 2010 and can be drunk any time over the coming 25+ years or more. Drink 2026-2051. The 2015 was harvested from September 17 to October 19, hitting 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.66.

Quite impressive ripe dark plums and blackberries with sweet, earthy depth and cedary background oak on the nose. The palate has smooth, slick tannins that carry rich dark fruit long and fresh. This has terrific energy and depth. Really vibrant. Incredible length. Drink from 2022.

The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Carmenere. Deep garnet-purple colored, it storms out with powerful notes of blackberry pie, blueberry compote, and kirsch, plus suggestions of cardamom, menthol, lavender, and roses, plus a hint of cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is finely textured with great freshness and lots of perfume on the long finish.

The 2015 Brane-Cantenac saw biodynamics introduced in ten hectares of the vineyard, plus a reconfiguration of the vat room with eight wooden gravity-fed vats. This is very intense on the nose with blackberry, morello cherry and rose petal scents giving way to touches of cassis and violet. The palate is medium-bodied and quite sturdy for a 2015, with sapid black fruit and a grippy, peppery finish that suggests another year in bottle will do it no harm. An upstanding Brane-Cantenac. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château in September 2025.

Beautifully concentrated floral, fragrant fruit plus minerally depth with smoothness to come. A very fine wine from this on-form second growth.