2012 Château Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, Bordeaux

2012 Château Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, Bordeaux

Product: 20128003243
Prices start from £310.00 per case Buying options
2012 Château Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, Bordeaux

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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12 x 75cl bottle
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6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

In my view, Henri Lurton's wonderfully understated Second Growth is one of the most consistent wines of the Médoc. Never forced or pushed, it is a true and usually close to perfect expression of the vintage. 2012 is no exception, with the vintage conditions determining the cépage, and over 30% of the blend provided by rich and succulent Merlot. Delicate pepper and ripe cherries are lifted by a beautiful crunch of warm and volumous fruit, while the finish is very elegant and long, with waves of expressive red fruits making this another fine effort.
Jake Dean, Fine Wine Sales Director

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate90/100
Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the chteau, the 2012 Brane-Cantenac, now in bottle, has developed a satisfying bouquet of blackberry, tar and tobacco, keeping within the Brane-Cantenac style, but perhaps delivering a little more fruit intensity than it showed out of barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and well-judged acidity. There is a pleasant fleshiness here with a salinity on the finish that urges another sip. This is commendable for the vintage, although I would suggest it will offer more pleasure in its youth, rather than something that I would insist upon cellaring. Tasted January 2016.
Neal Martin - 28/12/2016 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
Dark crimson. Firm, fully ripe palate (contrasts with the lesser appellations of the southern Médoc). Spreads across the palate. Quite lip smacking and well judged. Not too sweet and, just, not too oaky. Broad.
Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com, 22 Apr 2013 Read more
Wine Spectator90-93/100
Plush, with a legitimate structure buried in the core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit. A warm stone note lurks in the background. Well-rendered.
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, April 8 2013 Read more
Robert Parker90-92/100
A beauty from Henri Lurton, the 2012 Brane Cantenac exhibits classic notes of spring flowers intermixed with black raspberries, black currants and damp forest floor. This medium-bodied, sweet, ripe, quintessentially elegant, medium-bodied Margaux is nicely concentrated as well as sexy. Enjoy it over the next 10-12 years.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 2013 Read more
Decanter17.5+/20
Superb colour, fine floral bouquet, very smooth extraction of fruit and fine, classy, very Margaux texture and length. Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Brane-Cantenac

Chateau Brane-Cantenac

Château Brane-Cantenac was for many years the home of Lucien Lurton - it is now owned and run by his son Henri. Its vineyards are located west of the village of Cantenac in the Margaux appellation. Brane-Cantenac's vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (40%), Cabernet Franc (4.5%) and Carmenère 0,5%,  and lie on fine, gravelly soils. Vinification includes up to 18 months' wood ageing, a third to a half in new `barriques'.

Brane Cantenac was perceived throughout much of the 70s and 80s as an underperforming property. Since Henri took over, there has been extensive investment in the cuverie and chai, as well as vastly improved vineyard management techniques. Consequently, the wines at Brane Cantenac now show more weight and concentration, although they still possess that haunting bouquet and quintessential elegance that characterise the wines of Margaux. It is classified as a 2ème Cru Classé.

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Margaux

Margaux

If Pauillac can be seen as the bastion of ‘traditional’ Red Bordeaux, then Margaux represents its other facet in producing wines that are among Bordeaux’s most sensual and alluring. It is the largest commune in the Médoc, encompassing the communes of Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labaude, in addition to Margaux itself. Located in the centre of the Haut-Médoc, Margaux is the closest of the important communes to the city of Bordeaux.

The soils in Margaux are the lightest and most gravelly of the Médoc, with some also containing a high percentage of sand. Vineyards located in Cantenac and Margaux make up the core of the appelation with the best vineyard sites being located on well-drained slopes, whose lighter soils give Margaux its deft touch and silky perfumes. Further away from the water, there is a greater clay content and the wines are less dramatically perfumed.

Margaux is the most diffuse of all the Médoc appelations with a reputation for scaling the heights with irreproachable wines such as Ch. Margaux and Ch. Palmer, but also plumbing the depths, with too many other châteaux not fulfilling their potential. There has been an upward shift in recent years, but the appellation cannot yet boast the reliability of St Julien. However, the finest Margaux are exquisitely perfumed and models of refinement and subtlety which have few parallels in Bordeaux.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Margaux, Ch. Palmer, Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Ch. Rauzan-Ségla , Ch. Dufort-Vivens, Ch. Ferrière, Ch. du Tertre, Ch. Giscours, Ch. d'Angludet.

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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