Château Brane Cantenac, 2ème Cru Classé, Margaux, 2012
74% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmenere with 11.3% press wine and weighing in at 12.7% alcohol. This hails exclusively from the plateau they call terrace IV, where Henri Lurton and his team have grafted Cabernet Sauvignon plants onto old Merlot rootstock. The additional Cabernet adds an aromatic complexity and freshness. They were very careful with extractions and appear to have produced a really harmonious and successful 2021. Wonderful florality, cool cherries and blood orange. Great definition to the fruit, pure, juicy, bittersweet fruit – the mid-palate is packed with sleek, refined berries supported by beams of acidity. This is a splendid Brane Cantenac sustained by supple, fine tannins. Exquisite.
critic reviews
The 2012 Brane-Cantenac was a relatively late-ripening vintage for which harvest finished on October 16. This is far better than the 2011 with more fruit and vigour. Finely delineated blackberry, wild hedgerow and graphite scents continue to lend it a Pauillac-like allure. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and vivid black fruit laced with white pepper, leather and tobacco. Very harmonious and quite elegant in style, this has a very endearing poise on the finish. The 2012 is just entering its drinking window now and should give another 20 years' drinking pleasure. Impressive for the vintage. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château in September 2025.
The 2012 Brane-Cantenac is medium to deep garnet colored. It opens with tobacco leaf, leather, and tilled earth scents over a core of prunes and mince pies, plus a suggestion of dried sage. The medium-bodied palate is a little thin yet has nice freshness, offering chewy tannins and a savory finish.
The 2012 Brane-Cantenac was picked from September 27 to October 16. It has a straight-down-the-fairway, classic nose for this estate, featuring open tobacco and graphite aromas that display great vivacity. You would think this was a Pauillac if tasted blind. The medium-bodied palate is more saline compared to previous bottles, delivering fine tannin and a tang of white pepper and fennel toward the finish that lingers in the mouth. This was a big surprise, but the 2012s have really blossomed in bottle, and this is no different. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château.