WTN: Brane-Cantenac 1928-2007

Last night Mark Golodetz organized a wine tasting - a vertical of Brane-Cantenac -as a benefit for the non-profit I direct. He supplied a large portion of the wines, with the rest being provided by Henri Lurton on Brane-Cantenac. Henri was present and provided fascinating insights into the vintages, history, winemaking, and business challenges of running a 2nd growth Margaux. A convivial group enjoyed the wines and were most generous towards our efforts to help the less fortunate.

The tasting was hosted by Stuart in a beautful Brooklyn townhouse. A rather amazing meal- bison tartare with truffle and fiddleheads wrapped in proscuitto, 7 onion soup, foie gras and mushrooms on blinis, pasta with sausage seasoned with incredibly aromatic truffle salt, wild salmon marinated with red wine and grapes, Brussels sprouts sauteed with pancetta fat, filet, a cheese course, dessert. I might have missed something!Rivaled a top notch restaurant.

1990 Jacquart Champagne Brut Millesime
I didn't write anything down, but I quite liked this - yeasty and long

2007 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
My first 2007, and actually a nice surprise. On the lighter side, but floral, refreshing, with "Margaux berries," light oak notes, and decent length. Not a vin de garde, but very correct, tasty, and drinkable Margaux. B/B+

Next up was a flight of three. Brane-Cantenac had done some experimentation with different types and aging of oak. Mark had obtained some of the barrel samples. We tried 2 with different degrees of seasoning, as well as the actual wine.

2006 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux) barrel sample, barrels aged 24 months
Some VA, spicy, doesn't seem as long as the other 06s. A bit disjointed (these were drawn off a few months early)

2006 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux) barrel sample, barrels aged 36 months
More subtle and complex, but I still preferred the final blend.

2006 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Weightier than the 2006, fresh, pure, some oak, nice. Good length, concentration. B+

2005 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Much more open than the 05 Canon day before, though it is still a bit in its shell. Cassis, coffee, tannins. I prefer the 06 for drinking now, but I think this will be very good. A- potential?

2004 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Medium bodied, herbal, some vanilla. A little tannic bite on finish, but drinking well already. B

2003 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Flatter, softer, riper. Some really liked this, but easily my least favorite of the decade. B-/C+

2002 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Sturdy, structured, spice on the nose. A little austere, but nice in a sterner style. B

2001 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Ripe, full, with dark berry fruit and espresso. Drinking well though I think it has enough tannic structure to last a while. Maybe could use a bit more acidity. B+/A-

2000 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Coffee, black plums, mint. Good structure, balanced tannins and acids, needs time but quite nice. A-/B+

1999 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
One of the surprises of the night, ripe, ready, and more complex than I expected. Medium weight, drinking quite well. B+

1990 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Lifted nose, I'm pretty VA tolerant but this bothers me. This seems to me to be on downslope, though others liked. B-/C+

1986 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Blackcurrants, cedar, for an 86 the tannins are rather fine and supple. Structured, maybe a tad less charming than the 83, but really quite good. B+/A-

1983 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux) (magnum)
My favorite WOTN. Lovely, balanced, red and black fruit, earth, mint/menthol, cigarbox. Classic Margaux, a pointe but plenty of future. A-/A

(IIRC they said the 61 and 59 had been recorked at chateau in '86)

1961 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Sweet, solid, plenty of life, but I found less complex than the 59 (many others felt exactly the opposite). B+/B

1959 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Red fruit, maple syrup, cedar, earth. A-

1955 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux)
Someone thought this corked, but I didn't. It was ripe with some troubling VA, actually held up in glass ok (actually improved a bit) but I think this is at end of its span. B

1928 Ch. Brane-Cantenac (Margaux) (Nicolas bottling)
Wow. Unbelievably young. Sweet red fruit, forest floor, loam, lively. Certainly the complexity of age but not fading in the least. I think I preferred the 83 by a hair but the easily the most exciting wine to try. A-

Exceptional night. I don't have a lot of Brane-Cantenac experience, but was generally impressed with the consistency of the terroir representation.
I seemed to find a lot to like in the lighter vintages and the more acidicly structured big vintages, it was only a couple of the uberripe ones that left me a bit disappointed, Brane-Cantenac is on my radar now, but maybe I'll be cautious in the jammy vintages.

Henri was gracious, informative, and patient. The generosity of Mark, the host, and participants was amazing, a very successful effort (Mark auctioned off additional bottles of the 59 and 61, as well as 3 vintages from the 70s that didn't arrive in time- we made more than twice the fundraising goal for the evening). I had my stepson act as chauffeur, but it was still 1 AM by time I got home. But worth it!

Wow, Dale, amazing event, so much fun for a great cause, what can be better! Congratulations. Mark, hat's off to you.

Dale, you get to do so many fantastic tastings! Thanks for sharing. I've got my sights on the 2006 B-C for the cellar. So many notes seem to confirm the '28s and '29s to be unrivaled in longevity - never had the pleasure, but the notes always excite me.

Hell of a lineup Dale, thanks for the notes - sounds like a great evening for a great cause.

Only Brane Cantenac I've had was the '83, which was a stunning wine - after reading those notes I reckon I should definitely keep my eyes out for more (particularly the few older vintages I've seen at places like HDH seem relatively reasonable in price.)

[Jenise]

In the early 90's, an 86 Brane-Cantenac was the wine that gave me my Bordeaux wake-up call. Enjoyed these notes, and am pleased to have a few of the vintages you tasted.

Great event, though--wow about Mark's generosity and congratulations on the over-achievement for your non-profit.

That sounds like a great vertical with good food to boot. For some reason Brane-Cantenac does not seem to be a greatly respected estate but I have always enjoyed its wines, particularly some lovely 82s which I owned in the late 90s/early 00s which disappeared fast in spite of disparaging comments from Parker in the last edition which I bought of his Bordeaux book.

Thanks for the notes Dale, and congratulations with the charitable wine event. Looks like a terrific tasting. I’m quite interested as I have a few of these wines, and similar to some of the responders, Brane Cantenac (the 1983 in my case) was one of the early wines that also got me into Bordeaux.

Your notes on the 2000 and the1983 are encouraging. I have some of these tucked away. Not quite the same with your take on the 2003, which I quite liked when I tasted at the chateau some years back. I agree with your softer and riper description, but I also thought that there was enough complexity and that it wasn’t as over the top as other 2003’s that I had. But that was my take, then, during the vintage release.

As for the 2004, I’m hoping that the tannin integrates well over time.

Also good to read about those good 1928 and 1959.

visited there last may. it is a very pretty place - apparently the home that all the many lurton children grew up in. impecable grounds and facilities and a very nice man. i was very fond of the 2007 when i tasted it. very good value wines.

In the early 90's, an 86 Brane-Cantenac was the wine that gave me my Bordeaux wake-up call. Enjoyed these notes, and am pleased to have a few of the vintages you tasted.

Great event, though--wow about Mark's generosity and congratulations on the over-achievement for your non-profit.

Ditto, a Brane-Cantenac was my first eye-opener for Bordeaux. It was in the early '80s and IIRC it was a mid-70's vintage which are not regarded all that well by Parker et al, but it certainly was head and shoulders above a late 1970's Redman's cabernet from Coonawarra when Redman's were making excellent wines.

Also congrats on the non-profit sucess Dale. Generosity with wine always seems to open the purse strings.

Mike

Funny with several people listing it as an "intro" to geekdom, it's not an estate I see much.
I think estate has had some ups and downs, but when it shines it does well.
I think Henri said his parents still live there, but each of the 10 children have their own Bordeaux estate to manage. His cousins (Andre's kids) do more international stuff.

Great notes, thanks! Just a few comments. I thought the 2007 was excellent, and will improve medium term (~8-12 years). The 05 was great, but the 04 and 01 seemed spoofy, as did the 90, which fell apart in the glass in a big hurry. The '86 was very good but had a lot of chalky tannin. 83 was terrific, probably helped by the format. I was disappointed with the 61, finding it somewhat diluted, but loved the 59, which was my wine of the night. If they'd been served blind, I would have guessed the the vintages were reversed. The 28 was also terrific, no signs of fading. The '55 was totally OTH, but that might just have been this bottle.

Much credit goes to our host, both for the exceptional meal (better than many "destination restaurants" in the city) and for having such a large group invade his home.

Dale, you missed the digestifs, but we also had a terrific 1825 Madeira (stenciled "S," perhaps for Sercial, but we thought it was probably Boal); a 1932 Massandra "Madeira" that we were blinded on, and were convinced WAS Madeira; an excellent 1975 Armagnac; an unidentified Greek spirit that we thought was Armagnac as well; and a wild, terrific black truffle eau de vie.

thanks Craig.
Sorry I missed the digestifs, but as it was I got 5 hours sleep!
I didn't find the 01/04 spoofy- some apparent oak,but not candied/overripe/overextracted.