CHÂTEAU BRANE-CANTENAC
2015 2ème Cru Classé Margaux
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Carmenère. Bright blue-edged purple completely bright and clear. Limpid to look at and in its expression. Fresh, silky and cool, this has real character and sense of place. Fine tannins, and a lovely clinging length to the scented ripe blackberry fruit. Very very pretty, it may not be the last word in concentration, but it is fabulously elegant and pure. Rating: 92-93 L&S (Apr 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is a classy Margaux that is drinking beautifully at ten years old. It still has those blackberry and bilberry scents mixed with tobacco and light minty aromas that I have not noticed in previous bottles. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, a keen line of acidity, bright red fruit mixed with curry leaf and touches of black tea. It doesn't have the chutzpah of a truly great Brane-Cantenac on the finish but conveys a sense of class. Tasted at the 2015 Ten-Year-On tasting at Bordeaux Index. Drinking range: 2025 - 2048 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2025)
Delivers intensity and focus from the first moment, this is poised, generous in the shape of the vintage but restrained in the shape of the estate. Violet and peony flowers, white pepper spice, cocoa bean, espresso notes, cassis, black cherry and smoked earth. A wonderful example of Margaux in this vintage, should really be left for another few years, but who am I to stand in your way if you want to drink it now with a good long carafe? 39% of total production, owner Henri Lurton. Drinking range: 2024 - 2044 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, Decanter (Nov 2022)
The 2015 Brane-Cantenac offers an exquisite array of fruit on the compelling nose: boysenberry, raspberry confit and crushed strawberry, all laced with pressed violets and an underlying chalky/mineral vein. The fresh, linear, medium-bodied palate presents supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity and just a vein of greenness on the finish that I can abide here (I’m sure it will be subsumed with bottle age and impart another facet). Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jul 2019)
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. Drinking range: 2022 - Rating: 94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
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. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2018)
One of a line-up of impressive Margaux in 2015, Brane-Cantenac is at its most textured and well balanced here. The bramble, cedar wood and blackcurrant flavours are complemented by attractive oak, medium weight tannins and vibrant, palate-cleansing acidity. Drinking range: 2022 - 2032 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2016)
The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Carmenère that was picked from 17 September until 7 October (that Carmenère was actually picked on 19 October). It was cropped at 51 hl/ha. This is classic Brane-Cantenac down the line: austere at first, almost aloof, but very well defined and over time it starts revealing lovely tobacco-stained black fruit. The palate is very well balanced with raspberry and wild strawberry on the entry, perhaps more red fruit than I was anticipating. Veins of undergrowth and cedar are in situ on this very well-balanced, reserved and classic Margaux boasting a long and persistent finish that feels satisfying, reassuring even. Not a Margaux for those that seek tons of fruit, it is nonetheless a very terroir-expressive wine that will repay those who know that this cru demands preferably 12-15 years in the cellar. Henri Lurton never wavers from his style of Margaux and it pays dividends here on this great wine for those with patience. Drinking range: 2030 - 2060 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
A dark, sweet, convincing nose, showing precise blackcurrant fruit, a little grilled almond powder, and a touch of green peppercorn. The palate is elegant, supple, medium-bodied, poised, with a little leafy lift to the ripe blackcurrant, freshly peppered juniper berry too, all underpinned by a very ripe, broad carpet of tannins. Confident and richly poised. A really promising wine here. Rating: 16-17/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
Beautifully concentrated floral, fragrant fruit plus minerally depth with smoothness to come. A very fine wine from this on-form second growth. Drinking range: 2023 - 2041 Rating: 93 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2016)
Exceptionally deep crimson. Meat and wild flowers on the nose - very interesting. Definitely out of the ordinary. Left-field wine that should not disappoint. Racy and lifted. Really very elegant. Chapeau! Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
A super-expressive, deep wine, the 2015 Brane-Cantenac possesses magnificent intensity and pure power from start to finish. Dark red cherry, wild flowers, smoke, plum, tobacco, spice and game are some of the notes that build as the wine gains richness and volume with time in the glass. There is plenty of tannin lurking beneath, but it is nearly buried by the sheer opulence of the fruit, while the creamy finish alone is striking. This a deeply satisfying wine from Henri Lurton. Brane-Cantenac is another wine that is a pure pleasure bomb in 2015. Don't miss it. Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
This has a mix of enticing dark plum and blueberry fruit woven with a solid graphite note and carrying through an alder-edged finish. Has the vintage’s velvety feel, but a little extra cut. Rating: 90—93 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2016)
This is very big and rich wine with dense and rich tannins, lots of ripe fruit. Blackberry, blueberry flavors. Muscular yet polished. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)
Château Brane-Cantenac
Margaux Deuxième cru 1855 The estate was originally called Château Gorce after the family that owned it in he 18th Century, but the story really begins with its purchase by Baron Hector de Brane in 1833. Baron Hector was a well-known figure in the area, earning himself the nickname "Napoléon of the the Vines" and so keen was he to own Château Gorce that he sold Château Brane-Mouton in Pauillac to finance the purchase. Quite how much wisdom there was in ridding himself of the what was to become Château Mouton-Rothschild in order to secure the ownership of a slightly under-performing Second Growth property is debatable, but at the time the wines of the estate were consistently highly(ish) ranked. From the late 19th Century onward Brane-Cantenac followed a familiar Bordelais downward spiral. In 1920, it was purchased by the Societé des Grand Crus de France, owners of (among others) Château Margaux. In 1925, ownership passed to Léonce Récapet and his son-in-law François Lurton, but the real rennaissance of Brane-Cantenac came in 1956 when François' son - the great Lucien Lurton - took over. Today, his son Henri Lurton continues to run Château Brane-Cantenac. The period of Lurton ownership has been good to Brane-Cantenac, and the wines are consistent good performers although not really ranking alongside the best Second Growths of the Haut-Médoc, but this probably says more about the relevance of the 1855 classification than it does about the terroir and wines of Château Brane-Cantenac. Brane-Cantenac sits south-west of the village of Cantenac, next to Cantenac-Brown. There are 75ha of vineyard given over to 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and a very unusual 0.5% Carmenere. The Grand Vin spends 18 months in wood, of which 50% is new every year. The second wine is called Baron de Brane in honour of Baron Hector who put the estate on the map in the early 19th Century.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.