CHÂTEAU CANTENAC BROWN
2015 Cru Classé Margaux
The initial nose is slightly medicinal Cabernet, but this is good in its four-square solidity and black fruit presence. There's some subtlety to the fruit, cassis with vanillary oak. Quite severe and schoolmasterly, with coal-black expression, but decent length too. Rating: 90-91 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 Cantenac Brown displays more red fruit compared directly with the 2016: raspberry and wild strawberry intermingled with sous-bois and tobacco, violet aromas emerging with time. Lovely focus here, though not the panache of the following vintage. The palate is beginning to loosen up with lithe tannins, fleshy and harmonious, tart red cherries, allspice and clove with a grippy and quite persistent finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a wonderful Margaux that should drink a little earlier than the 2016. Tasted at the Cantenac Brown vertical at the château. Drinking range: 2023 - 2045 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Oct 2022)
The 2015 Cantenac-Brown has a fresh, perfumed bouquet of raspberry, wild strawberry and cedar aromas that feel very focused and cohesive. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit and gentle grip, and quite saline in the mouth, leading into a spicy, vivacious, almost Saint-Julien–inspired finish. This impressed in barrel just as it does here. Highly recommended. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jul 2019)
Instantly appealing ripe dark berries and plums with graphite and other dark stony notes. Very well-integrated wood here. The palate has a plush, suave and supple feel to it. Great concentration and energy. Really intense yet fresh finish. Drinking range: 2022 - Rating: 94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
A rich, exotic wine, the 2015 Cantenac Brown is simply stunning. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, espresso, licorice and leather all flesh out in this ample, voluptuous Margaux. A rush of super-ripe dark cherry, plum, violet, lavender and sweet French oak builds as this plush, explosive wine shows off its bold personality. The 2015 is quite concentrated and extracted in style, and yet all the elements are wonderfully fused together. I would give the 2015 at least a few years to assimilate some of its new oak. Drinking range: 2023 - 2035 Rating: 95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2018)
This brims with voluble plum cake, boysenberry and blackberry compote flavors, embedded with brambly structure while keeping a polished feel overall. Alluring black tea, roasted alder and licorice details line the finish. You’ll want to jump on this one. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 94 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2018)
The oak was a little prominent on this sample when I tasted it, but there is plenty of sweet raspberry and strawberry fruit on offer, as well as a backbone of tannin, so it should come together in barrel and bottle. Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 91 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2016)
The 2015 Cantenac Brown follows their excellent 2014 with another great Margaux. Here, a nuanced nose that does not come racing from the blocks, but keep your nose in the glass and it reveals detailed blackberry, cranberry and strawberry aromas that are neatly embroidered with the new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, quite tensile tannin. There is breeding interwoven into this Margaux, palpable sophistication, and it finishes with panache, fanning out with lightly spiced red and black fruit. It is not the most ostentatious Margaux in what is a fecund season for the appéllation, but I suspect it will surprise a few wine-lovers as its ages. Drinking range: 2020 - 2045 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
An impressive nose, perfumed and confident, with floral dark fruits, blackcurrant, damson, fresh and very clean. The palate is supple, showing an appealing flesh, with some texture to the centre of the wine, and a peppery grip wrapped around it. This is poised, fresh, plump and energetic, with lovely ripeness to the tannins in the middle of the plate, working well within the context of the wine. Some real substance here, and a fresh, confident finish. Rating: 16-17/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
Good depth of fruit and a well-expressed, quite broad Margaux style which gets more classic each year. Drinking range: 2021 - 2034 Rating: 90 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2016)
Bright crimson. Very competent representative of the vintage with marked ripeness on the nose but then rather chunky and bitter on the finish - like Oxford marmalade. Not much lift. A tad stodgy. Drinking range: 2023 - 2035 Rating: 16.5- Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Cantenac Brown is superb. Translucent, weightless and totally finessed, the 2015 offers outstanding purity and exceptional overall balance. Sweet plum, tobacco, cedar, licorice and new leather are some of the many nuances that take shape in the glass, but it is the wine's purity that is most impressive. Hints of lavender, iron and smoke add shades of nuance on the tightly wound finish. Over the two weeks I followed it, the Grand Vin put on considerable depth and power. It will be interesting to see where things end up here, but the 2015 was superb all three times I tasted it. Cantenac Brown is one of the great still affordable wines of the year. Don't miss it. Rating: 93-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
Very fresh, with well-defined red currant and raspberry coulis flavors that stream through, enhanced by a violet note on the mineral-edged finish. Rating: 91—94 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2016)
Very structured and muscular with black currant, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Full body. Yet polished and intriguing. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)
Château Cantenac Brown
Margaux Troisième cru 1855 In 1754 Jacques Boyd, who was of Irish descent, bought the estate that he would call, quite logically, Château Boyd. In 1806 he sold to a John Lewis Brown, of Scottish descent and the owner of Château Brown (in Pessac-Léognan). Some confusion then arises as the Cantenac property was also often referred to as Château Brown. Some grand parties followed at the newly-built tudor-style mansion before bankruptcy forced the sale of the estate in 1843. By the time of the 1855 classification, it was once again known as Château Boyd. Some time during the 19th Century, a portion of Château Boyd was divided off and, under the ownership of Armand Lalande (who also owned Château Leoville Poyferré), the impressive and unusual château that adorns the label was built and the name Cantenac-Brown was settled upon. The remainder of the estate went on to become Château Boyd-Cantenac. The period from the end of the 19th Century to the latter half of the 20th is a familiar story of decline. Salvation appeared when AXA Millésimes bought Cantenac-Brown in 1989, and they made great improvements to the estate, so it was a surprise when they sold to a British businessman Simon Halabi in 2006. The Cantenac-Brown rennaissance continues, however, under the new ownership. The 42ha of vineyard, farmed "in a more environmentally friendly way", are composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The Grand Vin spends 12 to 15 months in wood, of which 50% is new and the other 50% one year old. There is a second wine - BRIO de Cantenac Brown.
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.