BARON DE BRANE
2020 Margaux Château Brane-Cantenac
Blackberries, plums, currants, tobacco and violets on the nose. Bitter chocolate and mocha, too. It’s refined and focused, with a medium to full body and firm, tightly-knit tannins. Very long, laser-focused and polished. Very classy. Best of the trilogy. Try after 2027. Rating: 98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
* 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 2020 Baron de Brane is a heady, exuberant wine. Dark red/purplish fruit, mocha, chocolate, lavender, spice and new leather are all beautifully delineated. Fine tannins, lifted aromatics and succulent fruit are all very nicely balanced. The 2020 is quite flashy yet retains a good bit of energy, too, with floral top notes that lift the finish nicely. It's a gorgeous second wine from Henri Lurton and Brane-Cantenac. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Baron de Brane has opened up nicely on the nose since I tasted it from barrel with earthy black fruit, hints of freshly-rolled tobacco and autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, which have gained a little weight since I tasted this from barrel. Red berry fruit laced with black pepper and graphite on the finish. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Spot on! This is a perfect example of a second wine which has done its job of representing its Château in a more forward and more affordable format! The fruit is lush, the flavour is accurate, the tannins are fine and the length is admirable! Well done Rating: 16.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)
Baron de Brane is especially fine in 2020. Rich, succulent and inviting, Baron de Brane will be an absolute delight to drink right out of the gate. Succulent ripe cherry, spice and leather notes are pushed forward in this mid-weight second wine from Brane-Cantenac. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 90-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Baron de Brane has a slightly richer bouquet compared to previous recent vintages, offering generous blackberry, raspberry and cedar scents, and just a touch of clove with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with strict tannins on the entry, a little angular at first but very fresh, demonstrating impressive tension. Touches of graphite come through on the finish of this fine, classically styled Deuxième Vin. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
The second wine of the estate, the 2020 Baron De Brane is a softer, more rounded, mouth-filling Margaux offering plenty of ripe, dark fruits, velvety tannins, and medium to full-bodied richness. It doesn't have the precision or length of the Grand Vin, but it offers lots of character. Rating: 88-90 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)
Tight berry fruits from the first nose, blackberry and bilberry. An impressive Baron de Brane with concentration and poise, juice through the finish and careful extraction so that the plentiful tannins are not intrusive. Good stuff, if austere. Another wine where the word classic seems to work. Drinking range: 2024 - 2034 Rating: 91 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
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 on 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' (excluding duty paid and VAT).
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price sits within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
You can register your interest via the online wishlist form, by emailing privateclients@leaandsandeman.co.uk, or by calling 020 7221 1982. All wishlist requests are subject to availability and final confirmation. Inevitably, some wines will have to be allocated but please do not let that deter you from asking. We will do our best to satisfy all requests.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date.
Invoices are raised at in bond prices. Duty and VAT invoices will be raised on request when the wines land in the UK.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We reserve the right to levy a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 in bond deliveries are free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1,000. Orders below this total will be charged at £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchase from this offer, not a per-case charge. Please inform us of in bond delivery addresses and account details at the time of ordering.
- If the wines are required duty paid we will issue invoices at prevailing rate of duty and VAT when the wines arrive in the UK.
- The wines will become available by the end of the year and should be shipped very early next year.