15 Jun 2021

Château Brane-Cantenac have taken a step closer to becoming a 'super-second' this morning, with the release of their 2020 vintage, described by Neal Martin as "a must-buy" and as "superior to the previous two vintages" (95-97 points). 

His score puts it second only to Château Margaux in his ratings for the appellation, and equal to fellow deuxième cru classé Rauzan-Ségla (he has not yet scored Palmer). With a score like this and with vines neighbouring Rauzan-Ségla and Palmer, the release price of £590 per dozen looks pretty compelling.

Henri Lurton opted to focus on a terroir-driven style of wine back in the early noughties, when some fellow estate owners were perhaps still tending towards higher levels of fruit extraction and oak influence.  His early adoption of this approach has certainly paid off in the recent warmer vintages, with Jancis Robinson describing the 2020 as "a decidedly graceful wine" and other critics finding a similarly fresh, balanced style. 

If you have 1 minute and 55 seconds to spare, do watch Henri introducing the 2020 vintage, in the clip below. Or, you can simply e-mail us to secure this superb wine for your cellar.  With volumes down by 50% this year, availability is limited, so please don't delay.

Henri Lurton introduces the 2020 vintage in the short video below:

Bordeaux En Primeur, landing in spring 2023

To order, e-mail us at sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk

 

 

Producer Profile

Château Brane-Cantenac, Margaux Cru Classé

Château Brane-Cantenac is a Deuxième cru classé in Margaux.  In the nineteenth century, the vineyard was highly-prized.  In 1833, the Baron de Brane (nicknamed the ‘Napoleon of the vines’) sold Brane-Mouton (now Mouton-Rothschild) to fund the purchase of Château Gorce, which he renamed after himself, Brane-Cantenac.  In 1855, both estates were classified deuxième grand cru classé (Mouton was promoted to premier grand cru classé status in 1973).

Brane-Cantenac is knocking at the door of ‘super-second’ status.  This must be one of the best value wines at this exalted level.  Centred on the ‘croupe de Brane’ terroir, the 75 hectares of vineyards are at around 22 metres above sea level, one of the most elevated sites in this low-lying region.  The gravel soils run very deep here, in some places 12m below the surface.  The vineyard is planted to planted to 55%Cabernet Sauvignon, 39%Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 1% PetitVerdot and 0.5% Carmenere.

Henri Lurton purchased the estate in 1992 and after a difficult period in the 1990s he found success with an excellent run of vintages from 2000 onwards, focusing on terroir at a time when some estates were making increasingly extracted and oaked wines.  The signature of the wines is a floral nose and an elegance which is quintessentially Margaux.

The short animation below gives an excellent sense of the terroir