2022 Château Brane-Cantenac En Primeur
Released for sale en primeur this afternoon at £360 per six, 2022 Château Brane Cantenac is an extraordinary wine that confirms the status of this deuxième cru classé château as a 'super second'.
Jane Anson scores the wine an unequivocal 98 points, describing it as "Easily one of the best wines of the appellation". The estate is blessed with old vines, which, as we have said elsewhere, is a key advantage to have in Margaux in 2022, given the mostly free-draining soils in this commune.
The style this year echoes the classic Brane Cantenac's classic character, with lots of intense but delicate aromas of fruits and flowers and exceptional balance. Neal Martin sees the same potential in the 2022 as Anson, but emphasises the long future ahead of it: "a wine that 15 to 20 years down the road, you are going to treasure. 2030-2065. 96-98 points."
This is an exceptional vintage of Brane Cantenac to purchase en primeur, so do please let us know if you would like to place an order.
Offered en primeur, on allocation. Landing spring 2025.
Magnums available with £15 ex-VAT bottling surcharge, please enquire for other formats.
All previous offers of 2022 Bordeaux can be found here.
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
