Château Brane-Cantenac 2014

In top form: everything is spot on—aromatic complexity, density, and breed.

The 2014 Brane-Cantenac has a very classy bouquet, very well defined with blackberry, cedar and tobacco scents, that trademark graphite note emerging with a few swirls of the glass. It is exactly what you expect from this Margaux estate. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, well-judged acidity, graphite and cedar leading to a linear finish that will clearly need several years to unfold. Classic Margaux, really, but wise owls will cellar it for several years.

Refined tannins let the core of lightly mulled plum and raspberry fruit glide throughout, while enticing anise and lilac notes fill in the background. A pretty, charming wine. Best from 2018 through 2024. 11,665 cases made.

Lovely fragrance, the class evident from start to finish. Very Brane-Cantenac: floral, great finesse, elegant persistence and a good future.

A little bit lighter than some of the 2014 Margauxs, but this is quite an elegant wine with a long, dry finish of some sophistication. Drink now or hold.

77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Tasted blind. Smudgy pale crimson. Light, tart, minerally nose. Not the most complex 2014. (JR)

The 2014 Brane-Cantenac is a burly, powerful wine that will need quite a bit of time to come into its own, though it may never be particularly refined. Today the tannins are clenched and imposing, especially for the wine’s medium-bodied frame. Bright red stone fruit, white pepper and floral notes are among its signatures.

Brane Cantenac is really on fire at the moment. This already delicious, medium-bodied wine is all about its finesse, floral notes and sweet cherry core. The finish is as elegant as it is energetic.

Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. Dark-berry bouquet with plenty of blackberry and dark malt, underpinned by a touch of coffee. On the palate, aromatic and surprisingly demanding in terms of tannins. The attack is quite slender, while the finish is surprisingly aromatic and long with a peppery note. Just a hair’s breadth away from the next level.

Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. Dark-berried bouquet with plenty of blackberry and dark malt, underpinned by a touch of coffee. On the palate, aromatic, with surprisingly demanding tannins. The attack is actually quite slender (as Brane often is), while the finish is surprisingly aromatic and long, with a peppery note. It’s just a hair’s breadth away from the next level.

Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Brane-Cantenac leaps with vivacious notes of kirsch and redcurrant jelly followed by hints of dried mint, forest floor, and black pepper. The medium-bodied palate is vibrant and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins and a perfumed finish. Tasted blind with the Southwold Group in London in February 2024.

Very fine, very direct in character, precise, subtle, but obviously a little austere at this stage.

Everything is in place and, as usual, it has gained in depth. A complete wine, with very fine tannins and, above all, a very long finish.

Red fruits of great purity are present at every level, both on the nose and on the palate. The wine is suave yet full-bodied, with real density; the tannins temporarily stand in the way of its charm, but that will come. A fine bottle in the making.

Dark color, beautiful and intense. Very aromatic nose with fresh, ripe fruit. A hint of cedar wood. Silky, juicy palate, rich in flavor at mid-palate. The wine develops a long, streamlined profile and finishes deliciously with fine grain. Good length.

This is a complete wine, full of both tannins and great swathes of ripe fruit. It has a serious side as well in its solid structure and concentration. The juicy blackberry fruits are beginning to calm down and meld into a fine dense wine that will age very well. Drink from 2025.