Brane-Cantenac Takes Centre Stage

Tucked away beyond the main road in Margaux, the sleepy vineyard lanes hardly feel home to some of Bordeaux’s most exciting developments. But it is here, on the glorious gravel plateau beyond châteaux Margaux and Palmer, that Château Brane-Cantenac has quietly been producing wines of wonderful Margaux class in recent years.

Brane-Cantenac has long been the home of refined Margaux styles, but since roughly 2014 or 2015, the wines have taken a considerable step forward in purity and finesse. This is the elegant side of Margaux; precise and intricate, with great purity of Cabernet expression. Owner Henri Lurton’s investments are paying off, and yet the wines remain very attractively priced. If you are starting with Brane-Cantenac, look to the 2015, a lovely wine for drinking today; while the 2000 shows the full potential of these wines with age. Either vintage will show why Brane-Cantenac should be considered among Margaux’s premier properties today.