Château Brane-Cantenac 2022 [in bond ex vat] (6 x 75cl) en primeur landing Spring 2025

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, Petit Verdot

6 x 75cl * 13.5% ABV * Margaux, Bordeaux, France

Regarded by the winemaker, Henri Lurton, as his greatest vintage yet - and he's been making wine for 30 years! He also dedicated this vintage to his late father, Lucien, and it's fitting that the backbone of this wine's structure comes from the cabernet vines that Lucien planted back in 1956.

As a Second Growth from Margaux, this wine will never be 'cheap', but the value here is extremely good. There's bramble fruit among the freshness, that leads onto plums, damsons and hedgerow fruit. There's an indication of excellent tannins making this a wine capable of aging gracefully for decades to come.

 'The 2022 Brane-Cantenac, as usual, is a wine that you must sit and contemplate before words gush forth. It was picked from 7 September to 10 October (their tiny plot of Carmenère) at 31.5hL/ha and contains 16% vin de presse from the Cabernet Sauvignon. It is well-defined and fresh, a very subtle Margaux, precise with blackberry, wild strawberry, cedar and tobacco scents. As previous vintages have proven, there's a kind of "hidden depth" that will become apparent post-bottling. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, very elegant and unashamedly classic in style. This is blessed with haunting poise, composed and detailed on the finish. This Margaux is not a show stopper, which in any case, is not really Henri Lurton/Brane Cantenac’s signature style. Instead, it is a wine that 15 to 20 years down the road, you are going to treasure' Neal Martin 98/100

'A blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc, Carmenère and Petit Verdot, the 2022 Brane-Cantenac unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, crème de cassis, black truffles, loamy soil, burning embers and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and velvety, with a fleshy core of fruit, terrific concentration and lively acids, it concludes with a long, perfumed finish. This is a terrific 2022 that may rival or even surpass the 2019 if it realizes all its potential in bottle.' William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, 95-97/100

Drink 2030 - 2065

Please note prices are in-bond and exclude VAT and duty, which are payable when the wines land in-store in Spring/Summer 2025.