Château Brane Cantenac

Château Brane-Cantenac is a well-regarded wine estate based in the Margaux appellation, in the Haut-Médoc region just north of Bordeaux city. The estate was ranked a second growth in the 1855 Classification and regularly receives praise for its eponymously titled grand vin. Dating back to the 17th Century, the estate was purchased after the French Revolution by Baron Jacques-Maxime de Brane, who gave it his name. The vineyards are planted atop sandy, gravel-based soils interspersed with large pebbles. These pebbles hold onto warmth from the sun, and the gravel in the soils allows for excellent water drainage around the vines. 

It has a really wonderful bouquet that is coming into its own: potent with black truffle and gravel infusing the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a saline tang on the entry. It is not a powerful or huge wine, but there is impressive length here and genuine complexity on the finish, with black truffle, cedar and tobacco notes vying for attention.