Château Brane-Cantenac 2025 Margaux 2e Grand Cru Classé - OWC6

The Wine Cellar Insider
98-100 punten
Black cherries, currants, roses, violets, spice, and forest floor create the aromatics. On the palate, the elegance and purity of the fruit are instantly recognizable. The lift and vibrancy, paired with concentration and sensuality, set this apart. The finish starts strong and continues seamlessly. 2025 marks the Lurton family's 100th anniversary of owning the vineyard. You can expect to see a special label celebrating the occasion. The 2025 is in competition with the 2022 as the best vintage ever produced at the estate. The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 1% Carmenere, and 1% Cabernet Franc. 13.3% ABV, 3.62 pH. Harvesting took place September 2 - September 19. Yields were 32 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2029-2065.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
97 punten
This is luscious and full of wonderfully bright fruits, great concentration, cushion of air underneath, high Cabernet and it comes through in the floral aromatics, clearly a plentiful tannic structure but luscious and layered damson and black cherry. Yes yes yes. 12.10% press wine. 3.62 pH. Tasted twice. 100 years of the Lurtons at Brane.

Decanter
97 punten
Ripe and juicy blackcurrant aromas, really pure and expressive, fruit forward with iris notes as well. Juicy and friendly with such a lifted, bright and energetic core but grippy too, really wide and filling with the structure and concentration matching the acidity step for step. Firm and streamlined, but there’s purity and I do love the slightly more muscular aspect to this. Maybe less charming than previous vintages but more sophisticated. Clarity is exceptional. Lovely and long. 1% Carménère completes the blend. 3.62pH. 12.1% press wine.

Jeb Dunnuck
96-98 punten
Cassis, graphite, liquid violets, and tobacco all define the 2025 Château Brane-Cantenac, a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 1% each Cabernet Franc, Carménère, and Petit Verdot that's being raised in 100% new French oak. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with a focused, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful concentration and depth, integrated acidity, and a great finish. Hitting 13.5% alcohol, it's a brilliant success in the vintage and should be snatched up by readers.

James Suckling
96-97 punten
A medium-bodied and solid red with blackberry, chocolate, meat and walnut character. It shows juicy tannins and a long finish. Persistent and classy. Such length and balance.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown
95-97 punten
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Brane-Cantenac springs from the glass with spritely notes of blackberries and red currants, followed by underlying hints of lilacs, black olives, crushed rocks, and wild sage. The medium-bodied palate is light on its feet and racy with firm, grainy tannins and vibrant black and red berry flavors, plus a long mineral-laced finish. The blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Carmenère. It has a pH of 3.62 and the alcohol is 13.3%.

Falstaff
97 punten
Dark ruby garnet, deep core, violet reflections, delicate edge brightening. Floral touch, a hint of cassis, nuances of red cherries, mineral, hints of precious wood. Juicy, cherries and cranberries, finesse-rich acid structure, ripe, supporting tannins, elegant and long-lasting, very good length, mineral finish, salty aftertaste, great promise for the future.

Neal Martin, Vinous
95-97 punten
The 2025 Brane-Cantenac was picked from September 2 to 29, finishing with that 1% of late-ripening Carménère, cropped at 32.2 hl/ha. It has impressive purity on the nose, an aspect of the Grand Vin that Henri Lurton and his team have improved immensely over the last decade. Black cherries, bilberry, violet and crushed stone unfold in the glass, classical in style, which is Brane-Cantenac's signature. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, finely sculpted tannins allied with disarming sapidity and brightness. Not powerful like the 2022, yet pixelated with a mineral, tensile, complex finish. Another feather in the cap for Lurton and, moreover, this is often one of the best values on release.

Antonoi Galloni, Vinous
95 -97 punten
The 2025 Brane-Cantenac is incredibly polished right out of the gate. Floral overtones lead into a core of blue/purplish fruit, spice, new leather, tobacco, lavender and a kiss of French oak. Silky tannins lend shape and finesse. The aromatics alone are so compelling, but everything about the 2025 speaks to balance. It’s a magnificent effort from proprietor Henri Lurton and his team. One of the highlights of the vintage.

Jancis Robinson
17.5/20 punten
Deep colour to the rim. Fragrant and elegant on the nose with dark-fruit and floral notes. Smooth and silky on the palate, the tannins fine and integrated. Drive and persistence on the finish. Continues the high performance at this château.

Wine Advocate
93-96 punten
A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Carmenère (the latter harvested by the winery team after everything else has been picked), the 2025 Brane-Cantenac offers up a rich bouquet of crème de cassis, plums and spices, framed by a deft touch of new oak. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and lively, with powdery tannins that contribute youthful grip on the finish, it checks in at a very classical 13.3% alcohol and pH of 3.62.