Château Cantenac Brown 2023 Margaux 3e Grand Cru Classé

James Suckling
(95-96)/100 punten
Impressive precision to this, offering blackcurrants, blackberries and cherries, as well as hints of cedar and dark fruit. Medium to full body. Creamy and fine tannins. Better than 2022.

Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
(93-96)/100 punten
The 2023 Cantenac Brown is concentrated, ample and generous right out of the gate. Blackberry, incense, new leather, tobacco, menthol and chocolate are all amplified to the maximum. As is often the case, Cantenac Brown is one of the more extroverted wines in Margaux. It's a style that works so well. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2023 needs time to shed some of its baby fat.
Technical Director José Sanfins was able to make the 2023s in the château’s brand-new cellar, which was surely helpful in this challenging year, as smaller tanks allowed for harvesting with greater precision than in the past. Mildew pressure was high, while storms were quite localized, even in adjacent parcels, which led to irregular ripeness. Harvest ran for 24 days, starting on September 7 and wrapping up on October 6.

William Kelley (Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate)
(93-95)/100 punten
The first vintage produced in the estate's new state-of-the-art winery, the 2023 Cantenac Brown has turned out very well indeed, offering up aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings and violets, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered palate that's serious and precise, concluding with a long, resonant finish. This blend of 71.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 1.5% Cabernet Franc represents 52% of the estate's production; and it reflects both the new winery's enhanced capabilities, along with the presence of old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon derived from holdings recently acquired in the heart of the plateau of Margaux.

Neal Martin (Vinous)
(91-93)/100 punten
The 2023 Cantenac Brown, now with its new eco-friendly winery under the helm of winemaker José Sanfins, has a lot of fruit intensity on the nose: blackberry and wild strawberry, with touches of melted tar and sous-bois. It's quite forward and more fruit-driven that expected. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded, very pliant tannins. It's impressively weighty and notably focused, though maybe not quite delivering the complexity and terroir expression on the finish as I found with the previous vintage. 

Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux)
94/100 punten
First year in the new 100% gravity-fed cellar for this superb estate that is increasingly making its presence felt - helped not just by the new eco-concious winery but by the extra 10ha of excellent Margaux terroir, complete with old vine Cabernet Sauvignon on fine gravel, bought in 2020. It's a clear success in 2023, and you'll find plenty of vibrant fruit, majoring on spiced plum and cassis, sinewy tannins, liqourice bud, tobacco, mint and campfire smoke. Conveys coiled energy and will age well. An excellent example of a 94 point 'buy' signal. José Sanfins director.

Falstaff 
94/100 punten
Dark ruby, purple reflections, brightening. Fresh wild berries, fine cassis, floral touch, inviting bouquet. Juicy, elegant, fresh cherries, fine tannins, good freshness, mineral and good persistence, a subtle food wine.