Donna Craig

9.1

Seamus brought 4-25, love it! — 8 months ago

R Bl

9.1

Closed fruity/ mineral nose. Palate at first closed, even dilute; then stronger white fruit, good acid, sturdy minerals; improves after an hour. Then fruit (citrus/ stone fruit/ star fruit) and saline minerals; finishes with star fruit, a bit of oak, a hint of anise. Might expect more development in a few years. — 3 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Had this at Bern’s Steak House in dessert room. Pale lemon color with aromas of ripe stone and tropical fruits and floral notes wrapped in a frizzante. On the palate flavors of peach, apricot and mango with notes of white floral. Good balance with lively yet refrained acidity, medium+ finish ending with sweet ripe fruit character. — 4 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

8.9

Never heard of Tempranillo Blanco. Is that a grape? Golden, straw colored. Smells like Albariño or a French Rhone type white. Honey, sweet baked goods, sage, carrot seeds and oak. Flavors are strange and unfamiliar. Crisp, zesty, with a streak of tart green apple. Some honey, but not sweet at all. Just a hint of that CA chard stuff with the oak flavors. But it’s not really like any white I can place. Most resembles Rhone white blends. It’s a fun wine to try, and it’s nice. Complex and just a bit funky. — 5 years ago

Linda smith

8.9

Nice smooth dry reserva wine. Slight Smokey finish Italy. Pignettis. Paired with cheese bacon tray enjoyed it better after it was able to breathe Zacch ordered a case Retail $29.99 — 7 years ago

with Elizabeth and Zacch

Jason Keefer

9.7

Fantastic! Very tannic still but lush fruits, tobacco, — 8 years ago

with Natasha

Donald Williams

9.6

Wonderful example of a well-made Syrah. First of all three-year vertical. Needed some time to open, but amply rewarded the wait. — a year ago

with Bonnie

David Walser

9.1

€15.90 on the restaurant wine list. The wine list said it is a blend but the bottle only mentions Tempranillo. Pleasant enough to order again. Restaurant will be changing name/venue soon. Enjoyed our meals here overlooking the boardwalk & beach. — 3 years ago

Greg Gosselin

9.3

Sold Caymus as a wholesaler in the late 90’s finishing up a grad degree at UofWisconsin-Madison. Invested in a case of the stellar 94 vintage. Still on its game. — 4 years ago

Jaehyuck Lee

9.0

드라이하고 가볍게 마시기 좋은 논빈티지 샴페인. 모르고 시켰는데 기분좋게 마셨습니다 :) — 7 years ago

with Boin

Sydne Ann

10

Opens up like a Georgia O’Keeffe painting. — 7 years ago

with Sándor

Gregoire Letort

9.0

like a Barolo, aged very well after 11y, Nose very attractive and attack and mid palate very firm and full — 7 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Dark blackish purple. Opaque. Huge nose. Notes of black cherry, cranberry, molasses, plum, tobacco leaf and a touch of menthol. Very primary in the mouth. Huge impact. Decent finish. Big wine. — 8 years ago

Brendan Powell

9.1

Great value! Would buy again. From LCBO — 2 years ago

David Walser

9.1

At La Gazzetta Italian restaurant for the second time. The first wine we tried here last time we didn’t like so we tried a different, more expensive one this time. Much better experience by spending a few more Euros…22.50€ on the wine list but the only charged us 18.50€ because we told them we didn’t like their 18.50€ wine. Nice gesture…one that will bring us back. — 3 years ago

Brian S

9.5

Red and blue fruits, fermented orange peel, cocoa, dark chocolate, espresso, boot strap leather. This wine is a beast! — 4 years ago

with Ellie

John Riddick

9.1

Could be a cru Beaujolais! Great tart red fruit with a good dose of minerality. Drank over 2 days and it held up nicely. — 5 years ago

with Lauren

Kevin Cahoon

9.2

Fresh and bright with red cherry and plum fruit accented with tar, floral and brown spice notes. Palate has lovely texture with nice fruit and round tannins. Lacking a touch of depth and complexity that I would have expected with the bottle age. While not profound, very pleased to have 6 more bottles. — 7 years ago

Raj Harb

9.3

Float like a butterfly sting like a bee — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have a six-pack of this 05. I thought after 10 years in bottle, it would be interesting to check in on its evolution. While tasty, I’ll wait another 8-10 to open another. Even after 2-3 hours in the decanter, it’s still a very young adolescent. On the nose, slightly sour blackberries & dark cherries, dark currants, baked black plum, haunting blue fruits, anise, whiff of spice, steeped tea, dry stones, dry crushed rocks with dry top soil, caramel, vanilla with fresh & dry red florals. The body is thick & full. Tannins are starting to round out. It’s velvety on the palate. The fruits are; bright, fresh & ripe and really show the greatness of the 05 vintage. Dark currants, blackberries, dark cherries, baked black plum, haunting blue fruits, baked strawberries, cherries, raspberries on the long set, dark spice, clay & loamy dry top soil with crushed rocks, dry stones, cigar with ash, graphite, dry stems, slight herbaceous character, mint, used leather, clove, caramel, vanilla, fresh & dry red florals with violets. The round acidity is about perfect. The structure and length are still strong. The balance is in harmony. As for the long finish, it’s lush, ruby, rich and well polished. Photos of; Chateau Brane Cantenac, large wood vats, Henri Lurton and Estate vines. Producer notes and history...Chateau Brane Cantenac began in the early 17th century. At the time, the estate was known as Domaine Guilhem Hosten. Even that far back, wine was produced from the property. In fact, the wine was so highly regarded it was one of the more expensive wines in Bordeaux. It sold for almost as much money as Brane Mouton. This is interesting because of who went on to buy the vineyard in the 1800’s. The Baron of Brane, also known as “Napoleon of the Vineyards”, purchased the Chateau in 1833. At the time of the sale, the estate was called Chateau Gorce-Guy. To get the funds needed to purchase the Margaux vineyard, the Baron sold what is now called Mouton Rothschild, which was at the time of the sale, known as Chateau Brane-Mouton. Not such a good move with hundreds of years in hindsight! In 1838, the Baron renamed property taking his name and the name of the sector where the vineyards were located and called it Chateau Brane Cantenac. The Chateau later passed to the Roy family, who were well-known in the Margaux appellation in those days, as they owned Chateau d’issan. Moving ahead to 1920, the Societe des Grands Crus de France, a group of merchants and growers that owned several chateaux located in the Medoc including; Chateau Margaux, Chateau Giscours, and Chateau Lagrange in St. Julien, purchased Chateau Brane Cantenac. Five years later, M. Recapet and his son-in-law, François Lurton, took over Brane Cantenac along with Chateau Margaux. Lucien Lurton (the son of François Lurton) inherited Brane Cantenac in 1956. Today, the estate is still in the hands of the Lurton family. Brane Cantenac is owned and run by Henri Lurton. After being given the responsibility of managing Brane Cantenac, it was under the direction of Henri Lurton that large portions of the vineyard were replanted. Vine densities were increased, the drainage systems were improved and the plantings were also, slowly changed. The vineyard of Brane Cantenac is planted to 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and .5% Carmenere. Carmenere was used for the first time in the 2011 vintage. The only other Chateau I know that still uses Carmenere is Clerc Milon. The 75 hectare Left Bank vineyard of Brane Cantenac is essentially unchanged since it earned Second Growth status in the 1855 Classification. At least that is the case with the 45 hectares used to produce the Grand Vin of Brane Cantenac. Those 45 hectares are planted surrounding the Chateau. Those vines are located just in front of the Cantenac plateau and are the best terroir that Brane Cantenac owns. They have other parcels, which are further inland and much of those grapes are placed into their second wine, Le Baron de Brane. Those additional hectares can be divided into 3 main sections. Behind the Chateau, they have 15 hectares of vines on gravel and sand, 10 hectares across the road with sand, gravel and iron and a 13 hectare parcel with gravel called Notton, which is used for their second wine. The vineyard is planted to a vine density that ranges from 6,666 vines per hectare on the plateau and up to 8,000 vines per hectare for the vines located behind chateau, in their sandier soils. The higher levels of vine density are always found in the newer plantings. The terroir of Brane Cantenac consists of deep gravel, sand and clay soil. Experiments in the vineyards are currently looking at becoming more organic in their vineyard management. Today, more than 25% of Brane Cantenac is farmed using organic farming techniques. It is expected that over time, the amount of hectares farmed with organic methods will be increased. Brane Cantenac has gone through 2 relatively recent modernization’s in 1999, when they added began adding the first of their smaller vats to allow for parcel by parcel vinification and then again in 2015 when they completed a much more complete renovation of their cellars and vat rooms. While Brane Cantenac is a traditional producer, they are no stranger to technology as they were one of the first estates to embrace optical grape sorting machines. In very wet vintages, they can also use reverse osmosis. To produce the wine of Chateau Brane Cantenac, the wine is vinified in a combination of temperature controlled, traditional, 22 oak vats, 18 concrete tanks and 20 stainless steel vats that vary in size from 40 hectoliters all the way up to 200 hectoliters, which allows for parcel by parcel vinification. 40% of the fermentation takes place in the oak vats. The oldest vines are vinified in vats that are selected to allow for separate parcel by parcel vinification. The younger vines are vinified more often together in the same vats. However, the Carmenere is entirely micro-vinified, meaning that those grapes were completely vinified in barrel, using micro-vinification techniques. This can also happen because the amount of grapes produced is so small. Some vats can be co-inoculated, meaning they go through alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation simultaneously. At Chateau Brane Cantenac, malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of French oak tanks and barrels. The wine of Brane Cantenac is aged in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for 18 months before bottling. The initial 2 months of aging is done with the wine on its lees, which adds more depth to the wine. There second wine is Le Baron de Brane. Le Baron de Brane is not new. In fact, previously, the second wine went under the name of Chateau Notton, which took its name from one of the main parcels where the grapes were planted. During the late 1950’s and into the 1960’s, having a second wine was important as the estate declassified 3 vintages, due to extremely poor, weather conditions in 1956, 1960 and 1963. Production of Chateau Brane Cantenac is about 11,000 cases per year. — 8 years ago