Andy Hall

9.3

This is a nice wine. But honestly having recently been blown away by a ‘06 and ‘09 Howell Mtn, I unrealistically set a higher expectation for this Mt. Veeder. My mistake. — 7 years ago

Douglas Braun

9.0

Really nice aromatics apricot nice acidity ( however it wouldn’t offend me if it were a bit higher) the abv is 14 % however it doesn’t seem out of balance. Honeysuckle medium bodied — 8 years ago

Charlie Abbott

Sommelier Casa Mono

9.1

Maturing nicely. Would rate higher but couldn't shake bitter espresso character...these wines are certainly marked more by oak than other traditional houses imho — 8 years ago

Michael Mathews

9.1

Wow. Beautiful. Totally disagree with the ratings here....much better, much higher quality wine. Earthy. Dark, luscious. The nose is strong and over powering at times, but the taste and finish are elegant, smooth and sexy. Just awesome! — 9 years ago

with Brad, Mike and 3 others

Conrad Green

9.6

Classy hair of the dog part 2. This was a revelation. Beautifully mature and leaner than the 90, it has a lovely complex palate of dark fruit, plum, violet, leather some great tart sour notes and a brambly, earthy, savory character. Good length... it reminded me of the 89 La Chapelle from last night. A really interesting wine that expresses the terroir perfectly. Uniquely this is higher in cab Franc than cab Sav (55% to 45- usually it's the other way around) and that makes sense on the palate. — 9 years ago

with Larry and Naoko

LM Segal

9.2

Seriously smoky-great Pinot. Freshly picked black cherry, woodsy tannins, Pommard Gestalt. Needs 2-3 years at least to soften up, will score higher. — 9 years ago

Jim Wagonfeld

9.4

3rd growth showing at a much higher level. Mature Margaux at its best. Awesome! 💥💥💥 — 9 years ago

with Judy

Jeff J

9.3

Aroma of sour dough and green apple, hints of citrus. Higher acidity with lighter body than the vintage one. Still very tasty! — 10 years ago

with Julia and Nic

Matt Mitchell

9.3

Lucious dried grape, rich and wonderful. Gets better with each sip. Worth the higher price for a high quality #Amarone. — 10 years ago

Jimmy Smith

Director, West and North London Wine School

9.2

Quite dark, meaty, smoky, good black pepper. A dark and brooding style. Medium tannic structure, but higher acidity. Dark fruit, very meaty, quite savoury on the finish. Smoked and oaky. Long length — 11 years ago

George Hesse

8.9

Very nice NZ SB! Apparently Jules Taylor used to work for Kim Crawford and Cloudy Bay but then went into business for herself. Dinner at High Steaks Restaurant in Thunder Valley. Initially rated it higher but after having it again had to lower my rating. — 11 years ago

with Jennifer

Michael gayle

9.1

Cakebread wines are all amazing. You can drink the cab by itself and by yourself. So Smoothe on the pallet. Pair it with food cast iron grilled salmon or fillet mignon is asking for trouble. Do not open this bottle if you have any task left to complete. After 2 glasses you will not return to any work left undone. I would rate it higher if the price were lower. — 7 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

Diane Kessler

9.1

I haven't had a Maybach in a couple of years. A 20 oz perfectly grilled rare rib steak from Flannery demanded it. Big wine, but stays this side of over the top. I prefer higher acid but somehow this all works. — 9 years ago

Katherine Bordelon

Court of Master Sommelier Guild member

9.2

Not sure why others haven't rated this one a little higher. My only guess is that they didn't allow for ample time for this one to open up. I enjoyed this bottle last night and noted that with each hour after the initial two hours I allowed it to breath, it only got better. At first, I found it to be quite "tight". But after a few hours, the flavor profile fully developed and it calmed down enough that it was very much delightful. Garnet in color with a medium plus viscosity, I very much enjoyed the layers this wine presented after some time in my glass. — 10 years ago

with Edmond

Joel Armijo

8.9

Partial to Ridge's Zinfadels, in particular the Lyton Springs and Pagani Ranch which can be a bit overwhelming for some given its higher alcohol content. Paso Robles seems more accessible but would have to drink again as first bottle rather than fourth of night to get a better assessment. — 10 years ago

Grant Everett

8.9

Not bad, just nothing particularly redeeming. Had higher expectations. — 11 years ago

Austin Ferrari

Wine Director Hillside Supper Club

9.2

Dog fell asleep on this beauty! — 11 years ago

with Kit, Brian and 1 other

Scott Calvert

10

Even after 20 years the wine was quite lovely. It was subtle fruity with a bit of eucalyptus. Tannins had ascended to a higher plane of existence . We drank the wine to celebrate my brother’s 20 anniversary. Unfortunately we have aged more quickly than the wine, but we are hanging in!
— 8 years ago

Eric

9.2

Great wine at a great price. Not a big fan of their higher end labels but this consistently over delivers for the scratch. — 8 years ago

Benjamin Keator

9.5

Dry, tannic, higher sugar, coffee. Tasted blind and completely missed the mark on this one. Thought is was a high end Cali Cab — 8 years ago

with Jake, Colby and 1 other

Jay Boberg

8.9

Very extracted - lush and fruit driven - a heart 15.1 % alcohol offered on the label but my sense is that it is higher — 9 years ago

Paul J

9.0

Classic merlot. I'm not a huge Merlot fan, but this was quite nice. Easy to drink with decent fruit. More OH than I would have expected, but solid wine. Maybe I was expecting more after the ratings and reviews I saw, but tough to score it any higher than 9.0. — 9 years ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.0

Dang it! No more 2012's anywhere to be had. Asked the table of winos if anyone was squirreling away any 2012's in their home stashes. They were all smart enough to say no. So even though it is not the epic 2012, it was still the preferred wine over two other big Napa Cabs. Still has a big fruit and smooth finish. Just can't rate it higher because of the prior year's greatness. — 9 years ago

with Joe

Marcie Molek

9.1

Great, smooth but interesting Pinot. Terrific price. — 9 years ago

Bill Duffy

9.0

I saw ratings of 8.6 & such. No way. This is a well refined rose, with soft fruit and a soft finish that deserves higher. I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed. — 9 years ago

Jeff Stewart

Private Collections Wine Director

9.3

Im going to rate a bit higher than most. A consistent favorite of mine. Hints of meaty flavor along with earth and berries. The make an amazing Rosso as we'll. if your on a budget their Rosso's always preform. — 10 years ago

Chanda Williams

9.3

Same as last wine but higher up@the hill, pretty, and austere... Amazing — 10 years ago

Robert Leopardi

9.0

Chateau Durfort Vivens 1926 , Margaux 2nd Growth drunk as a birth year wine at a celebration of a birthday party for my 89 year old mother-in-law Rosy Isabelle! Wine was purchased about 12 years ago from a retired estate sale guy. Wine was imported by Louden Imports, Albuquerque, N.M. Probably in the 1980s from Whitwham & Co. In England. I have no idea how it was stored before i got it. Fill was just at should to a little below. Cork disintegrated while being drawn out with a 1920s era Sanbri Pronged Cork Puller. Color was brickish with some clarity issues. We did not exhibit any apparent oxidation with just slight hints of dried red fruits, but mostly musty and earthy characteristics. I drank for over 30 minutes without a dip in quality. Overall, a great experience! Perhaps giving it a higher rating than it truly deserves, but there it is! — 11 years ago

Renee Bourassa

Sommelier/Wine Director Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn

10

Drinking the last bottle of this delicious juice at Bar Tartine (brilliant w/ the steak tartare prep)... awesome last meal before getting on the plane to NYC... — 12 years ago

with John