Ingmar Dirkse Van Den Heuvel

9.0

Bai, favourite sister in law on Christmas Eve. Light, fruity and delightful with good price/quality average ‼️ — 5 years ago

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. — 6 years ago

Gavin DiStasi

9.2

Happy Valentine's Day! — 8 years ago

Greg Nivens

9.2

Great California Cab......guest rating is attached from my brother in law.....loves the smooth.....somewhat acidity but with balance. Goes great with STEAK!!!!!
— 8 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.0

A very nice rose. Unique flavors. A Rhone blend — 9 years ago

Aaron Epstein

Writer/Curator Le Metro Wines

9.5

The importance of being Enfield. A rare treat last night thanks to @Max Kogod. Johnny Law knocks it out of the park (again). California at its best! Lush but brambly, rich and balanced. Simply outstanding. — 9 years ago

Phil Toronto

8.9

Pairs well with Law & Order: SVU 👌🍷 — 10 years ago

Rob B

10

2009 Autonom, Law Of Return, Grenache. — 11 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

August Sebastiani & brother-in-law, Kendrick Coakley, craft small-lot wines, so one can enjoy the truest representation of each appellation & how its terroir impacts specific varietals. Came across this rarity & grabbed a bottle. Had both ‘13 & ‘14. Aromas of ripe berry fruits & exotic spice. On the palate cherry & blueberry flavors, sweet cinnamon tea spice with an edge of tobacco. Smooth tannins, lingering ending with toasty oaky notes. Great value! Nice! Small production. ‘13 is better than ‘14. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Lots of family in town from out of state, so we all got together at my in-laws' country club to enjoy a meal together. A few months back, the club hosted Janet Trefethen, and we visited Trefethen winery this past February when out in Napa. Overall, I find the wines to be appropriate for the price. Nothing will blow you away, but my father-in-law loves this stuff and it's probably my favorite from the Trefethen portfolio. I actually like the '14 over the '13 as of now. Extremely jammy. The nose is hot of blueberries and toasted oak. Texture is medium but almost (but not quite) too tannic. Jasmine, violet, blackberries and plum round out the palate. Always good to be with family. — 7 years ago

Juan Menendez

9.3

I love every wine @lawestatewines make. @Viquel Hawley, kudos! This one is great ! Wish I had the discipline to let 'em age. — 8 years ago

Kris

9.6

Quintessential paso with bold fruit with strong backbone and high alcohol content — 8 years ago

with patrick

Pat Sperry

8.9

Great stuff, opened up in 1/2 hour or so, big & rich and intense, still wild, bright acidity and lots of dark fruit, sh/ settle down in a few years — 8 years ago

Matt Reagan

9.0

Really developed for 10 years. Law school = over. — 8 years ago

Brian Grech

9.0

Valentine's Day date night. Gift from a very nice mother-in-law. — 8 years ago

with Ashley

Kristy Cropper

9.2

Shared this great cab with my mother in law. Need this again! — 9 years ago

David Thibodeau

9.0

Don't serve if this is not on ice! Sometimes I wish my sister in law was on ice. — 9 years ago

Vic Petroff

9.1

Tribut. Not all sons-in-law are bad. — 9 years ago

Rob B

10

2009 Autonom, Law Of Proportions, Syrah — 11 years ago

Skip Smyser

9.7

The pick of the litter. Having a wine cellar allows me to do some outlandish things. Tonight is why I went to law School!!!🍷🍷😎 — 6 years ago

Anthony Sessa

9.3

Great nose. Burnt butter and orange taste. Crisp. Delightful. Mouth full of happiness in South Africa. Signed sober father in law. Anthony is toast again. — 7 years ago

Kandi R

10

We waited over 5 years to try this wine and finally thanks to a super sweet gift from my bro in law we savoured it to end 2016 over a lovely fondue dinner. Terrified it would not be worth the ~100$ it costs ...our fears were quickly subdued in the first sip! Well worth the wait. Will seek this out again for a special treat. Happy New Year's 2017!! — 7 years ago

Mark Turner

9.3

Nice little birthday surprise from my father in law Red Sheese. Earthy, a bit of spice, licorice and dark fruit. Drinking beautifully for a wine as old as me. — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.1

Tension, purity, verve and filigree come to mind here and can only take the mind to one place for Chardonnay: Chablis. OK so now the mind is set in Chablis with style but then we take a different take on the finish that was crazy long and pure, dry extract on full display here as this hummed along nicely to the finish. Another amazing Chardonnay from Jim Law at Linden. — 8 years ago

Anthony Trumbo

9.2

Excellent Grenache! Hides its 15.6% alcohol well if served at cellar temp. Bright red fruits and a long finish. — 8 years ago

Adelaida Pitts

9.6

My favorite Law wine so far... — 8 years ago

with Susan, Don and 4 others

Scott Petrus

8.9

Very nice NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Mother in law special. — 8 years ago

Sherry Prindle

9.1

12% but nice residual sugar and tartness — 9 years ago

Carlo Mondavi

Owner/Winegrower RAEN Winery, Partner Continuum

9.7

Ripping wine my brother in-law made. 2008 is one of my favorite Napa Valley vintages in the past decade and this one sits with some of the best... Still very young so |if you can| hold for a few more years before opening... — 9 years ago

with Fredrik, Michele and 2 others

Jody Brix Towe

Owner/Winemaker j.brix Wines

9.8

Big thanks to Kevin Law for this beauty. — 10 years ago