Jan-Willem van der Hek

9.4

1990 left bank tasting Le Vineur. Time in hand, lovely structure, bright black fruits, nice finish. — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

9.7

Cheers to my 6,000th review on Vivino. A Big milestone deserves a big wine. This was on my wishlist for a while now. Go big or go home!

Deep inky in color with a short brick rim. Unbelievable. Not showing age at all.

Fruity nose of blackberries, blueberries, black currants, chocolates, tobacco, mocha, leather, earth, Mediterranean spices, beef jerky, peppercorn, cedar, leather, vanilla and licorice.

Full bodied, bold, smooth and elegant, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, black currants, sweet plums, vanilla, cedar, light vegetables, spices, smoke, tobacco, chocolates, coffee, cola, pencil lead and peppercorn.

Long finish with firm tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon based, Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley. Showing great complexity and a great mouthfeel. Big with bold tannins. Delicious and yummy.

This 19 year old is drinking very nicely now, and really shows like a young wine. Has at least 15 years in it.

After 3 hours of airtime, forest floor notes come in on the nose. Tasting like an aged left bank Bordeaux.

Wine Advocate 100 points.

This is a Fabulous wine to share with good friends. Very enjoyable by itself or with food. I paired it with BBQ ribs.

Thank you John, for sharing this phenomenal wine with me.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

97 points.

$1,200. — 6 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

This is a very aromatic Left Bank Bordeaux, with a great fruity nose and great complexity.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, oak, vanilla, licorice, cloves, herbs, dark chocolates, vinaigrette, coffee, black pepper and spices.

Drinking nicely now and will be better in 5 years.

Long finish with firm tannins and tangy cranberries, with a soft and elegant mouthfeel.


This 9 year old has good aging potential of another 15 to 20 years.

Needs 3 hours to open up properly and show all that complexity.

I paired it with Brie cheese and Italian meats.

Robert Parker 93 points.

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit verdot.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$120. — 7 years ago

Andrew G

9.0

Very deep in colour with a classic left bank feel, rich dark fruit, fine tannins and a crisp finish. A nice and approachable young blend that will also improve in time. 90+ — 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

John Kanellopoulos

9.2

Great left bank Bordeaux for the wonderful newbie hood of st Julian — 11 years ago

Jacqueline Stellar

9.1

Big, Bordeaux Blend from Virginia. Nice tannins with a spicy finish. — 11 years ago

with Trudy

Willie Carter

8.9

50/36/12/2 CS/ME/CF/PV. Deep, deep ruby. Almost impenetrable with just a little violet tinge. Oak was very prevalent upon first opening but blows off after decanting. A terrific amount of fruit on the nose. Stewed plums, red cherries, and blackberries stand out. Black olives and old leather show.

You say Pauillac and people usually sit up. Left Bank gloriousness for sure. Full bodied and deep, this is a silky smooth Bordeaux that has style, grace, and presence. And there’s power here, as well. The palate shows generous amounts of dark fruit, more oak, and clove cigarettes. Black pepper, black olives, and black cherries. Terrific value for the address. Really nice — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.6

Wednesday Wine Committee from this past week. A fantastic hosting by @joe leatherwood . 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 5 reds, 1 dessert wine. All tasted blind as usual.

Possibly in its prime drinking window, and it is gorgeous. Everything about this screams high quality left bank Bordeaux (which is what I called it). It was beautifully perfumed with a mix of potpourri, dried black cherries, blackberries, graphite, saddle leather and herbs de Provence. Perfectly balanced on the palate with dark fruits enveloped in cedar and sweet pipe tobacco. There is a line of ripe purple fruits down the middle accompanied by dust and mocha which is just delicious. — 6 years ago

with Dan, joe and 2 others

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.4

(Tasted blind, correctly guessed 1989 left bank Bordeaux) Even more gratifying than correctly guessing the wine, the 1989 Chateau Duhart-Milon is a resounding success to savor from this great vintage in Bordeaux. At now thirty years of age, the wine is still highly polished and focused, showing a beautiful array of aromatics from graphite to damp earthy tones that collide with shades of wild mushroom, wet stone and black currants that are all taking shape in the glass. Soft and generous on the mouth, the wine dances with a beam of salinity that cuts through the lovely layers of black fruits, peat moss and herbal undertones of the wine. Still quite lively and energetic, the 1989 Chateau Duhart-Milon is drinking marvelously at this stage in its development and has at least another decade of drinking pleasure left. Drink 2019-2029- 94 — 7 years ago

Jack Petras

9.1

1995 vintage. Still deep purple red, subtle earthy leather aromas with a burst of fresh red raspberries mid palate. Lots of herbal hints like anise and tarragon. Finished with graphite and iron. Changed with each sip. Very nice mature and fully approachable left bank beauty. — 7 years ago

Ching Chan

9.2

Great 2nd red from left bank. Slightly earthy nose. Beautiful spices and red fruits on the palate. — 8 years ago

Lenya Ehrmann

9.0

Can hold it's own, but best with steak or hamburgers. — 8 years ago

Matt Trader

9.4

2012 wasn't the best year for left bank Bordeaux, but don't tell that to Pape Clement, because they crushed it! (All puns intended) Decanted from 11-4pm before jumping in, and it could have spent even more time breathing. The nose was divine - rose water, crushed gravel, pencil box, cloves, espresso bean, and mulled black fruits. The pallet was full of focused tannins and dark rich fruit - black plum, creme de casis, red licorice, red delicious apple skin, mineral, vanilla, green bell pepper, nutmeg, and a lingering finish of dark chocolate. Absolutely a full throttle wine, and this one will age just as long as their 100 pt 2010. Also, this vintage is average only $90, compared to about $250, so it is the best value in some of the best of Bordeaux. Buy all this up while you can, try one, and hold on to them for as long as you can! Hold, and drink from 2027-2047. — 9 years ago

with Tais

John Kanellopoulos

9.6

Did not decant on purpose and enjoyed almost 5 different wines from 1 bottle the finesse, body, aromas texture color and purity of left bank Bordeaux in a 750cc bottle we were lucky with the cork on this one...
— 10 years ago

Aaron Pott

9.0

Beautiful Left Bank Cabernet Cassis and bell pepper. Lovely texture. 81 Medoc is singing now. — 11 years ago

Chelsea Bressers

9.6

Always a pleaser. — 11 years ago

with Matt

Lucky Girl Wine Club

9.0

Wine #5 Haut-Medoc left bank Bordeaux — 12 years ago

with Charles, Denise and 3 others

Le Trevs Smith

9.3

Dark and supple. Taste of blackberries with mild black pepper aroma. Virtually no tannins it’s smooth to sip or pair with something light ... or even pizza. 😊 casual, unpretentious and tasty. — 6 years ago

Brett Francis

9.1

This was quite flavorful and interesting. It had some jam, blackberry, hints of leather and smoke. It had a nice mouthfeel and a medium finish. All in all this was the standout of the night, but still young. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Yesterday’s Wednesday Wine Committee lunch. Normal format of 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert wine. All tasted blind.

I had this about 2yrs ago and my impression is consistent. Dusty and herbal. More tobacco leaf than leather notes. Dark black cherries, dark cocoa dipped cherries, cedar and truffle dusted licorice. This may be in a sleepy phase and could come out the other side full steam and youthful. Would like to try again and focus on only it. I called this early ‘00s left bank Bordeaux. — 7 years ago

with Dan, Will and 2 others

"Odedi"

9.1

A very enjoyable Left Bank Bordeaux. Showing red and black fruits with earth, vegetables, spices, tobacco leaf, wet leaves, black tea and black pepper.

This great vintage red is still young, and needs another 5 to 10 years of bottle time. Already showing nice complexity and mouthfeel.

Long finish with firm tannins and tangy raspberries.

Needs a couple of hours to open up properly and show the tannins and complexity.

Wine Enthusiasts 94 points.

A blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 3% Petite Verdot.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$70. — 7 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.3

Tonight I have the pleasure of tasting the 2012 Château Montrose Saint-Estèphe. 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

The nose has beautiful aromas of black currant, black cherry, blackberry, rose's, mushroom, pencil shavings, herbs, eucalyptus and mocha.

A very expressive palate of black currant, blackberry, black cherry, cassis, black pepper and green bell pepper.

This wine is full bodied with a silky smooth mouth feel, medium + acidity and medium + mouth coating tannins that extend out to a long clean dark fruit finish. A captivating wine to say the least and just another example of a left bank Bordeaux done right from Château Montrose. Enjoy your weekend and may your December be very eventful. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 8 years ago

Joyce Lin

8.9

A beautiful left bank Bordeaux. Quite classic on the palate. Dry with subtle oak note, cinnamon, clove, slightly earthy, mostly with blackberry, black cherry, black currant, pencil shave. Not too many herbal notes on the nose. Med to med plus acidity and med plus tannin. Quite smooth. — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.3

This was such a treat to enjoy. Excellent representation of the vintage and region. Lovely left bank style with very restrained mid-dark fruits, cassis, clove. — 10 years ago

with Weston

Paul Weil

9.2

A Bordeaux style blend that really delivers, this wine has all levels of cherry, currant, and coffee flavors, lingering in a dusty tannic finish. — 10 years ago

John Kanellopoulos

8.9

A overall left bank heavyweight this particular year is a little light in body great overall a little overshadowed by the exquisite cuisine by French master Chef Emmanuel Renault — 11 years ago

Keith Brashaber

9.4

One of the better deals for $20, a very smooth blend — 11 years ago

John Kanellopoulos

9.2

Classic left bank Bordeaux!
Color, body, earthy initial scent transforming to deep berry whisk — 11 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Notes of blueberries and touch of camphor developing savoury flavours. Could easily be Left Bank Bordeaux. Good wine but a hard act to follow after their brilliant 1997 which awakened me to how good Napa Cabernet could be. 18- — 12 years ago