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. — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.

Fruity nose with blackberries, black currants, black plums, black cherries, oak, light vanilla, licorice, earth, tobacco, dark chocolates, spices, light herbs and coffee.

Full-bodied and smooth with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with black cherries, raspberries, currants, licorice, oak, tobacco, spices, peppercorn, light vegetables, alcohol, earth and leather.

Medium plus on the finish with fine-grained tannins and tangy cranberries.

What a great third growth Left Bank Bordeaux. This 5 year old from the great 2015 vintage, is showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel. Already balanced, yet still very young.

Needs 4 hours to open up, so I recommend taking your time with it. (I tasted it every 30 minutes).

Still needs 10 years in the bottle to mature properly, but so delicious now.

A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon and 39% Merlot. Aged for 16 months in French oak barrels. Kosher for passover.

14% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$85. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Monthly WTF guys blind tasting group. This month was our annual, and famed, Left Bank vs Right Bank theme. All wines served blind as usual. Started off with a Rosé and a champagne. Great night.

This was one of my favorites of the night. One of the best young Bordeaux’s I’ve tasted. Ripe and modern nose (fruit forward) with smoked meat and baked blackberry pie. The palate revealed cocoa/dark chocolate, baking spices and a hint of blue fruit wrapped by black fruit. Big. Will obviously get better, but was shocked how good this was now. I called this ‘12-14 Left Bank. — 7 years ago

with Andrew, Jack and 6 others

Rick Riddle

9.8

This ”left bank” Bordeaux eludes a sophisticated sexiness from start. In the glass, it’s inky, dense, purple intimidates you at first, but the silky, well balanced full bodied with soft tannins puts your mouth at ease. From the nose to finish, it is apparent that it had spent a substantial amount of time in French Oak. Notes of cassis, black cherry on the palate add a chocolate mole as it begins to breathe, with a finish reminiscent of those Welch’s Strawberry Fruit Snacks (in a great way) on a lengthy finish. Pairs great with a smoked Gouda, but almost equally as good alone. While the $150 price May scare you away, it is worth every penny. Savor every sip! — 7 years ago

with Meagan

Jared Silvia

9.0

Very pale yellow in color. The nose is a combination of stone fruit and pineapple. The flavor takes that and adds a nice amount of mineral and grapefruit. The finish lingers well. — 8 years ago

with Brandi

Delectable Wine

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9.7

Pichon-Lalande is the single hottest property in the Médoc right now. Although the Chateau has a long and esteemed history, a Second Growth in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, no less, it is the winemaking today that is taking the property to new heights. If you are looking to treat yourself with a wine that is truly world class in every sense, then look no further. The wonderfully nuanced, finessed 2014 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande exudes pedigree. Crème de cassis, licorice, lavender and sweet spices are front and center, while beams of supporting tannins and acidity give the wine its energy and overall tension. All of the elements are simply in the right place. Powerful and also remarkably delicate, the 2014 Pichon Comtesse might very well be the wine of the vintage on the Left Bank. Don't miss it! (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Feb 2017) — 8 years ago

John Kanellopoulos

9.2

Left bank Bordeaux at its best! full body deep maroon red, mature tannins opening up with every sip...
I am quite surprised they offer this at the Harvard Club of NY! — 9 years ago

Daniel Argandona

9.2

Huge nose! Massive wine for a 2002. Left bank is crushing it . Decant for 1 hour. — 10 years ago

Winston Biltz

9.3

Delicious left bank wine. Full bodied with perfectly integrated tannins. Cab franc notes with a hint of pepper. — 10 years ago

Keith Brashaber

9.4

One of the better deals for $20, a very smooth blend — 10 years ago

John Kanellopoulos

9.2

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

V M

9.1

Delicious left bank Bordeaux with dark fruit and burnt wood notes. This needs time to mellow but this has potential to be amazing. Nice balance of fruit and earth — 12 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. — 5 years ago

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 — 6 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. — 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

LM Segal

9.5

WOTN Left Bank blind tasting, deep cigar-box and cassis nose, lighter in body than my last tasting, it's gaining intensity and secondary stuff, mushroom, bright red fruit. 45 second finish. — 11 years ago

Lucky Girl Wine Club

9.0

Wine #5 Haut-Medoc left bank Bordeaux — 11 years ago

with Charles, Denise and 3 others

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

9.6

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

"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

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! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 7 years ago

Lenya Ehrmann

9.0

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

John Kanellopoulos

9.2

Purebread not many blended wines come close to this left bank breed, though young this baby demonstrates the time proven blend of Cab and Merlot with the stability of Sauvignon Blanc and the spike of petit Verdot (too bad that Carmenere no longer prospers around the Gironde) Any other blend from anywhere should try to stand up next to these guys! god rest father Rmile Paunaud’s soul, what a legacy.... — 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. — 8 years ago

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. — 9 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 — 10 years ago

Aaron Pott

9.0

Beautiful Left Bank Cabernet Cassis and bell pepper. Lovely texture. 81 Medoc is singing now. — 10 years ago

Chelsea Bressers

9.6

Always a pleaser. — 11 years ago

with Matt