Rhonely Boy

9.2

Unknown % of GSM+Carignan

Delicious fruit, raspberry and boysenberry. Dark notes in the direction of chocolate and Fig, nuance without being the direct flavor profiles (wrapper of dark chocolate bar etc) . Woody notes from Tannin, and interesting milky aspect at times.

Enjoy young (now-3years) fruit is fantastic, tannins are fine and smooth.
Very happy with this selection, great PQR.

Give a min 1.5 hour decant, if not 3 hours. Didn’t decant, keeps getting better with more air & time. Second day is great.

Very yummy, more please. — 4 years ago

Josh Houghton

9.2

Great flavor all the way through. Not to strong in any direction — 6 years ago

Martin Mills

9.0

Still a little young with unresolved tannin but pointing in the right direction. Hint of alcohol on the nose but mostly that menthol eucalyptus note along with honeyed fruit, a hint of coffee. Dark colour mostly opaque and still youthful right to the edge. The palate is mostly fruit, fig, more herbs, quite dry but in a dark chocolate kind of way, that is, more-ish. — 7 years ago

Jens Persson

8.9

Tesch does it different. Not the usual Riesling notes of citrus and green apples. This goes in the opposite direction. Big and bold notes of petroleum, honey and almonds. And heavy razor sharp acidity. This wine is not made to please everyone, despite being the entry level wine from this producer. If this is what you get for 16 Euro’s I can’t wait to try more from their selection — 7 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.2

It's Friday night, time to drink like a Viking, this is a step in the right direction. Nice (dry) Chenin from Loire, plundered this bottle for $17. Northern location in Vouvray, silex soils and partial time in Chestnut barrels. Those notes come through in the glass, high acid, liquid version of Granny Smith Apple. — 8 years ago

Dock Hooks

8.9

Kicking back letting the local tunes adjust my attitude with wine:30 showing on the clock she strolls in my direction digging the slow roll Hendrix spinning left then twisting right dressed in deep purple clinging and flowing interestingly crimson along her rim and edges back to casually claret whispering that she's from a small chateau hanging on the right bank of the Gironde near Arveyres. Offering her hand, I accept pulling her in close then a slow spin and a slower twirl she comes close bathed in the essence of blackberry and spice, young but ripe, wet earthy slowly working her way to a first kiss dripping then gripping, pulling tightly then going soft and silky still clinging while working her way deeper. I close my eyes, Hendrix stops and she's gone. A distant guitar string bends an unknown player. I spot her by the bar, her colors waving in the breeze of a lazy fan I reach out take her firmly by the neck, then lower bending her gently back then spinning her my way, she again engages, her essence lingering in my memory, we dance on as the tunes continue their spin. Later, when we are both done I figure she's likely a fine Merlot brightened by Cab Franc having found her way through new French oak nestled by the river, intelligently nuanced well worth the dance and cost is not an issue...

Hanging at Promise' Land Market where the tunes are always righteous, the people are cool, the conversation is groovy and wines dance from the walls... — 8 years ago

Marc On

Writer Originalverkorkt, Lobenbergs Gute Weine

9.3

This 2009 starts to show in which direction a matured Top-Blaufränkisch could go.
--> Elegance, grace and harmony — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.1

Quite nice as well, working in the opposite direction on the palate as the Agrapart...tight and packed up front this fans out on the finish gaining weight, complexity and breadth. — 9 years ago

Victor Charcan

9.3

Elegant nose of sour cherries, smoke, bacon, slate, blood. A metallic mineral hint and fantastic acidity that points you in an Atlantic direction. A beauty, at a very affordable price, if you are a Burgundy lover this is Spain’s closest — 5 years ago

Casey Schneider-Mizell

9.5

Totally in love with this wine. It has the body and acidity of a brilliant chenin, apple and cantaloupe and mango fruit, and an undertone of fennel seeds and a bit of petrol. Everything happens at once with this wine, a shoegaze-esque wall of flavor that pulls every sip in a new direction. — 5 years ago

Ian Hamel

9.2

April 2019. Starts off with that creamy, powdery Barbera berry fruit, like a blackberry pie. On the second day, it’s redder - moving in a Nebbiolo direction, relatively speaking. Great mouthwatering acidity — 6 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. — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

150+ years ago Giovanni Gaja opened small restaurant in Barbaresco, making wine to complement his food. 1859, he founded the Gaja Winery. Winery has been shaped by that of Angelo Gaja. Under Angelo's direction, the the native Nebbiolo grape was elevated to world-class esteem. Ruby, rich berry fruits aromas, earthy herbs. Palate, juicy cherry and raspberry with tobacco, black pepper, leather, savory tannins, great mouthfeel on rich long finish. Needs Cellaring! Tasting Sample! — 5 years ago

Sam Cornwall

9.3

2011 vintage. Really delicious and Goes in a direction you wouldn’t expect. A little cucumber-y finish — 5 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

As I was showing up, this bottle had already been opened for about two hours and was right at its prime. Poured a lighter straw color into the glass. The nose was very heavily honeydew and melon with a hint of lemon. Hint of straw also in this nose. The front of this wine is powerful yellow fruit. Didn't get much of a tropical note. Didn't go more the direction of grapefruit as it did guava and pear. Finished strong. Full and in-your-face. I think that this is the first Belle Cote I've had the chance to have, and definitely didn't disappoint. I was definitely not wanting to open up a white wine to compete with this one! Drink or hold, as I feel that this one has another 5-7 years left and will probably develop quite nicely in that time frame. — 7 years ago

with Dan and Keith

Narun P

9.0

100% Pinot Noir.

Medium garnet with bricked/sun-dried undertone. Clear and compact rim.

Lots of secondary characters showing in the aromas with cured meat, mushroom, old leather, dried cherry. Yet decent amount of fresh (and almost candied) red fruits still very much present.

The palate is less integrated (and probably less interesting). Integrated tannin, medium high acidity, medium bodied, dry. Traces of un-integrated new oak spices, red candied cherry, vanilla seeds, cinnamon stick with some complexity developing in the background.

Overall, this wine confuses me a little with its future direction but at the moment I like it enough to happily drink a few glasses if offered. 90. — 8 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.1

I've been on the hunt for this for a while now, and I'm happy to finally get some in my glass. The juicy cab franc with its spicy and peppery undertones does take in a Loire direction, but then the zweigelt adds a different sort of funk that pushes it into new territory. A lot going on here for such a quaffable wine, and it comes across as dynamic, alive and idiosyncratic. It also pushes all my happy buttons. Yum. Holla @Phil Ashton! — 8 years ago

Rob Tomlinson

9.1

Drank over Christmas Eve & Christmas night...spot on — 9 years ago

Naboth van den Broek

9.1

Some sweetness, almost SB in direction, but with the fattiness of an older gruner. — 9 years ago

Sean Herriott

9.0

Rich and powerful. If this is the direction Tuscany is headed, sign me up! — 9 years ago