Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Kalinda is K&L Wine Merchants private label. If you give it 5+ years in bottle, it’s one of the best, if not thee best value in Napa Cabernet. I think I paid $18.99 or $21.99 for this 09. I’d like to tell you who made it but, that’s the mystery of Kalinda, you just don’t know. They either buy juice from a quality producer or have them make a wine specifically for them. They’ve made a lot of great producer relationships over the 40 plus years they’ve been in business. Either way, dollar for dollar, it’s a steal. Name a quality Napa producer you can buy for $20. It’s a very short list. I buy six of more of these every year without even thinking about it. It’s simply that consistently good and always an exceptional value.

On the nose, it’s sweet, ripe, ruby nectar. There are some hints of fruit liqueur. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum with hint of strawberries. Mocha powder, dark chocolate, light dark spice, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, whiff of nutmeg, crushed rocks, loamy dry top soil, some dark moist earth, dark fresh & withering floral bouquet.

The body is medium edging to full. It’s fresh, fruity, silky and elegant. The length, structure, balance and tension are in a perfect spot. There is nothing on the palate that bites back. The fruits are ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, huckleberries, blue fruit with hint of strawberries. Mocha powder, dark chocolate, light darker spice than the nose, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, whiff of nutmeg, dry crushed rocks, soft, round volcanic minerals, loamy dry top soil, some dark moist earth, dark fresh & withering floral bouquet. The round acidity is nicely executed. The long, well balanced finish is really nice and lasts minutes. This bottle just missed 9.2.

Photos of, the K&L tasting bar in SF, floor shot of racked wines and beautiful shots from the Napa Valley.
— 7 years ago

Juan Pablo Perez

9.2

Nariz: mermelada de ciruela y cerezas, cuero nuevo, regaliz.

Boca: Taninos M+, Acidez M/M+, Alcohol Alto (16%). Seco pero untuoso, redondo, buen balance.

(Italian Wine Merchants NYC) — 8 years ago

Charles Antin

Senior Wine Specialist/Auctioneer Zachys

9.1

This stuff really punches above its weight class. Has that gorgeous honey mouthfeel while being completely dry with a very long finish. Can't recommend it enough. Pick some up from my friends at Vanderbilt Wine Merchants. — 8 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.3

31 December 2016. Nolita Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 8 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.0

31 December 2016. Nolita Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 8 years ago

Daniel Duckett

9.1

Lovely white from Languedoc. Tasting for wine list at General Merchants 361 — 9 years ago

Michael Piaker

8.9

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.0

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

David Hemmerling

8.9

Was not cellar worthy but okay Cabernet — 10 years ago

G Houghtalen

9.1

Purchased from Match.com event at Premier Cru Wine Merchants
1163 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10028 — 11 years ago

Tusy Culos

9.8

chianti classico , villa dei freschi, 2007. Italian Wine Merchants. — 12 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

Michael Piaker

9.2

27 December 2016. Thirst Wine Merchants, Brooklyn, NY. — 8 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.1

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

Michael Piaker

8.9

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.0

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

Gail Elliot

9.4

Incredibly good value for only £23 from my fav Edinburgh wine merchants, Great Grog! — 10 years ago

Mary Anne Madonia

10

Italian Wine Merchants NYC — 11 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.4

8 November 2017. Thirst Wine Merchants, Brooklyn, NY. — 8 years ago

Wendee Augustiro

10

Bought from K&L wine merchants — 8 years ago

Juan Pablo Perez

9.0

Nariz: cerezas, ciruelas aun muy presentes, algo de cuero nuevo

Boca: Taninos M+ todavia un poco astringente pero tomable ahora, Acidez M, Alcohol M+. Lo dejaria en botella varios anos. Buen vino.

(Comprado en Italian Wine Merchants NYC) — 8 years ago

Juan Pablo Perez

9.1

Nariz: manzanas verdes, limon amarillo, pera, mineral (tiza)

Boca: Acidez M+, Alcohol M, buen cuerpo, complejo y largo en boca.

(Comprado en Italian Wine Merchants en NYC) — 8 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.4

31 December 2016. Nolita Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 8 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.1

31 December 2016. Nolita Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 8 years ago

Tyler Mitchell

9.0

Really nice Beaujolais at a good price point. Had at home, purchased at Byrons in OKC. Second time to have this wine, first one came from Houston Wine Merchants in Montrose. — 8 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.0

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

Michael Piaker

8.9

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

Michael Piaker

8.9

20 February 2016. Rieslingfeier Gränd Tasting, Back Label Wine Merchants, New York, NY. — 9 years ago

Stuart Cooney

9.5

Tastes like a Rioja but much smoother and fruitier great with extra mature cheese and spaghetti bolognese really enjoyable red — 10 years ago

Paul Mabray

Founder VinTank

9.0

So fun, especially for the price. Way to go Ferry Wine Merchants. — 11 years ago

with Angelica