Chateau Cantenac Brown 2020
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1 or more bottles$120.00
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James Suckling97 points
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Antonio Galloni97 points
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Neal Martin96 points
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Jeb Dunnuck94 points
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Wine Spectator94 points
Editors notes
Aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, plum, and cherry, followed by notes of cedar, tobacco, vanilla, and spices.
Full-bodied with firm tannins and high acidity. Flavours of dark fruit dominate the palate, complemented by hints of earth, leather, and graphite. The finish is long and persistent, with a pleasant touch of minerality.
Details
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Wine Type
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Vintage
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Variety
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Brand
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Location
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Cellaring
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Closure
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Alcohol Percentage
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Bottle Size
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Oak Type
Tasting Profile
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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Aroma
- Cassis
- Plum
- Red Fruits
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Palate
- Cherry
- Plum
- Redcurrant
Food Pairings
- Pork
- Red Meat
Critic Scores & reviews
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James Suckling
97"Fantastic depth of fruit with layers of firm, chewy tannins that are medium-grained and long in the mouth. Full and dynamic. One of the best ever."
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Antonio Galloni
97"The 2020 Cantenac Brown is an outrageously beautiful wine. Ample, vertical and soaring in its intensity, the 2020 is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Punchy red berry fruit, lavender, spice, mint and rose petal abound. What I like most about the 2020 is the way it balances fruit intensity with vibrancy and energy. Cantenac Brown is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. Drink from 2030 to 2060"
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Neal Martin
96"The 2020 Cantenac Brown, cropped at 36hl/ha, has quite a precocious bouquet of macerated small black cherries, blueberry, touches of cassis and violet, all very generous and seductive in style. The palate is beautifully balanced and extremely pure, offering succulent ripe tannins, perfectly judged acidity and layers of blueberry, Dorset plum, crushed stone and light graphite notes toward the finish, which has just the right amount of salinity. This is a sophisticated and quite cerebral Margaux in a series of excellent recent releases from the estate. Highly recommended. Drink from 2025 to 2050"
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Jeb Dunnuck
94"I loved the 2020 Château Cantenac Brown, a pure, medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured Margaux that shines in the vintage. Offering up lots of classy cassis fruits as well as spicy oak, violets, and flowers, it has plenty of mid-palate depth, outstanding balance, and a great finish. There’s no trace of the often firm chewy tannins found in this appellation in 2020, and it’s unquestionably a beautiful wine."
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Wine Spectator
94"Ripe, rounded and suave in feel, with alluring waves of cassis and dark cherry reduction laced with sandalwood, black tea and violet notes. Broad, velvety and perfumed through the finish, with a subtle sanguine hint echoing late. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2028 through 2038."
Other vintages
Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.
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- Variety Merlot Blend
- Vintage 2021
- Brand Chateau Cantenac Brown
- Cellaring 15 Plus Years
- Wine Type Red
- Alcohol Percentage 13.5% Alcohol
Chateau Cantenac Brown 2021-
James Suckling93 points
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Vinous92 points
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Vinous94 points
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The Wine Advoca94 points
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Decanter93 points
$109.00
Current auction
All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.
Locations
France
Wine is being produced throughout France and has been done for over 2,500 years with certain Châteaux dating their history back to Roman times, around 6th Century BC. Ranking second in the world in per-capita consumption and first in total production quantity. More so than the overall quantity of wine is the quantity of truly great wines coming out of France makes the nation the envy of wine-making nations worldwide.
Two concepts pivotal to the higher end French wines, in particular, are the idea of 'terroir' and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. Terroir refers to the way the geography, geology and climate find their way into the glass, telling a story of the origin of the wine. The AOC was set up in 1935 and has the primary goal of protecting the authenticity of the wines and the livelihoods of the producers. Appellation rules strictly define which varieties of grapes and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or in some cases, like in Burgundy even specific vineyards.
Classic wine regions in France include Champagne (home of Champagne), Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot), Alsace (Aromatic varietals), Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc, Crémant) and the Rhône Valley (Syrah, Grenache Mourvedre)
The Bordeaux classification of 1855 is still in use, as is the Sauternes and Barsac Classification of the same year. Wines from certain regions can be bought En Primeur, which is when the wine is sold prior to it being bottled.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux has a rich history of winemaking, dating back to the Roman times. Today, it is known as one of the most significant wine regions in the world, with a reputation for producing complex, full-bodied red wines. The region is home to a diverse range of terroirs, each with its own unique microclimate, soil composition, and grape varieties.
The left bank of Bordeaux is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, which thrives in the region's gravelly soils. These wines tend to be bold, tannic, and complex, with notes of blackcurrant, cedar, and tobacco. On the right bank, Merlot is king, producing wines that are softer and fruitier, with notes of plum, cherry, and chocolate.
Aside from the red blends, Bordeaux is also renowned for its sweet wines, particularly from the Sauternes and Barsac appellations. These wines are made using a unique process that involves botrytis, or "noble rot," which concentrates the sugars in the grapes, resulting in a lusciously sweet and complex wine.
Bordeaux's classification system has evolved over time, with some estates moving up or down the ranks depending on the quality of their wines. Today, the system includes five growths, with Premier Cru being the highest and Deuxièmes Crus being the second-highest. There is also a separate classification for the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac, with Chateau d’Yquem holding the highest rank.
Overall, Bordeaux is a region that continues to captivate wine enthusiasts around the world with its rich history, diverse terroirs, and exceptional wines.
Medoc
Home to over 650 vineyards and spanning over 4,900 hectares, Bordeaux’s Médoc wine region comprises four of the most distinguished wine villages in the area: Saint-Estephe, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, and Margaux. The peninsula of Médoc is home to coastal lagoons, sand dunes, and pine forests. It is known to have formed into a peninsula over time as the Garonne and Dordogne rivers carried in large quantities of mineral rich silt and light reflective, well drained gravel, which turned out to be perfect for harvesting red wine grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The main aromas of the beautifully refined red wines from this area are: spices, oak, red fruit and vanilla.
The region of Médoc is divided into three areas: the Landes du Médoc, the Bas-Médoc, and the Haut-Médoc. The Landes du Médoc is located in the entire western half of the peninsula. Although there are no vineyards here, the land is still important because its pine trees protect the grape vines from the harsh cold winds blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The Bas-Médoc( lower-Médoc) runs downstream on the estuarine side of the peninsula. The wines produced here are usually more affordable than those produced in Haut-Médoc. Haut-Médoc (upper-Médoc) is the most well-known of the three sections. The wines produced here are some of the most expensive wines worldwide and were famously ranked in The Médoc Classification of 1855, which is to this day in use.
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