Brane-Cantenac Margaux 2015

97 points Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider): "Smoke, tobacco leaves, roses, licorice, and a melange of cherries fill your nose with little effort. As good as the perfume is, the palate is even better. Rich, silky, vibrant, and soft, the touch of salt on the backend really adds to the wines layers of silky, round blackberries, cherries with a dash of chocolate that comes in at the end. At 10 tears of age, 2 hours in the decanter adds a lot to the wine. Drink from 2025-2055. (Jan 2025)"

96 points Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux): "(70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Carmènére). Lush and intense, grip and expansion through the palate, this is expertly put together, great quality, gentle white pepper spice, fragrant smoked cumin, crushed raspberry and red cherry, peony and roses smoked earth and black tea. Owner Henri Lurton, technical director Christophe Capdeville. Alcohol 13.5%. Drink: 2025-2044. (2/6/25)"

96 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is powerful, structured and explosive in feel. A deep, resonant wine, the 2015 boasts off the charts ripeness allied to formidable structure and tannic heft. I imagine the 2015 is going to need a number of years to become approachable and more than that to be at its best. The dark stone fruit, smoke, tobacco, spice and leather flavors pack a huge punch, but it is the wine's balance that places it among the elite on the Left Bank in 2015. Brane-Cantenac is a total pleasure bomb. I can't wait to taste it with a little bottle age. Drink: 2027-2050. (Feb 2018)"

96 points Jane Anson (Decanter): "Right from the attack this has beautiful intensity and focus, with tannins covered by a layer of silk. A dash of violet and white pepper comes in from the Carmenère and Cabernet Franc two-step (from now on you can expect this partnership to appear more regularly). This is frankly delicious, the generous berry fruits reverberating with some wonderful notes of coffee bean and charcoal smoke, outlined by a mouthwatering minerality. A step up in poise and texture from the 2014. 39% of production. Drinking Window: 2025-2038. (11/24/17)"

96 points and 'Cellar Selection,' Wine Enthusiast: "Rich, fruity and with great potential, this ripe wine is also dense with firm tannins. Its juicy fruits are a part of a package with the concentrated tannins and smoky wood flavors that allow for long aging. This is an impressive wine from one of the Margaux properties owned by the Lurton family. Drink from 2025. Alcohol 13.5%. (Feb 2018)"

95 points/'Le Coup de Coeur,' La Revue du Vin de France: "The cru has literally taken off in recent vintages, establishing itself as one of the appellation's benchmarks. A wine that is both flamboyant and exquisite... the 2015... opens up and releases a sweetness of fruit and irresistible suave tannins. (2021)"

94 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "The 2015 Brane-Cantenac offers an exquisite array of fruit on the compelling nose: boysenberry, raspberry confit and crushed strawberry, all laced with pressed violets and an underlying chalky/mineral vein. The fresh, linear, medium-bodied palate presents supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity and just a vein of greenness on the finish that I can abide here (I’m sure it will be subsumed with bottle age and impart another facet). Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. (Jul 2019)"

94 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2015 Château Brane-Cantenac checks in as a mix of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Carmenere brought up in roughly 75% new French oak. This medium to full-bodied beauty excels on all accounts and gives up gorgeous notes of blackcurrants, lead pencil, spice and hints of toasted bread. Polished, impeccably balanced, concentrated, and with ripe tannin, it’s a rock star in 2015 that can be drunk young or cellared for 20-25 years. Bravo! Drink: 2018-2043. (11/30/17)"

94 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Carmenere. Deep garnet-purple colored, it storms out with powerful notes of blackberry pie, blueberry compote, and kirsch, plus suggestions of cardamom, menthol, lavender, and roses, plus a hint of cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is finely textured with great freshness and lots of perfume on the long finish. Alcohol 13.6%. Drink: 2023-2041. (5/25/22)"

94 points Neil Beckett (The World of Fine Wine): "(70% CS, 26% M, 3% CF, 1% CA; 42% of total production, 13.6% ABV). Deep ruby. More backward and reserved than the 2016 and still showing a little more wood (though the proportion of new oak, while higher than in the past, is still only 70%, and it should integrate well). A lovely sandalwood touch. Still a typically seductive texture, a little firmer and tauter than the 2016, but very fine-grained in its tannin. Appetizing, with fresh, raspberry-pip invigoration and the potency for a long life. (Issue 60; 2018)"

94 points James Suckling: "Quite impressive ripe dark plums and blackberries with sweet, earthy depth and cedary background oak on the nose. The palate has smooth, slick tannins that carry rich dark fruit long and fresh. This has terrific energy and depth. Really vibrant. Incredible length. Drink from 2022. (2/1/18)"

93 points Wine Spectator: "Silky and refined, with seductive crushed plum and raspberry fruit that glides along, perfectly melded with singed alder and mesquite notes along with black tea and warm licorice details. A violet element hangs in the background, adding to the elegance. Best from 2020 through 2035. (3/31/18)"

93 points Tim Atkin, MW