Château Cantenac Brown Margaux 2021 - 3ème Grand Cru Classé

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

This estate was acquired by Simon Halabi, a lover of fine Médoc wines, who has provided a motivated team—led by the very friendly and talented José Sanfins—with the resources to improve the quality of the wines. The most recent vintages have all been successful: wines that are rather full-bodied for Margaux but harmonious in their power. The second wine, Brio, lacks a bit of panache, despite its name, but the estate produces a lovely dry white wine from the Bordeaux appellation, called Alto.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

Dominated by an imposing Neo-Tudor-style castle built in the 19th century by the Scottish wildlife painter John Lewis Brown, this 48-hectare estate, planted on beautiful gravel soils in the heart of the appellation, has enjoyed a renaissance, first thanks to the Axa Group and, since 2006, under the leadership of the Halabi family, who entrusted its management to José Sanfins.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

The 2021 vintage is a great success here, producing a very graceful wine with delicate, velvety tannins. It nevertheless has a lovely liveliness on the palate, with clean, intense, and flavorful fruit. A beautiful, promising wine overall.

About the estate:

This beautiful and imposing Margaux estate consistently produces high-quality wines worthy of its classification. Its dynamic director, José Sanfins—who trained at the Cazes and Axa Millésime schools—knows how to craft wines that are charming, yet also deep and rich (as exemplified by the white Alto, produced in limited quantities). The new owners, the Le Lous family, have even higher ambitions. An additional 10 hectares were acquired in 2020, and major modernization work on the production facilities is planned. This estate is certainly not resting on its laurels!

Vinous

About the wine:

Cantenac Brown 2021 is superb. Rich and vibrant, with exceptional length, this 2021 vintage is a wine of remarkable depth. Aromas of black cherry, plum, spices, new leather, and mocha are all beautifully highlighted. Wine lovers will discover a Cantenac Brown with a remarkably rich texture. The winemaker, José Sanfins, opted for a saignée process, which resulted in a wine of unusual opulence for the vintage, perfectly true to the estate’s style. The 2021 is breathtakingly beautiful. 2028–2051

Yves Beck

About the wine:

To put it simply, one could say that Cantenac Brown’s bouquet is 1.5 times that of Brio! But since wine isn’t just about math, we need to go into more detail. And that’s where the real difference lies. The bouquet is deep and subtle, unfolding with elegance and harmony. The aging process works behind the scenes to enhance the fruit-driven expression, while the wine is characterized by its power and salinity on the palate. It is compact, linear, and displays a density that is uncommon for this vintage. The fine-grained tannins create a symbiotic relationship with the acidic structure, resulting in a vigorous and fresh wine. This Cantenac Brown deserves credit for standing out with poise amid the challenging conditions of 2021 and for confirming the path toward excellence pioneered by Josef Sanfins and his teams. It’s with vintages like this that we truly show what we’re capable of! As far as I’m concerned, it ranks among the great successes of the 2021 vintage in Margaux. A classic, refined, elegant, and persistent wine. 2027–2047

Vert de Vin

About the wine:

The nose is elegant and offers lovely intensity with finesse, depth with finesse, density with elegance, and a subtle airiness within its power. It reveals notes of vibrant wild blackcurrant, pulpy and juicy black plum, and, more subtly, violet, combined with hints of juicy morello cherry, fresh and juicy red berries, as well as subtle hints of lily, graphite, cardamom, mild spices, and toasted notes. On the palate, it is fruity, elegant, well-balanced, and beautifully refined, offering juiciness, freshness, savory depth, minerality, and a lovely tart structure; it displays tension with finesse, precision, a lovely sense of balance, density with finesse, a subtle, slightly tight quality, a lingering quality, and energy. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy, crisp blackcurrant; fresh, crisp blackberry; and, to a lesser extent, crisp cherry, combined with hints of juicy berries, blueberry, licorice, cardamom, a subtle floral note, sap-like character, as well as delicate hints of toasted almond, nutmeg, and a subtle hint of fresh vanilla. Nice acidity. Well-balanced, understated bitterness. A subtle hint of juicy blueberry and hazelnut in the background. Good length and persistence. A lovely classic, full of elegance and finesse. A pleasant tartness on the finish.

Tastingbook - Markus Del Monego

About the wine:

Deep purple in color with violet highlights and a black core. An elegant yet concentrated nose, with distinct fruity notes reminiscent of black cherry, blackcurrant, and elderberries, as well as hints of blackberry in the background, subtle spices, vanilla, and light spicy notes, with refined oak. On the palate, this is a full-bodied, well-structured wine with beautiful depth and length, freshness, ripe fruit, elegant oak, subtle notes of oak and sweet spices, aromatic herbs, and black stone fruits. Excellent, with a lively character, beautiful tension, ripe tannins, and a very lovely finish.