Château Cantenac-Brown 2010 - 3ème Grand Cru Classé

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Strong color, very full-bodied but balanced, well-integrated tannin, good length, confirming the estate's progress.

About the domain :

This cru has been bought by Simon Halabi, a lover of the Médoc's great wines, who is giving a motivated team, led by the very likeable and talented José Sanfins, the means to improve quality. The latest vintages have all been successful: wines that are rather full-bodied for margaux, but harmonious in their power. The second wine, brio, lacks a little panache, despite its name, but the estate produces a lovely Bordeaux appellation dry white, called alto.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

Since 2006, the Halabi family and its director José Sanfins have been giving new impetus to this grand cru classé, famous for its neo-Tudor château built by Scottish animal painter John Lewis Brown, who owned the estate in the 19th century. A remarkable 2009 was followed by an equally superb 2010 vintage, a dry year with plenty of sunshine, giving rise to this well-balanced Margaux. A wine with a clean, distinctive bouquet of fruit and spices (cloves). The clean, silky attack opens onto a full, tannic palate enveloped by soft, delicate flesh. A beautiful freshness lengthens the finish with fruity and spicy flavors that echo the olfaction. Power, balance and elegance: a true Margaux that deserves at least five or six years in the cellar.

About the domain :

Sponsored by an imposing neo-Tudor château built in the 19th c. by Scottish animal painter John Lewis Brown, this 48-hectare estate, planted on fine gravel in the heart of the appellation, has been given a new lease of life, first by the Axa group and, since 2006, by the Halabi family, who have entrusted its management to José Sanfins.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the wine:

A major success, with a deep, complex, powerful and intense nose. The palate is not to be outdone, with length and full body. The warm terroir speaks for itself, imposing itself and producing wines of character with good Cabernet ripeness.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The greatest Cantenac Brown I've ever tasted, this 2010 is a benchmark. Dense purple, with an extraordinary nose of undergrowth, blackberry jam, ink and graphite, this wine flies out of the glass, giving it an aromatic dimension and intensity I've never seen from this estate. The tannins are present, as in most Cantenac Browns, but the wine's smoothness, density on the palate and spectacular length (nearly a minute) make it a great classic and a fabulous sure bet of the vintage, which is still undervalued in relation to its potential. This is a wine for those with cold cellars and young DNA; it will need at least a decade of cellaring, and should last for 20-40 years. A classic!

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

About the wine:

The 2010 is undoubtedly the château's benchmark bottle. A full-bodied, deep and refined wine, the true essence of Margaux.

About the domain :

This handsome, imposing Margalais estate consistently produces top-quality wines worthy of its ranking. Its dynamic manager, José Sanfins, trained at the Cazes school and Axa Millésime, knows how to produce wines that are charming, but also deep and full-bodied (like the Alto white, produced in small quantities). A new owner, the Le Lous family, has even higher ambitions. A further 10 hectares were acquired in 2020, and major modernization work is planned for the production facilities. The cru is not resting on its laurels!