BriO de Cantenac Brown

Charming, delicate and brilliant, a pleasurable wine for sharing. It can be enjoyed young, but will improve when kept for a few years.

2005 2005
2006 2006
2007 2007
2008 2008
2009 2009
2010 2010
2011 2011
2012 2012
2013 2013
2014 2014
2015 2015
2016 2016
2017 2017
2018 2018
2019 2019
2020 2020
2021 2021

2005

2005 Vintage

Tasting notes

Its dark garnet color shows the great quality of this vintage. The red fruit aromas (strawberry, cherry…) burst onto the palate. Smooth, fruity with well blended silky tannins, this wine is definitively great and can already be drunk.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2005

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
50% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 21rst – 23rd & 28th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 3rd
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 3rd – 11th

Year 2005

So, the nature was on our side. As the spring was quite dry, the budburst came slowly. Beginning of June, the flowering came in good conditions for the 3 grapesorts. The véraison started on July 22 for the Merlot. The Cabernet started 6 days after. The exceptional weather in the last two months of summer allowed a perfect maturity.

The harvest is spread on 4 weeks thanks to an outstanding weather. We can harvest each plot at the perfect timing. The results are edifying especially on the Carbernet of a remarkable quality.

2006

2006 Vintage

Tasting notes

The deep red color with purple reflections is beautiful. The blackcurrant and blackberry notes compose a gourmet mouth, supported by silky tannins and a fine wooded touch. This wine is undeniably a success and can already be fully enjoyed.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2006

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
45% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
70% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 20th – 25th
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 9th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 2nd – 9th

Year 2006

Everything has been done to obtain perfectly sound grapes with the best maturity: Leaf pruning, green harvest throughout the vineyard. We have been working the soils for several years now, and we have noted that it is impor- tant to let the grass develop at the end of the season. This cover limits the water absorption by the vines when there are late rains. It is certainly one of the reasons that led to our best results in 2006. Work and knowledge of the vineyard always make the difference; this is even truer this year. 2006 has been a precision harvest.

We harvested some parcels in two times: first time, the border vines, and on the second time, the heart of the parcel, adapting the wine making techniques to each part.

In 2006, all the working techniques were revised in the cellar and support the efforts made in the vineyard in order to allow an adapted extraction to each vat.

2007

2007 Vintage

Tasting notes

Softness is characteristic for this vintage. Its color is shiny with ruby reflections. The nose is fruity with aromas of raspberry and blackcurrant. On the palate, the fine tannins fulfill perfectly the red fruits, revealing a charming and pleasant vintage. Delightful vintage to drink.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2007

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
45% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
70% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 20th – Oct 2nd
Cabernet Franc: Oct 3rd – 4th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 8th – 15th

Year 2007

The 2007 Vintage is memorable due to an early flowering. Merlots matured very early, but because of harsh weather, the flowering was continued longer than normal. However, the Cabernets matured beautifully. Due to lack of sunny days and dry weather, we had to work harder than usual in the vineyard in order to ensure early pruning of the vines. We had to combat the lack of sunlight in the vineyards.

« Aide-toi, le ciel t’aidera », as we say in French (i.e. the Sun will help you): September, the return of good weather kept with us until the end of the harvest, as well as the vintner’s grins! The weather finally rewarded us. Due to the late harvesting, we were blessed with ripe and beautiful fruit! The longer growing season made it possible to concentrate on each varietal, each plot of land with great precision.

2008

2008 Vintage

Tasting notes

Softness is characteristic for this vintage. Its color is shiny with ruby reflections. The nose is fruity with aromas of raspberry and blackcurrant. On the palate, the fine tannins fulfill perfectly the red fruits, revealing a charming and pleasant vintage. Delightful vintage to drink.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2008

Informations

Varietals
56% Cabernet Sauvignon
32% Merlot
12% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
33% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Oct. 1rst – 7th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 9th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 13th – 19th

Year 2008

The burburst has been very slow due to the cool temperatures and the rains during the whole month of April. We have had to wait until beginning of May, with the first 10 sunny days, to see a fast shoot. The flowering started 8 to 10 days later than usual. The cool temperatures during the Merlots’ flowering and the warm ones during the Cabernets made it so that there is little difference between the two grape varieties. The véraison has been slow.

The first changes of colour came later than the average over the past 30 years. The work from springtime to the harvest, sharper year after year, and in which we are much more reactive, has partially balanced the lack of climatic generosity. Nevertheless, the weather improve day after day and allow that grapes to reach an outstanding maturity in the beginning of September. The harvest take place the first 3 weeks of October. In the cellar, precision is key in the conception of the 2008 vintage and everything is done to extract the best of the harvest.

2009

2009 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is rich and deep, with purple and crimson shades. The nose is an explosion of smooth and fruity aromas with slightly wooded notes. On the palate, softness prevails: Fresh fruits, cocoa and fine tannins with great elegance. Such a great pleasure for your mouth. Like all great vintages, 2009 can age for a few more years.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2009

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
68% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 23rd – Oct. 3rd
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 8th – 15th

Year 2009

The budburst is fast and spreads over the first two weeks of April. The flowering of Merlots and Cabernets Sauvi- gnons is rapidly taking place in late May with some very good weather conditions. The « Véraison » starts on July 24th for the Merlots and July 31st for the Cabernets. The months of August, September and October are truly exceptional. The temperatures differences during days and nights are often important with cool nights and hot days, perfect for a good maturity.

The summer’s climate remains until early October, then the temperatures drop quickly with morning frost on Octo- ber 16th and 18th. The grapes are beautiful for the harvest. The grapes have reached a perfect maturity with red berries intense flavours. The weather is on our side throughout the picking season, which allows us to apprehend the harvest serenely.

2010

2010 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is deep with a delicate wooded nose and seducing aromas of spices on black fruits among which blackberry and blueberry. On the palate, the wine is elegant, round and smooth, with fine tannins and a delicate finish.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2010

Informations

Varietals
65% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
55% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 29th – Oct. 6th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 13th – 20th

Year 2010

The 2010 growing season was marked by dry weather all over the region. Winter to summer was very cold, with temperatures 2-3°C below the normal average. The weather started off mild in April, but May was much cooler. Overall, the weather has remained cool for two consecutive years, with morning frost at the point of harvest on October 18th. The solar weather patterns for the 2010 season are notable and similar those of 2009. The month of April was exceptionally warm and sunny. Both years, 2009 and 2010, had great amounts of sun, even more than the great 2005 vintage year.

Our ally was the great weather, all the way though the end of harvest. Fall gave us an Indian summer with warm days and cool nights. This year, the harvest was longer than usual, and it spread out over 5 weeks. The vinifications go very well with high alcohol level and tanins with strong potential which lead us to choose low temperature fermentations.

2011

2011 Vintage

Tasting notes

ith purple notes. On the nose, the wooded aromas melt nicely with fresh fruits. The wine is long, elegant and rich, mostly with soft and sweet ripe fruits flavors.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2011

Informations

Varietals
49% Cabernet Sauvignon
41% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
20% new oak barrels
80% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
50% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 13th – 21rst
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 23rd
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept 24th – 29rd

Year 2011

After an early budbreak at the end of March, the unusually sunny days in April and May created a considerably advanced flowering, equally rapid for all of the grape varieties. After this early budbreak, a heat wave at the end of June unfortunately burnt some of the exposed young grape clusters. This dry weather was felt even more by extending the « veraison » time. The rain in mid July finally brought some relief to the situation.

The humidity in August slowed the maturation down and allowed us to see a better and more encouraging harvest, with a two week advance compared to the last vintages. In this time right before harvest, we vigorously continued to prepare the harvest by cropping off all of the altered grapes, only keeping the healthy and homogenous ones ready for harvest.

2012

2012 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is deep. The nose reveals fresh fruits aromas melted with vanilla notes. On the palate, fruity flavors are enhanced by fine fresh tannins. This delightful vintage can already be opened but also be kept for a few years.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2012

Informations

Varietals
45% Cabernet Sauvignon
45% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
47% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Oct. 1rst – 12th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 8th – 17th

Year 2012

At first, the 2012 vintage was to be difficult: whether our oceanic climate would have been forgotten in the last few years, we’ve been definitely reminded of our location, which is indeed rather good to produce great quality wines, but sometimes also quite humid. The vineyard had seldom needed such an amount of work, and all along the season, we kept going all through the vineyard. On the first 2 weeks of July, to compete the lack of sun, over 140 people came to “écharder” 100% of the vineyard.

End of August, as we wanted to definitely homogenize the maturity, it’s been decided to “clean” clusters from each single still green and pink berry, in order to only keep the best. Finally, thanks to such a precise work and naturally low yields, maturity was reached only 1 week later than usual. Each single day, vinestock after vinestock and bunch by bunch, vintners made even better from what Mother Nature had given. Even if some rains at the end of September araised some doubts, the knowledge and experience of our technical team made it possible to keep cold blood. The work in the vineyard througout the year is very beneficial and allow us to obtain a healthy and qualitative harvest.

2013

2013 Vintage

Tasting notes

The wine has a deep ruby color, with a nose revealing aromas of blackberry cream and cherries, blended with notes of smoke and vanilla. On the palate, BriO unveils itself elegantly, with a soft and creamy attack, followed by fine and silky tannins.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2013

Informations

Varietals
62% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
8% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
60% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 27th – Oct 2nd
Cabernet Franc: Oct 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct 3rd – 10th

Year 2013

In recent years, we have forgotten what a « normal » vintage means. In one way or another, Mother Nature’s excesses have become the new standard. 2013 is a perfect example. Weather conditions in the first half of the year, week after week, dampened our natural optimism : Late budbreak, Cold, rainy, dreary spring, Very difficult weather conditions during the flowering.

Beginning of July, summer suddenly shows up. Temperatures soar. The vine doesn’t suffer however, as it finds plenty of water in the soil. But the sun is generous, and our morale is up. We deleaf, we do « échardage », and we work with precision in the vineyard.

Nonetheless, cooler temperatures in August prevent the vines from catching up. We hope for a warm and sunny Indian summer which makes great vintages. Humidity in September decides otherwise. The low yields turn an evil into a blessing. This small crop of well aerated grapes has benefited from its poor conditions. This is in part what saved the vintage.

2014

2014 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is rich and deep, with purple and red garnet shades. The nose reveals a blend of ripe fruits aromas with hints of vanilla, slightly wooded. On the palate, the richness of fruity flavors gives greatness to this vintage.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2014

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
50% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 25th – Oct. 1rst
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 6th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 7th – 15th

Year 2014

After quite a warm and rainy winter, an early budburst, and a fast and homogeneous flowering, cautious vine-growers and winemakers experienced a slow véraison. Once again the weather was good to us: all seasonal vineyard tasks in the first part of the year that are now part of our usual routine (such as getting rid of base bud shoots, leaf pruning, “échardage” (i.e. getting rid of laterals shoots specifically located in the cluster area, green harvest) could not compensate for the cool temperatures of the beginning of the summer. We began to doubt that we could produce a wine as great as vintage 2014. We desperately needed more sun and warmer tempera tures…

From the end of August on, average temperatures came back to normal, and a very hot and sunny September led to mature grapes and soft tannins, thanks to a sound and healthy vineyard. Hence, a harvest of high quality. When the grapes are harvested, the cella ris working on the blend in order to findthe best synergy between the vats and the plots.

2015

2015 Vintage

The harvest

The grapes are healthy and the maturity level is on point. Now it’s time to choose the best harvest date; not too early, not too late and not too ripe. We decided to harvest grapes when they would develop «red berry» flavors not «black berry» ones. Tannins had to be nicely ripe, alcohol content needed to be balanced, not too high, and acidity was to be tasted but not too high. While it seems obvious, we realize our luck to be able to pick the fruit at its perfect maturity, with no restraint.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2015

Informations

Varietals
47% Cabernet Sauvignon
42% Merlot
11% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 17th – 24th
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 29th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept 28th – Oct. 8th

Year 2015

Beginning in the spring, temperatures were warmer than average. At the end of May, flowering was fast and homogeneous. In June and July, the warm temperatures led to a slow growing season, which stopped early. Conditions were similar to those in the best vintages.

In August, rains were on time to complete the “véraison” that had started by the end of July. In September, the difference of temperatures between cool nights and warm days, with the addition of brief rains helped reach a perfect ripening. 2015 was a bright and cool year with perfect weather conditions, giving our wines wide aromatic potential, with fine and round tannins.

2016

2016 Vintage

The harvest

From the frist rainy days of mid-September, the grapes are gleaming, the ripening is accelerating, and the sun bathed berries are healthy and sound, allowing us to perfom our harvest to a slow and precise rhythm with no stress ! (14 days in 5 weeks). Extraction is easy, color and tannin develop with little effort. The grape seeds taste of hazelnut, and the berries are perfectly ripened !
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2016

Informations

Varietals
49% Merlot
40% Cabernet Sauvignon
11% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
51% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 23rd – 29th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 3rd – 4th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 10th – 19th

Year 2016

After a rather dry and warm winter, the beginning of the growing season is rainy through June, giving way to a dry and hotsummer.Bud-break took place in mid-March, and this slow, yet stabel growth allowed us to forecast a late harvest.

Thankfully, June revealed itself as perfect for a complete and rapid flowering on the Merlots, a little slower on the Caber- nets, but with beautiful ripening overall on all varietals. June through September proved a beautiful weather, almost too hot, but never reaching heatwaves. Also, even if some of the younger vines may have suffered, the older, more establi- shed ones continue to ripen, thanks to high watere tables.

Balance is there, this slight «block» at the end of August reduced alcohol content. However, rain in mid-September along with beautiful sunny days and cool nights, allowed us to maintain great freshness with exceptionnal polyphenolic richness.

2017

2017 Vintage

The harvest

The crop started progressively mid-September. We began with the plants and seedlings. Then we prepared ourselves to harvest the old vines at good maturity. 2017 will remain in the memories as the vintage of the frost, but 2017 is above all an early vintage with a regular and fast flowering and a homogeoues veraison. The great terroirs gave great grapes. Very early, bunches presented a remarkable wealth in anthocyans, juices are fresh and colored. Merlots are plumps and gourmands. Cabernets reveal complex aromas.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2017

Informations

Varietals
69% Cabernet Sauvignon
26% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
46% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 14th – 21rst
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 26th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept 27th – Oct. 2nd

Year 2017

After a cold January month, February and March were quite mild and the budburst was fast and homogeneous. The vintage began to look promising; April was particularly beautiful, with important thermal amplitudes. The wind shifted to the North. At dawn of April 27th and 28th, the sky was perfectly clear and temperatures fell below 0°C (32F).

We are lucky; as the majority of Château Cantenac Brown vineyard did not suffer too much loss. After this climatic shock, the following months were hot, especially the end of June where a heat wave boosted the vegetation. It was a true godsend. In July and August, temperatures stayed reasonable; while the vines remained advanced compared to the thirty-year average.

Finally a vintage in 7 with a high-quality level ? The summer was slightly fresher than usual and the rains during the beginning of September removed any doubt, we will not harvest a 1947. What a pity ! Nevertheless, the vintage has a great potential, thanks to all the attention to detail including leaf thinning, removal of secondary shoots, and even green harvest on some particular plots too overloaded.

2018

2018, A child of the rain and sun

The harvest

Before the harvest, the contrast of hot days and cold nights was wonderful, favoring aromatic and phenolic concentration. In a few words: a dream harvest! More than 4 weeks of idyllic conditions and plots with perfect maturity. Berries were small. Thick and matured skins released a deep color. The maturity of the pips, brown almost dark, round, long and fresh tannins show how great this vintage is.

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
43% Merlot
7% Cabernet Franc

Aging
French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
44% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept 18th – 28th
Cabernet Franc: Oct 1st
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct 2nd – 11th

2018, a tough miracle

Before 2018, « oceanic climate » was a broad meteorological concept made of different nuances. In 2018, from spring to the beginning of summer, this oceanic climate joined the vineyard to remind us of its main characteristic: high humidity spread over the entire season. Aer a complicated start of the season, nobody would have thought we would get such an amazing vintage. Once again, our job has been rewarded.

For many years now, we are very active in the vineyard and we opt for preventive measures, debbuding, leaf removal and removal of secondary shoots. Everything is set up to work in good conditions. In 2018, we had to work harder than usual and double our teams to keep it up. In 8 days, we had to de-bud and remove leaves from more than 500 000 vines.

Mid-July, grapes were perfect and were only waiting for the sun to start ripening. The heat from the end of July to the end of August, given the water resources present, allowed evolution without stress. The veraison was slowly homogeneous, the maturity was smooth.

2018 is an unprecedented vintage of great quality, all varietals showing a perfect maturity, mixing concentration, roundness, and balance.

2019

2019, an amazing vintage to welcome the Le Lous family!

The harvest

The bet is won! Harvest was split over 4 weeks with great conditions despite cloudy periods. The blends with the presence of Tristan Le Lous, have been refined. The first tasting shows a vintage with a lot of class, freshness, density, with present and velvety tannins.

Informations

Varietals
48% Merlot
42% Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept. 18th to 21st 23rd, 25th to 27th & 30th
Cabernet Franc: October 1st
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 2nd to 5th, 7th to 9th

The 2019 year started under the rain with warm winter temperatures. As a consequence, the budburst took place 15 days sooner than usual. Flowering happened with slightly low temperatures and few rainy days caused flower abortion and millerandage. On the other hand, these precipitations were beneficial at the beginning of summer and helped us to handle July’s temperatures. During veraison, the sudden dryness locked some berries; we will sort them with manual harvest or with the optical sorting table.

The end of summer was cooler allowing the vineyard to rest. Some showers at the beginning of September arrived right on time to swell the berries … and our hopes. The harvest date of each plot is the key for this vintage. Regarding the choices we made during the season (leaf removal, plots’ age, soil composition, weather condition …), harvest choice is also crucial and requires a daily control in the vines. Each day, we walk miles and taste hundreds of berries in order to establish the harvest plan adapted to our plots.

We harvested the whites while keeping an eye on the reds! So fresh mornings the first days of September were perfect for two reasons: the white of Cantenac Brown had been harvested in perfect conditions and in the meantime the ripeness of the red grapes evolved phenomenally. Since the first analysis, merlot and cabernet sauvignon show remarkable polyphenols. The first harvest day was set on September 18th for the youngest vines. Enough time to get the team ready and then wait until the end of the month to harvest the great merlot and beginning of October for the cabernet sauvignon.

2020

2020 Vintage
2020, A Beautiful Sensory Parenthesis.

Tasting notes


2020 is a winemaker’s vintage. The ripeness is astounding, dark in color, the aromas are refined, complex and spicy, the tannins are elegant and sexy, with the sensation of a balanced power. It stands up to the challenge of the 2018 and 2019 vintages, with a pretty dash of supplementary freshness.
2020 is an open window to the future.

Informations

Varietals
62% Merlot
29% Cabernet Sauvignon
9% Cabernet Franc

Ageing
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one vintage barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept. 10 to 11, 14 to 18, 21
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 21
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept. 24-25, 28 to 30

A new wind of enthusiasm blows across the team at Château Cantenac Brown with the arrival of “Famille Le Lous”. We thought of everything, from the vine to the bottle, using all methods possible to create one of the best wines of Margaux.

The vines awoke very early this year, in mid-March. Aher a beautiful beginning to Spring in the first weeks, even with some very heavy rain though June, the skies of the Médoc opened up to lovely periods of sunshine. The Merlot and Cabernet took advantage of these windows to rapidly flower in the best conditions.

Particularly dry weather with several very hot days continued into mid-August where little spurts of rain allowed the vine to suffer slightly, and to jump start the ripening with a restrained hydration. In September, the wind accompanied the new heat wave in this last ripening phase, bringing about a unique concentration of the fruit.

Generous sun during the harvest did its work and therefore produced a beautiful vintage. With a rather unusual grape composition, we had to be extremely vigilant in the last phase of ripening. The fermentation was conducted at temperatures from 4-5 degrees Celsius, much lower than normal in order to preserve the most from these magnificent fruit aromatics without over extracting the tannins.

2020 also marks the beginning in the blend of the “Grand Cabernet Sauvignon” from the plateau of Margaux and the “Enclos de Cantenac Brown”.

2021

2021,
Good things come to those who wait…

Tasting notes

The first vats are very aromatic with notable hints of raspberry. The Merlots are softer than usual and the Cabernets more concentrated. The blend of the two varietals should give a round and full-bodied wine, with fine and elegant tannins. Typically Bordeaux. The blend confirms our choice. Very good conditions also came together for the harvest of the whites. The balance is excellent between acidity and roundness.

Informations

Varietals
60% Merlot
29% Cabernet Sauvignon
11% Cabernet Franc

Ageing
1 year in French oak barrels
20% new oak barrels
80% one vintage barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept. 23-24 ; Sept. 27 – Oct.4
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 1rst
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 4-12th

The 2021 vintage will remain in our memory as a year that constantly tested our ability to adapt to varying weather conditions.
Particularly for this vintage, the Cantenac Brown team’s experience and the benchmarks achieved over time, have allowed us to adjust quickly to each scenario. After a year on the deck, from the cold front at the end of April to the humid early summer, our hard work over the year will have finally paid off.

Technical decisions had to be made, and the most important human investment made in recent years, early leaf removal by hand, was performed at sunrise, along with a second leaf removal at sunset in August, to guarantee the best exposure of light and air to the grape clusters to achieve the best maturity. We performed a green harvest in the month of August with two passes on several plots during harvest.

The good weather (except for a few scattered showers), accompanied the harvest, cold and dry, perfect for the Cabernets. The know-how of our team was a determining factor for this harvest, pick the plots at the right time, be patient for several days as the weather reports were changing day to day, even hour to hour.

The weekend of October 2nd was predicted to be very rainy, disrupting our plans to harvest, and worrying the entire team. Finally, there was only light rain the 3rd and 4th of October, only slightly disrupting the last Merlot harvest. The following days are extraordinary for the much-anticipated Cabernet. From October 5th to the 12th, the Cabernet harvest continued under the sun, with cold mornings and radiant afternoons (6 Celsius in the morning up to 20 Celsius by the end of the day).

Good things come to those who wait…

2005 2005
2006 2006
2007 2007
2008 2008
2009 2009
2010 2010
2011 2011
2012 2012
2013 2013
2014 2014
2015 2015
2016 2016
2017 2017
2018 2018
2019 2019
2020 2020
2021 2021

2005

2005 Vintage

Tasting notes

Its dark garnet color shows the great quality of this vintage. The red fruit aromas (strawberry, cherry…) burst onto the palate. Smooth, fruity with well blended silky tannins, this wine is definitively great and can already be drunk.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2005

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
50% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 21rst – 23rd & 28th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 3rd
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 3rd – 11th

Year 2005

So, the nature was on our side. As the spring was quite dry, the budburst came slowly. Beginning of June, the flowering came in good conditions for the 3 grapesorts. The véraison started on July 22 for the Merlot. The Cabernet started 6 days after. The exceptional weather in the last two months of summer allowed a perfect maturity.

The harvest is spread on 4 weeks thanks to an outstanding weather. We can harvest each plot at the perfect timing. The results are edifying especially on the Carbernet of a remarkable quality.

2006

2006 Vintage

Tasting notes

The deep red color with purple reflections is beautiful. The blackcurrant and blackberry notes compose a gourmet mouth, supported by silky tannins and a fine wooded touch. This wine is undeniably a success and can already be fully enjoyed.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2006

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
45% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
70% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 20th – 25th
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 9th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 2nd – 9th

Year 2006

Everything has been done to obtain perfectly sound grapes with the best maturity: Leaf pruning, green harvest throughout the vineyard. We have been working the soils for several years now, and we have noted that it is impor- tant to let the grass develop at the end of the season. This cover limits the water absorption by the vines when there are late rains. It is certainly one of the reasons that led to our best results in 2006. Work and knowledge of the vineyard always make the difference; this is even truer this year. 2006 has been a precision harvest.

We harvested some parcels in two times: first time, the border vines, and on the second time, the heart of the parcel, adapting the wine making techniques to each part.

In 2006, all the working techniques were revised in the cellar and support the efforts made in the vineyard in order to allow an adapted extraction to each vat.

2007

2007 Vintage

Tasting notes

Softness is characteristic for this vintage. Its color is shiny with ruby reflections. The nose is fruity with aromas of raspberry and blackcurrant. On the palate, the fine tannins fulfill perfectly the red fruits, revealing a charming and pleasant vintage. Delightful vintage to drink.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2007

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
45% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
70% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 20th – Oct 2nd
Cabernet Franc: Oct 3rd – 4th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 8th – 15th

Year 2007

The 2007 Vintage is memorable due to an early flowering. Merlots matured very early, but because of harsh weather, the flowering was continued longer than normal. However, the Cabernets matured beautifully. Due to lack of sunny days and dry weather, we had to work harder than usual in the vineyard in order to ensure early pruning of the vines. We had to combat the lack of sunlight in the vineyards.

« Aide-toi, le ciel t’aidera », as we say in French (i.e. the Sun will help you): September, the return of good weather kept with us until the end of the harvest, as well as the vintner’s grins! The weather finally rewarded us. Due to the late harvesting, we were blessed with ripe and beautiful fruit! The longer growing season made it possible to concentrate on each varietal, each plot of land with great precision.

2008

2008 Vintage

Tasting notes

Softness is characteristic for this vintage. Its color is shiny with ruby reflections. The nose is fruity with aromas of raspberry and blackcurrant. On the palate, the fine tannins fulfill perfectly the red fruits, revealing a charming and pleasant vintage. Delightful vintage to drink.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2008

Informations

Varietals
56% Cabernet Sauvignon
32% Merlot
12% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
33% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Oct. 1rst – 7th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 9th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 13th – 19th

Year 2008

The burburst has been very slow due to the cool temperatures and the rains during the whole month of April. We have had to wait until beginning of May, with the first 10 sunny days, to see a fast shoot. The flowering started 8 to 10 days later than usual. The cool temperatures during the Merlots’ flowering and the warm ones during the Cabernets made it so that there is little difference between the two grape varieties. The véraison has been slow.

The first changes of colour came later than the average over the past 30 years. The work from springtime to the harvest, sharper year after year, and in which we are much more reactive, has partially balanced the lack of climatic generosity. Nevertheless, the weather improve day after day and allow that grapes to reach an outstanding maturity in the beginning of September. The harvest take place the first 3 weeks of October. In the cellar, precision is key in the conception of the 2008 vintage and everything is done to extract the best of the harvest.

2009

2009 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is rich and deep, with purple and crimson shades. The nose is an explosion of smooth and fruity aromas with slightly wooded notes. On the palate, softness prevails: Fresh fruits, cocoa and fine tannins with great elegance. Such a great pleasure for your mouth. Like all great vintages, 2009 can age for a few more years.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2009

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
68% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 23rd – Oct. 3rd
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 8th – 15th

Year 2009

The budburst is fast and spreads over the first two weeks of April. The flowering of Merlots and Cabernets Sauvi- gnons is rapidly taking place in late May with some very good weather conditions. The « Véraison » starts on July 24th for the Merlots and July 31st for the Cabernets. The months of August, September and October are truly exceptional. The temperatures differences during days and nights are often important with cool nights and hot days, perfect for a good maturity.

The summer’s climate remains until early October, then the temperatures drop quickly with morning frost on Octo- ber 16th and 18th. The grapes are beautiful for the harvest. The grapes have reached a perfect maturity with red berries intense flavours. The weather is on our side throughout the picking season, which allows us to apprehend the harvest serenely.

2010

2010 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is deep with a delicate wooded nose and seducing aromas of spices on black fruits among which blackberry and blueberry. On the palate, the wine is elegant, round and smooth, with fine tannins and a delicate finish.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2010

Informations

Varietals
65% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
55% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 29th – Oct. 6th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 13th – 20th

Year 2010

The 2010 growing season was marked by dry weather all over the region. Winter to summer was very cold, with temperatures 2-3°C below the normal average. The weather started off mild in April, but May was much cooler. Overall, the weather has remained cool for two consecutive years, with morning frost at the point of harvest on October 18th. The solar weather patterns for the 2010 season are notable and similar those of 2009. The month of April was exceptionally warm and sunny. Both years, 2009 and 2010, had great amounts of sun, even more than the great 2005 vintage year.

Our ally was the great weather, all the way though the end of harvest. Fall gave us an Indian summer with warm days and cool nights. This year, the harvest was longer than usual, and it spread out over 5 weeks. The vinifications go very well with high alcohol level and tanins with strong potential which lead us to choose low temperature fermentations.

2011

2011 Vintage

Tasting notes

ith purple notes. On the nose, the wooded aromas melt nicely with fresh fruits. The wine is long, elegant and rich, mostly with soft and sweet ripe fruits flavors.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2011

Informations

Varietals
49% Cabernet Sauvignon
41% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
20% new oak barrels
80% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
50% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 13th – 21rst
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 23rd
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept 24th – 29rd

Year 2011

After an early budbreak at the end of March, the unusually sunny days in April and May created a considerably advanced flowering, equally rapid for all of the grape varieties. After this early budbreak, a heat wave at the end of June unfortunately burnt some of the exposed young grape clusters. This dry weather was felt even more by extending the « veraison » time. The rain in mid July finally brought some relief to the situation.

The humidity in August slowed the maturation down and allowed us to see a better and more encouraging harvest, with a two week advance compared to the last vintages. In this time right before harvest, we vigorously continued to prepare the harvest by cropping off all of the altered grapes, only keeping the healthy and homogenous ones ready for harvest.

2012

2012 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is deep. The nose reveals fresh fruits aromas melted with vanilla notes. On the palate, fruity flavors are enhanced by fine fresh tannins. This delightful vintage can already be opened but also be kept for a few years.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2012

Informations

Varietals
45% Cabernet Sauvignon
45% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
47% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Oct. 1rst – 12th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 8th – 17th

Year 2012

At first, the 2012 vintage was to be difficult: whether our oceanic climate would have been forgotten in the last few years, we’ve been definitely reminded of our location, which is indeed rather good to produce great quality wines, but sometimes also quite humid. The vineyard had seldom needed such an amount of work, and all along the season, we kept going all through the vineyard. On the first 2 weeks of July, to compete the lack of sun, over 140 people came to “écharder” 100% of the vineyard.

End of August, as we wanted to definitely homogenize the maturity, it’s been decided to “clean” clusters from each single still green and pink berry, in order to only keep the best. Finally, thanks to such a precise work and naturally low yields, maturity was reached only 1 week later than usual. Each single day, vinestock after vinestock and bunch by bunch, vintners made even better from what Mother Nature had given. Even if some rains at the end of September araised some doubts, the knowledge and experience of our technical team made it possible to keep cold blood. The work in the vineyard througout the year is very beneficial and allow us to obtain a healthy and qualitative harvest.

2013

2013 Vintage

Tasting notes

The wine has a deep ruby color, with a nose revealing aromas of blackberry cream and cherries, blended with notes of smoke and vanilla. On the palate, BriO unveils itself elegantly, with a soft and creamy attack, followed by fine and silky tannins.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2013

Informations

Varietals
62% Cabernet Sauvignon
30% Merlot
8% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
60% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 27th – Oct 2nd
Cabernet Franc: Oct 7th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct 3rd – 10th

Year 2013

In recent years, we have forgotten what a « normal » vintage means. In one way or another, Mother Nature’s excesses have become the new standard. 2013 is a perfect example. Weather conditions in the first half of the year, week after week, dampened our natural optimism : Late budbreak, Cold, rainy, dreary spring, Very difficult weather conditions during the flowering.

Beginning of July, summer suddenly shows up. Temperatures soar. The vine doesn’t suffer however, as it finds plenty of water in the soil. But the sun is generous, and our morale is up. We deleaf, we do « échardage », and we work with precision in the vineyard.

Nonetheless, cooler temperatures in August prevent the vines from catching up. We hope for a warm and sunny Indian summer which makes great vintages. Humidity in September decides otherwise. The low yields turn an evil into a blessing. This small crop of well aerated grapes has benefited from its poor conditions. This is in part what saved the vintage.

2014

2014 Vintage

Tasting notes

The color is rich and deep, with purple and red garnet shades. The nose reveals a blend of ripe fruits aromas with hints of vanilla, slightly wooded. On the palate, the richness of fruity flavors gives greatness to this vintage.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2014

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
50% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 25th – Oct. 1rst
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 6th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 7th – 15th

Year 2014

After quite a warm and rainy winter, an early budburst, and a fast and homogeneous flowering, cautious vine-growers and winemakers experienced a slow véraison. Once again the weather was good to us: all seasonal vineyard tasks in the first part of the year that are now part of our usual routine (such as getting rid of base bud shoots, leaf pruning, “échardage” (i.e. getting rid of laterals shoots specifically located in the cluster area, green harvest) could not compensate for the cool temperatures of the beginning of the summer. We began to doubt that we could produce a wine as great as vintage 2014. We desperately needed more sun and warmer tempera tures…

From the end of August on, average temperatures came back to normal, and a very hot and sunny September led to mature grapes and soft tannins, thanks to a sound and healthy vineyard. Hence, a harvest of high quality. When the grapes are harvested, the cella ris working on the blend in order to findthe best synergy between the vats and the plots.

2015

2015 Vintage

The harvest

The grapes are healthy and the maturity level is on point. Now it’s time to choose the best harvest date; not too early, not too late and not too ripe. We decided to harvest grapes when they would develop «red berry» flavors not «black berry» ones. Tannins had to be nicely ripe, alcohol content needed to be balanced, not too high, and acidity was to be tasted but not too high. While it seems obvious, we realize our luck to be able to pick the fruit at its perfect maturity, with no restraint.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2015

Informations

Varietals
47% Cabernet Sauvignon
42% Merlot
11% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 17th – 24th
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 29th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept 28th – Oct. 8th

Year 2015

Beginning in the spring, temperatures were warmer than average. At the end of May, flowering was fast and homogeneous. In June and July, the warm temperatures led to a slow growing season, which stopped early. Conditions were similar to those in the best vintages.

In August, rains were on time to complete the “véraison” that had started by the end of July. In September, the difference of temperatures between cool nights and warm days, with the addition of brief rains helped reach a perfect ripening. 2015 was a bright and cool year with perfect weather conditions, giving our wines wide aromatic potential, with fine and round tannins.

2016

2016 Vintage

The harvest

From the frist rainy days of mid-September, the grapes are gleaming, the ripening is accelerating, and the sun bathed berries are healthy and sound, allowing us to perfom our harvest to a slow and precise rhythm with no stress ! (14 days in 5 weeks). Extraction is easy, color and tannin develop with little effort. The grape seeds taste of hazelnut, and the berries are perfectly ripened !
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2016

Informations

Varietals
49% Merlot
40% Cabernet Sauvignon
11% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
51% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 23rd – 29th
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 3rd – 4th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 10th – 19th

Year 2016

After a rather dry and warm winter, the beginning of the growing season is rainy through June, giving way to a dry and hotsummer.Bud-break took place in mid-March, and this slow, yet stabel growth allowed us to forecast a late harvest.

Thankfully, June revealed itself as perfect for a complete and rapid flowering on the Merlots, a little slower on the Caber- nets, but with beautiful ripening overall on all varietals. June through September proved a beautiful weather, almost too hot, but never reaching heatwaves. Also, even if some of the younger vines may have suffered, the older, more establi- shed ones continue to ripen, thanks to high watere tables.

Balance is there, this slight «block» at the end of August reduced alcohol content. However, rain in mid-September along with beautiful sunny days and cool nights, allowed us to maintain great freshness with exceptionnal polyphenolic richness.

2017

2017 Vintage

The harvest

The crop started progressively mid-September. We began with the plants and seedlings. Then we prepared ourselves to harvest the old vines at good maturity. 2017 will remain in the memories as the vintage of the frost, but 2017 is above all an early vintage with a regular and fast flowering and a homogeoues veraison. The great terroirs gave great grapes. Very early, bunches presented a remarkable wealth in anthocyans, juices are fresh and colored. Merlots are plumps and gourmands. Cabernets reveal complex aromas.
Brio de Cantenac Brown 2017

Informations

Varietals
69% Cabernet Sauvignon
26% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc

Aging
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
46% BriO of Cantenac Brown

Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept 14th – 21rst
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 26th
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept 27th – Oct. 2nd

Year 2017

After a cold January month, February and March were quite mild and the budburst was fast and homogeneous. The vintage began to look promising; April was particularly beautiful, with important thermal amplitudes. The wind shifted to the North. At dawn of April 27th and 28th, the sky was perfectly clear and temperatures fell below 0°C (32F).

We are lucky; as the majority of Château Cantenac Brown vineyard did not suffer too much loss. After this climatic shock, the following months were hot, especially the end of June where a heat wave boosted the vegetation. It was a true godsend. In July and August, temperatures stayed reasonable; while the vines remained advanced compared to the thirty-year average.

Finally a vintage in 7 with a high-quality level ? The summer was slightly fresher than usual and the rains during the beginning of September removed any doubt, we will not harvest a 1947. What a pity ! Nevertheless, the vintage has a great potential, thanks to all the attention to detail including leaf thinning, removal of secondary shoots, and even green harvest on some particular plots too overloaded.

2018

2018, A child of the rain and sun

The harvest

Before the harvest, the contrast of hot days and cold nights was wonderful, favoring aromatic and phenolic concentration. In a few words: a dream harvest! More than 4 weeks of idyllic conditions and plots with perfect maturity. Berries were small. Thick and matured skins released a deep color. The maturity of the pips, brown almost dark, round, long and fresh tannins show how great this vintage is.

Informations

Varietals
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
43% Merlot
7% Cabernet Franc

Aging
French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
44% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept 18th – 28th
Cabernet Franc: Oct 1st
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct 2nd – 11th

2018, a tough miracle

Before 2018, « oceanic climate » was a broad meteorological concept made of different nuances. In 2018, from spring to the beginning of summer, this oceanic climate joined the vineyard to remind us of its main characteristic: high humidity spread over the entire season. Aer a complicated start of the season, nobody would have thought we would get such an amazing vintage. Once again, our job has been rewarded.

For many years now, we are very active in the vineyard and we opt for preventive measures, debbuding, leaf removal and removal of secondary shoots. Everything is set up to work in good conditions. In 2018, we had to work harder than usual and double our teams to keep it up. In 8 days, we had to de-bud and remove leaves from more than 500 000 vines.

Mid-July, grapes were perfect and were only waiting for the sun to start ripening. The heat from the end of July to the end of August, given the water resources present, allowed evolution without stress. The veraison was slowly homogeneous, the maturity was smooth.

2018 is an unprecedented vintage of great quality, all varietals showing a perfect maturity, mixing concentration, roundness, and balance.

2019

2019, an amazing vintage to welcome the Le Lous family!

The harvest

The bet is won! Harvest was split over 4 weeks with great conditions despite cloudy periods. The blends with the presence of Tristan Le Lous, have been refined. The first tasting shows a vintage with a lot of class, freshness, density, with present and velvety tannins.

Informations

Varietals
48% Merlot
42% Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Cabernet Franc

Aging
French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one-year-old oak barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept. 18th to 21st 23rd, 25th to 27th & 30th
Cabernet Franc: October 1st
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 2nd to 5th, 7th to 9th

The 2019 year started under the rain with warm winter temperatures. As a consequence, the budburst took place 15 days sooner than usual. Flowering happened with slightly low temperatures and few rainy days caused flower abortion and millerandage. On the other hand, these precipitations were beneficial at the beginning of summer and helped us to handle July’s temperatures. During veraison, the sudden dryness locked some berries; we will sort them with manual harvest or with the optical sorting table.

The end of summer was cooler allowing the vineyard to rest. Some showers at the beginning of September arrived right on time to swell the berries … and our hopes. The harvest date of each plot is the key for this vintage. Regarding the choices we made during the season (leaf removal, plots’ age, soil composition, weather condition …), harvest choice is also crucial and requires a daily control in the vines. Each day, we walk miles and taste hundreds of berries in order to establish the harvest plan adapted to our plots.

We harvested the whites while keeping an eye on the reds! So fresh mornings the first days of September were perfect for two reasons: the white of Cantenac Brown had been harvested in perfect conditions and in the meantime the ripeness of the red grapes evolved phenomenally. Since the first analysis, merlot and cabernet sauvignon show remarkable polyphenols. The first harvest day was set on September 18th for the youngest vines. Enough time to get the team ready and then wait until the end of the month to harvest the great merlot and beginning of October for the cabernet sauvignon.

2020

2020 Vintage
2020, A Beautiful Sensory Parenthesis.

Tasting notes


2020 is a winemaker’s vintage. The ripeness is astounding, dark in color, the aromas are refined, complex and spicy, the tannins are elegant and sexy, with the sensation of a balanced power. It stands up to the challenge of the 2018 and 2019 vintages, with a pretty dash of supplementary freshness.
2020 is an open window to the future.

Informations

Varietals
62% Merlot
29% Cabernet Sauvignon
9% Cabernet Franc

Ageing
1 year in French oak barrels
25% new oak barrels
75% one vintage barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept. 10 to 11, 14 to 18, 21
Cabernet Franc: Sept. 21
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept. 24-25, 28 to 30

A new wind of enthusiasm blows across the team at Château Cantenac Brown with the arrival of “Famille Le Lous”. We thought of everything, from the vine to the bottle, using all methods possible to create one of the best wines of Margaux.

The vines awoke very early this year, in mid-March. Aher a beautiful beginning to Spring in the first weeks, even with some very heavy rain though June, the skies of the Médoc opened up to lovely periods of sunshine. The Merlot and Cabernet took advantage of these windows to rapidly flower in the best conditions.

Particularly dry weather with several very hot days continued into mid-August where little spurts of rain allowed the vine to suffer slightly, and to jump start the ripening with a restrained hydration. In September, the wind accompanied the new heat wave in this last ripening phase, bringing about a unique concentration of the fruit.

Generous sun during the harvest did its work and therefore produced a beautiful vintage. With a rather unusual grape composition, we had to be extremely vigilant in the last phase of ripening. The fermentation was conducted at temperatures from 4-5 degrees Celsius, much lower than normal in order to preserve the most from these magnificent fruit aromatics without over extracting the tannins.

2020 also marks the beginning in the blend of the “Grand Cabernet Sauvignon” from the plateau of Margaux and the “Enclos de Cantenac Brown”.

2021

2021,
Good things come to those who wait…

Tasting notes

The first vats are very aromatic with notable hints of raspberry. The Merlots are softer than usual and the Cabernets more concentrated. The blend of the two varietals should give a round and full-bodied wine, with fine and elegant tannins. Typically Bordeaux. The blend confirms our choice. Very good conditions also came together for the harvest of the whites. The balance is excellent between acidity and roundness.

Informations

Varietals
60% Merlot
29% Cabernet Sauvignon
11% Cabernet Franc

Ageing
1 year in French oak barrels
20% new oak barrels
80% one vintage barrels

Harvest proportion
49% BriO de Cantenac Brown

Harvest date
Merlot: Sept. 23-24 ; Sept. 27 – Oct.4
Cabernet Franc: Oct. 1rst
Cabernet Sauvignon: Oct. 4-12th

The 2021 vintage will remain in our memory as a year that constantly tested our ability to adapt to varying weather conditions.
Particularly for this vintage, the Cantenac Brown team’s experience and the benchmarks achieved over time, have allowed us to adjust quickly to each scenario. After a year on the deck, from the cold front at the end of April to the humid early summer, our hard work over the year will have finally paid off.

Technical decisions had to be made, and the most important human investment made in recent years, early leaf removal by hand, was performed at sunrise, along with a second leaf removal at sunset in August, to guarantee the best exposure of light and air to the grape clusters to achieve the best maturity. We performed a green harvest in the month of August with two passes on several plots during harvest.

The good weather (except for a few scattered showers), accompanied the harvest, cold and dry, perfect for the Cabernets. The know-how of our team was a determining factor for this harvest, pick the plots at the right time, be patient for several days as the weather reports were changing day to day, even hour to hour.

The weekend of October 2nd was predicted to be very rainy, disrupting our plans to harvest, and worrying the entire team. Finally, there was only light rain the 3rd and 4th of October, only slightly disrupting the last Merlot harvest. The following days are extraordinary for the much-anticipated Cabernet. From October 5th to the 12th, the Cabernet harvest continued under the sun, with cold mornings and radiant afternoons (6 Celsius in the morning up to 20 Celsius by the end of the day).

Good things come to those who wait…