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News

Margaux third growth Château Cantenac Brown has been sold to Frenchman Tristan Le Lous for an estimated €150 million.

A 40 year-old agricultural engineer acquired the property from the British-Syrian Simon Halabi.

Local paper Sud-Ouest mentioned that the estimated price paid was €150m but the financial details of the sale have not been disclosed.

Le Lous commented: “The first glance of Château Cantenac Brown can really make your heart swell. Every time I see the Tudor-style castle overlooking the Gironde estuary through the morning mist I have a strong emotional reaction.”

In a statement issued by the new owners, it was revealed that a large investment plan is planned which will, among other things, add a new winery with a vat room that will allow parcel vinifications.

It was also made clear that Le Lous plans to continue the estate’s commitment to environmentally-friendly viticulture and winemaking – which has been the case since 2006 – with plans to evolve and develop farming methods further.

Le Lous continued: “This project is in line with our family’s passion for vines and my predilection for fine wines, especially from the Bordeaux region, which I have come to know thanks to my wife who is from the area.

“Château Cantenac Brown is one of the crown jewels of the Médoc region. As an agricultural engineer, I have very high expectations for this grand cru, given the exceptional quality of its terroir. Our challenge, with the recognised expertise of José Sanfins and the entire team, will be to provide the utmost precision at each step of the technical manufacturing process to produce, year after year, one of the best Margaux wines.”

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History

John-Lewis Brown (1769-1851) acquired the estate in the early 19th century and decided to build in the village of Cantenac, a Tudor style chateau reminiscent of his Scottish origins.


The building is one of the most unusual in Médoc region and is surrounded by a remarkable English-style ground. The quality of the wine was acknowledged in the 1855 classification, when Château Cantenac Brown was included into the growths. The Bordeaux winemerchant and owner of several estates in Médoc, Louis Armande Lalande (1820-1894), extended the building, keeping the same architecture.

One hundred fifty years later, the Simon Halabi family has given a new impetus to this estate with a British atmosphere…which they are determined to raise to the very highest level.

 

José Sanfins presently manages Château Cantenac-Brown. He does his utmost to make the best of the magnificent terroir, lavishing the greatest of care on the soil and the vines, with great respect for the environment. This meticulous attention to detail continues into the cellar, where everything possible is done to produce an exceptional wine.

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Vineyards

With José Sanfins in charge, methods have changed.

The vineyard is managed in a more environmentally friendly way: the “sustainable approach” goes without saying. The vines are cared for throughout the year and yields are perfectly controlled. Strictly plant-based fertilizers are applied in a moderately and balanced way in tune with the needs of the vines.

This respect for Nature explains why the Château Cantenac Brown team continues to use the traditional soil maintenance techniques, which gradually enhance the structural, chemical and biological properties of the earth.

 

“A perfect match between Men and Nature…”Over 400 000 vinestocks are managed every year. Pruning, removal of buds, leaves and secondary shoots, hand harvest …, several times per year the whole team works vine by vine and checks each single cluster. Such a sharp selection does not replace the environment. The finest wines are given by the Nature.

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Winemaking

September – October: Harvest put in concrete form the work after a whole year, the season is as hectic as friendly for the team.

Over hundred pickers come and help us during several weeks.
The team work is of prime necessity.
According to their maturity, parcels are harvested one after each other.
Hand-picked grapes are transported to the stainless steel temperature controlled vats.

Hand-selected grapes

First, the harvesting team sorts manually bunch by bunch; A second selection happens on vibrating sorting tables or with an optical sorting machine. Then start fermentations:

  • Alcoholic fermentation lasts for around ten days.

  • Malolactic fermentation occurs in barrels and vats.

  • Plots are vinified separately according to grape variety and age, which allows for great precision in selection when Château Cantenac Brown is finally blended.

 

After fermentation, the wine is aged for 12 to 15 months in French oak barrels (made of split oak staves form the forests of Central France) 50% to 70% of the barrels are new and 50% to 30% are one-year old. Air slowly penetrates through the pores in the wood and gently oxidizes the wine. The oak contributes to the elegance of its tannins. At the same time, the restricted volume of the barrel facilitates the precipitation of the lees over the months. During this ageing process the wine is finely racked, thus separating the clear wine from the lees. Each racking process is carried out from barrel to barrel and clarity is checked by holding a glass of the wine before a candle. Two cellar workers are responsible for this job throughout the year. When one racking cycle has been completed, it is time to start the next one.

 

Once aged, the wine is returned to the vats to prepare for bottling. At this point, and to ensure that all bottles are perfectly identical, another assembling operation is carried out: The wine from the new barrels and the wine from the one-year old barrels have aged differently. The following fining process uses egg whites to clarify and stabilize the wine and any particles precipitate to form a deposit, preventing the sediment being transferred to the bottle.

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Wine Moments

Here you can see wine moments from tastingbook users.    or    to see wine moments from your world.

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  87 wines 

Primeurs Vintage 2022 -  Part 4

6m 24d ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  87 wines 

BORDEAUX 2022 VINTAGE - TOP 80 Wines. It was an advantage that 2021 was a wet year so there was a base for this 2022, says Thienpont. Excellent nose with fragrant fruit, blackberries, cerise noir, raspberries, red forest berries and fine floral hints of violets backed by subtle oak, discreet toasting and gingerbread spices. On the palate delicious tannins with silky texture, sweet fruit quoting the nose, great precision and sophistication. An exceptional VCC very close to perfection, with excellent freshness, class and an almost never ending finish. 

7m 13d ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  59 wines 

2019 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay / Pale lemon yellow. Apples, lemons, fruit driven, spices, nuanced, intense nose. Fresh acidity, apples, lemons, minerals, vanilla, fruit driven, candied lemons, long finish. 94

7m 15d ago

 Tastingbook AI /Artificial Intelligence, Wine Writer  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  100 wines 

Tastingbook.com has rated Bordeaux’s 100 best-known wines from 2022 vintage without tasting them. The points are formed by the tastingbook AI which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's 50 best-known wine Critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook's professionals from the last 52 Bordeaux vintages (1980-2021), also taking into account the climatic conditions of those vintages, the quality and the reputation of the producers and their ability to produce wines in vintages similar to 2022. As a new element, regional weather information collected from satellites over the past 12 years has now been included.
 
Based on tastingbook’s more than 70,000 wine reviews and other statistics generated during the last 51 Bordeaux vintages, the tastingbook’s artificial intelligence predicted the score for the 2022 Bordeaux wines, like it did successfully for the 2020 and 2021 vintages. The score now given is the one to which the wines of the mentioned wineries should be able to achieve according to this prediction.

9m 14d ago

 Florent Martin, Sommelier (France)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  20 wines 

Château d'Yquem 1904 / Deep brownish colour with a wide orange rim. Intense nose of honey, spring flowers, crème brûlée and raisin aromas. On the palate quite sweet and warm with flavours of luscious yellow peaches, ripe apricots and honey. Great complexity and balance. Good fruit and high acidity help in keeping up some freshness. Long and lingering finish that coats our mouths and never seems to stop. Has held exceptionally well. 94p

9m 19d ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  525 wines 

The arrivage tasting proved the great quality of the vintage 2020. The promises made in the glass during the en primeur tastings were kept in this tasting session. An excellent vintage with wonderful and convincing qualities.  


 

10m 9d ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  45 wines 

2021 Château Margaux / Ruby. Cassis, blackberries, anise, floral, violets, spices, dark fruits, anise nose, nuanced, layered, scented and detailed. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruits, anise, spices, liquorice, nuanced, elegant texture, long finish. 13,1% alcohol. PH 3,64. 97-99

1y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  3 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  745 wines 

This years "en primeur" tasting seemed like a journey in time. Bordeaux is back to a more moderate alcohol level and the style is lighter and more elegant. One could say the wines are reminiscent of the 80s, however made with more experience and the modern techniques today. It is not a powerful vintage. The wines are elegant, however the well made ones have an excellent persistence, depth and length. They offer a convincing potential for a long ageing and promote elegance in Bordeaux again. It is a true vintage of terroir although there is a lot of talk about a vintners vintage. However, terroir was the decisive factor in 2021.


Professor Axel Marchal has presented the 10 key points of this vintage on the occasion of the Union des Grands Crus press tasting:


"1. The start of the growing season was marked by severe frost on the 7th and 8th of April.


2. Wet and gloomy weather in May slowed down the vine growth although a providential window of fine weather helped flowering unfold in ideal conditions in early June.


3. Thunderstorms in June slowed down the onset of water stress.


4: Cool, dull weather in July increased the threat of vine diseases.


5. Véraison (colour change) was observed in mid-August, while vine growth had not stopped yet.


6. Thanks to a cool summer, the dry white wines are brilliant, lively and aromatic.


7. The wonderful Indian Summer allowed the red grape varieties to ripen in ideal conditions and preserved aromas.


8. The Merlots are fresh and aromatic while the Cabernets from the finest terroirs are well-structured with good balance.


9. The development of Botrytis cinerea in Sauternes was delayed by the cool summer and eventually triggered by rainfall in mid-September.


10. Despite low yields, the botrytised sweet white wines are of excellent quality."


It will be exciting to see the evolution of this vintage which produced in many cases yields on a very low scale. Arguably it will be a vintage praised for it finesse in the future. A vintage rated on finesse and persistence rather than on sheer power and opulence.

1y 6m ago

 Izak Litwar / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Denmark)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  73 wines 

Château Langoa Barton 2020 – Sister property to Leoville Barton and similar to her big "sister" in terms of the quality. Big scaled on the nose and palate with creamy blackcurrants, graphite, fat tannin, strong backbone, and striking complexity. Classy stuff.  53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 8.5% Cabernet Franc. 13.5% alcohol.


94+p. 

2y 5m ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  38 wines 

Château Mouton-Rothschild 2020 / Ruby. Fruit driven, cassis, anise, some spices nose, blackberries, intensely scented, almost transparent yet such depth. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruits, smooth and detailed, layered, anise, liquorice, deep, long. Superb freshness to it. Such energy. Pauillac is not the place that shines the most in 2020, but this one does. 97-99

2y 5m ago

 Izak Litwar / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Denmark)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  26 wines 

Château Margaux 2018 - 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Impressed greatly with an incredibly scented nose, elegance, sophisticated and refined touch, astonishing complexity, and length. Simply a proper "iron fist in the velvet glove"! Amazing stuff. 99-100p (98-100p).

2y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Cantenac-Brown . In a tasting of  650 wines 

2020 – the paradox vintage 


2020 began with mild temperatures even breaking temperature record highs at the beginning of February. These conditions led to a premature budbreak. Budding developed unevenly, very much depending on the locations although the coo and humid weather in April had not a very significant impact on slowing down the growth of the vines. Finally all the vines came into bloom at the end of May without any significant coulure or millerandage. At the start of June, frequent rain intensified the pressure of mildew. From mid-June, the weather changed. The whole Bordelais saw a period of very dry weather for two months. However, the earlier accumulation of water reserves prevented water stress. Around July 18 a heat wave began to build up but the cool nighty prevented water stress on the wines again. The veraison started at the end of July and went on till the beginning of August. The heatwave in August accentuated water stress, but shorter rainy episodes avoided a complete block. The dry and sunny weather in September encouraged the grapes maturity and harvest started on September 10 with a rather mild weather. Towards the middle of September, rain prevented the fruits from wilting but as its frequency was quite concerning, the haves was pushed forward. "Le diabolique" is the title given to this vintage by Véronique Sanders. It is a very special French word, which is not correctly translated with “diabolic” in English. In France, the expression means to overcome the devil. And the vintners succeeded. 2020 is clearly a vintner’s vintage which asked a permanent reinvention of the wineries, struggling hard with this difficult vintage. However, the vintage surprises with excellent wines, exemplary freshness and elegance and very dense structure. In former times it was said that the vine has to suffer to make exquisite wines, in this vintage the people have suffered to make a great wine. The first part of notes for this tasting with over 800 wines you will find today. More notes will follow over the coming days.

2y 6m ago

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