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Wine Description
The Story
Henri Lurton believes that a great wine should combine structure with elegance and possess great aromatic purity. Château Brane Cantenac’s aromatic qualities have been acknowledged for a great many years. Its bouquet develops over time. The more the wine ages, the greater power it develops.
Brane’s greatest asset is the amazing quality of its historic terroir, because at the end of the day wine is made in the vineyard. This is why Henri Lurton attaches such great importance to vine canopy work, very strict selection and moderate yields (an average yield of 45hl/ha). Contrary to what may have been written about the estate, Brane produces a very limited quantity of First Wine. Scarcely a third of the production carries the famous gold and black label!
Wine Information
The 2010 vintage is uncannily similar to the previous vintage: a dry year but with water reserves that had been replenished the previous fall. The cool nights of a pleasant summer imparted full aromatic expression and unusually high levels of phenolic compounds.
The climate in 2010 corresponded marvelously to Brane’s terroir. The plateau’s clay-like gravel subsoil can give the vines the humidity the grapes need to mature in conditions of extreme dryness. Aromatic expression also being a major quality of this terroir, it was particularly rich at Brane this year. The severity of the blend may seem surprising but it was the key to a perfect balance...
Vintage 2010
Drought and cool temperatures contribute to optimal ripeness
The sum of summer temperatures in 2010 was close to that of summer 2009 (962°C compared to 982°C), but significantly colder than those of 2005, which totaled 1052°C. These cool temperatures had a substantial influence on the balance of our wines, preserving a good level of acidity and an attractive aromatic freshness.
Very little precipitation (only 267 mm) from March to August 2010 generating a drought of similar intensity to that of 2005, when only 227 mm of rain fell.
Another characteristic of the 2010 vintage is the low temperatures especially during the first three weeks of August, which allowed good acidity levels to be preserved in the grapes while maintaining an attractive aromatic freshness.