Château Cantenac Brown 2012

This red offers beguiling aromas of bergamot, roasted sandalwood and black tea, before giving way to a well-endowed core of plum, blackberry and raspberry reduction notes. The structure is remarkably fine-grained, showing seamless integration through the long finish. A really great showing. Best from 2017 through 2025. 8,500 cases made.

The first bottle was corked (these were my bottles stored at home, so I can’t say if that would be true for château storage). A second bottle was much better, more earthy and rich than the 2011 but less exciting right now. This has soft raspberry, blackberry and cassis fruit, a gourmet edge and fine tannins that are already pretty supple. It’s just beginning to open, with balance and the potential to develop further. It grows on you in the glass, revealing complexity as it unrolls. 53% of the harvest went into the 1st wine, 60% new oak. Harvest from October 1 to 17.

This is very intense for the vintage in the Médoc with blueberry, mineral and blackcurrant character. Full and chewy. Needs two or three years to soften but already there.

The 2012 Cantenac Brown is a vintage that, oddly, I have never tasted in bottle, only in barrel. It is open-knit on the nose with blackberry, wild hedgerow, loam and light minty aromas, although it does not possess the complexity of, say, the 2014 or 2017. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, fine depth and balance, marine-infused black fruit mixed with a well-structured, almost Saint-Julien-inspired finish. This is a very commendable, classically-styled Margaux that should drink well over the next 15 years. Tasted at the Cantenac Brown vertical at the château.

Earthy, tobacco, fresh, bright, crisp, cassis and dark cocoa, with a tannic, energetic, smooth finish.

Floral, dark-fruited, nicely rounded texture, supple and juicy with fine oak, spices, grainy tannins, fine freshness and a long, soft finish. Good.

Deep purple, dense at the core, with garnet highlights at the rim. Restrained bouquet with cherry notes, appearing compact and slightly oaky. On the palate, a firm body, pronounced astringency, slightly powdery tannins, but with very good potential to refine further. There may be another notch to gain by the time it reaches full bottle maturity.

Deep purple, dense at the core, with a garnet shimmer at the rim. Restrained bouquet with cherry notes, comes across compact and a touch woody. On the palate, firm-bodied with demanding astringency, slightly powdery tannins, yet with very good potential to further refine. There may still be a point to gain by the time it reaches bottle maturity.

Silky, fresh, floral bouquet; red berries, raspberries, blueberries, vanilla powder. Delicately structured, balanced palate with fine fruit, good tannins, powerful aromatics, long, aromatic finish. Can still improve. 17/20 2019 - 2034

This Cantenac-Brown 2012 is a beautiful, dense and tightly knit wine with impressive length and substance; the tannins are fine. A great success.

Ruby red with purple highlights. Fruity, floral nose. Notes of blond tobacco and licorice. On the palate, the wine is fine, elegant, pleasant, and balanced. It has energy as well as body, with tannins that slowly emerge on the finish. A great success. Bravo.

Dark color, with good intensity. Fragrant, creamy nose. Juicy, dense palate, perfumed and sappy, developing over a well-shaped mid-palate and a finish with silky, fleshy tannins, long and flavorful.

The nose is elegant, offering purity, a certain intensity, and a fine, discreetly tight grain. It reveals notes of wild raspberry, fleshy boysenberry and, more subtly, small blue fruits, with small touches of plum blossom, fine hints of tonka bean, a discreet hint of Sichuan pepper, and a subtle, almost star-anise note in the background. The palate is fresh, fruity, and elegant, with lovely definition, a certain linearity, delicate roundness, a slight glycerol feel, and indulgence. On the palate, the wine shows notes of bright red berries, fleshy/pulpy blackberry and, more subtly, cornflower, along with touches of fresh/fleshy red fruits, hints of nutmeg and cardamom, fine hints of vanilla, a subtle touch of cocoa and cinnamon, as well as a discreet hint of bergamot and pepper. The tannins are precise, fine, and elegant.

92–94. Barrel sample. A solid effort, this is a wine with great fruit and firm structure to support it. Ripe and full in the mouth, it's a firm and complex wine with a delicious juicy aftertaste.