Chateau Cantenac Brown 2016
In 1806, John-Lewis Brown purchased the property and began building a traditional Tudor style home to remind him of his native Scotland. As with the tradition of the time, He named the Estate Cantenac Brown after the location and his last name. In 1843, a banker named Gromad purchased the property. After the 1855 Classification, the estate was to Armand Lalande who was the owner of Chateau Leoville Poyferre. Flash forward to 1989 when the AXA insurance sompany purchased the estate. They held it for a few yewars before selling it to Simon Halabi. In 2019, the Le Lous family purchased the estate and the have planned very large investments in the property.
The vineyard covers 118 acres (48 ha) and is composed of 30% Merlot, 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, the average age of the vines is 35 years old.
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Wine Spectator: 93
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Quite dark in profile, with steeped boysenberry, raspberry and blackberry compote flavors forming a core that is coiled up with bramble, singed mesquite and anise notes. Lots of juicy energy through the finish, with a mouthwatering streak of graphite. Rock-solid. Best from 2023 through 2037.
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Wine Advocate: 94
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The 2016 Cantenac Brown comes from a Margaux estate that has upped its game in recent years. It has an intense bouquet with floral aromas filtering through the black cherries, cassis and boysenberry notes, in an odd way almost Saint-Emilion in style. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. Silky smooth with very well-judged acidity, there is a sorbet-like freshness imbued into this Margaux and it just glides across the palate towards the quite sensual finish. This is certainly equal to the impressive 2015 Cantenac Brown.
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Decanter: 95
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Poised and precise, this is excellent quality with well-defined black fruits. It feels like the fruit is ripe but not overly so, carefully delineated by great freshness and touches of slate, rosemary and dark chocolate. The extremely precise nose slowly reveals itself, gaining in power. I loved this en primeur and it's even more striking today. A great job by the Cantenac Brown team, it lives up to the quality of their 2015. 49% of production went into the grand vin, matured in 60% new oak.
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Wine Enthusiast: 94
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Richly structured, this dense wine has solid tannins that balance with the black fruits. It is a complex wine, poised and confident while not losing sight of the Margaux elegance. Drink from 2025.
Editors' Choice.
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Vinous: 92
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The 2016 Cantemerle comes across as raw and not fully put together. Even so, the wine possesses superb richness, volume and depth. Iron, smoke, raspberry jam and succulent cherry notes are all pushed forward. Plush and racy, with striking depth, this succulent, expressive Haut-Mdoc is built for pleasure. Tasted two times.
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James Suckling: 94
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This has a very delicious and attractive nose offering ample dark berries and plums with cocoa and freshly cut bracken. The palate has a smooth, fan-like array of fine but sturdy tannins that carry very fresh and upbeat into the finish. Try from 2023.
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Jeb Dunnuck: 93
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A solid step up and a brilliant Margaux, the 2016 Cantenac Brown checks in as 68% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32% Merlot raised in 60% new French oak. Black cherries, currants, smoke tobacco, graphite, and hints of earth all emerge from this beautifully layered, medium-bodied, and concentrated 2016 that shines for its purity and precision, while still offering beautiful depth of fruit. Give it 3-4 years and enjoy this fabulous effort over the following 2-3 decades.
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