Château Cantenac Brown 2016

La Revue du Vin de France

Falstaff

Deep, dark ruby with an opaque core, brightening at the rim. An attractive black forest-fruit outfit, with fine oak spice, balsamic touches, and candied orange zest. It is complex, with juicy cherries and integrated tannins. Elegant and fruity, freshly structured, and long lasting. Certain ageing potential.

VertdeVin

The nose is elegant, fine, complex and offers a small richness/concentration as well as a very beautiful elegance. It reveals notes of ripe cassis, ripe wild raspberry and more slightly ripe blackberry associated with touches of violet, Sichuan pepper, cardamom as well as discreet hints of small blue fruits, sweet spices, tea and vanilla. The palate is fruity, well-balanced, elegante , harmonious and offers a beautiful definition, a beautiful minerality/juiciness (full of finesse/elegance), delicacy, power, a fine acidulous frame, a beautiful finesse of the material as well as a beautifully fine grain and very discreetly tight. On the palate this wine expresses notes of fleshy cassis, fleshy raspberry and more slightly griotte associated with touches of blackberry, violet, hints of small blue berries, tonka bean, tea as well as a very discreet hint of camphor and sweet spices. Tannins are fine, supple and elegant. Very beautiful persistence. There is a very discreet hint of chocolate truffle (in the background) as well as an imperceptible hint of praline and Bourbon vanilla on the persistence. A very beautiful wine, elegant and complex! Do not hesitate to come back often to sniff the wine, it opens, slowly and delicately.

Vinum Wine Magazine

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Flowers, truffle, espresso, tobacco and dark, red fruits are all over the place. Concentrated, full-bodied, lush, round and with layers of fruit and energy, the wine is deep, filled with juice and vivacious. The blend was made from 68% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32% Merlot.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

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.

Jeb Dunnuck

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.

James Suckling

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.