Chateau Cantenac Brown Margaux 3. Cru Classé 2014

Wine Enthusiast

The impressive Victorian baronial chateau of Cantenac Brown is one of the landmarks of Margaux. The wine is getting better each vintage. This is ripe and generous, full of freshly minted tannins and layers of wood over the ripe berry fruit.

Tastingbook.com

La Revue du Vin de France

It has lost none of its complexity, on the contrary, the wine has an undeniable charm and precise and distinguished tannins. Very balanced.

James Suckling

Aromas of chocolate, vanilla and currants follow through to a full body, tight tannins and a reserved finish.

Tim Atkin

Falstaff

Some wood, smoky, blueberries and cassis, also greenish-leaf, mint, nettle, finally also slightly rap. Firm, concentrated on the palate, with fleshy tannins, with core and juice, good freshness, balancing green tones, but undoubtedly with development prospects due to the density and substance present.

Vert de Vin Magazine

The nose is gourmand, fruity, elegant and fine. It reveals fine notes of minerality, blackberry and a touch of redcurrant associated with slight hints of cherry, wild strawberries, discreet hints of cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, a few delicate oaky hints as well as a very discreet hint of strawberry, Bourbon vanilla and menthol. The mouth is fruity (focus on the fruit), fresh, ample, beautifully defined and offers a fine acid frame (in the background), a nice fat as well as a nice silky matter. In the mouth this wine expresses notes of blackberry, cassis juice and fine notes of fleshy plum, red fruits (raspberry, strawberry) combined with hints of oak, a discreet note of chocolate / mocha as well as discreet hints of cardamom, mint and sweet spices. Tannins are fine, structuring and slightly firm. Good length. There are (very) slight iodized hints on the finish. The retro is beautifully suave.

Vinum

Particularly fleshy, juicy, pleasing wine, dense and long, excellently made.

Antonio Galloni

The 2014 Cantenac Brown is a sexy, plush wine. Showing more ripeness as well as more new oak than it did en primeur, the 2014 is a decidedly racy, open-knit Margaux. It is supple and inviting, and will drink well with minimal cellaring.

Vinous

"The 2014 Cantenac Brown has a well-defined bouquet with blackberry, cedar, crushed violet and cold stone aromas. I love the detail and focus here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, supple and almost velvety in texture, the acidity well judged with a rounded, lightly spiced finish that feels so tender, yet does not shortchange you on persistence. This is one of the best Cantenac-Brown wines that I have encountered in recent years. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting."

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Soft textured, with a generous blast of sweet, ripe, black cherry, dark chocolate, espresso and wet earth, the wine has charm, character and backbone to age, yet, drink well relatively early.

Markus del Monego MW

Robert Parker

The 2014 Cantenac Brown has a backward nose at first, a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and tobacco, an attractive pastille-like scent emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a little more extraction than its peers. It feels fleshy and pure, notes of raspberry coulis, confit fruit, orange rind and tobacco towards the well-structured, delicately spiced finish. It makes you want to come back for another sip—always a good sign! A bottle tasted six months later in February 2017 demonstrated a little more cohesion and finesse, suggesting that this Margaux will meliorate with bottle age. One to watch out for.