2023 Chateau Cantenac Brown 3eme Cru Classe, Margaux

Impressive precision to this, offering blackcurrants, blackberries and cherries, as well as hints of cedar and dark fruit. Medium to full body. Creamy and fine tannins. Better than 2022.

The 2023 Valandraud is a full-throttle opulent Saint-Émilion endowed with notable textural richness and tons of intensity. This really feels pushed to the edge but it pulls back at the very last second. Inky dark fruit chocolate new leather licorice and menthol saturate the palate. I imagine that the 2023 will require a number of years to shed some of its baby fat. Harvest took place from September 20 to October 10—on the later side.2033 - 2063

The first vintage produced in the estate's new state-of-the-art winery the 2023 Cantenac Brown has turned out very well indeed offering up aromas of dark berries pencil shavings and violets followed by a medium to full-bodied rich and layered palate that's serious and precise concluding with a long resonant finish. This blend of 71.5% Cabernet Sauvignon 27% Merlot and 1.5% Cabernet Franc represents 52% of the estate's production; and it reflects both the new winery's enhanced capabilities along with the presence of old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon derived from holdings recently acquired in the heart of the plateau of Margaux.A property in the midst of a notable renaissance this 60-hectare estate boasts some prime terroirs on the plateau of Margaux. The 2023 vintage is the first to benefit from the new state-of-the-art winery conceived under the auspices of long-time technical director José Sanfins. Harvest here lasted 24 days the longest in Cantenac Brown's history and the team has produced a superb vintage to fête the completion of their new facilities.

The 2023 Cantenac Brown now with its new eco-friendly winery under the helm of winemaker José Sanfins has a lot of fruit intensity on the nose: blackberry and wild strawberry with touches of melted tar and sous-bois. It's quite forward and more fruit-driven that expected. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded very pliant tannins. It's impressively weighty and notably focused though maybe not quite delivering the complexity and terroir expression on the finish as I found with the previous vintage.

71.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 1.5% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Restrained nose with a slight inky edge. Juicy and gourmand on the palate with firm tannins behind. More elegance than in the past. (JL)