1961 Château Brane-Cantenac
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Tasting notes
The 1961 Brane-Cantenac is a vintage that I have encountered three or four times in the past, though this was the first time en magnum. This has a wonderful bouquet with blackberry, mint and undergrowth, a little reserved at first but gaining intensity with every passing minute. Just so...sophisticated. The palate does not disappoint with layers of red fruit tinged with soy and Earl Grey. This is a serious and upstanding Brane-Cantenac, more serious than the 1959, but the bottom line is that it is absolutely delicious after more than six decades. Fabulous. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château in September 2025.
Critic scores
Neal Martin
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Caressingly soft tannic structure, a whisper and a memory of tannins and fruit. This is a Henri Lurton’s birth year, and it’s finesse in a bottle, with pure lace-like tannins, oyster shell salinity, soy, saffron, cardamom, campfire, raspberry puree, mouthwatering with grace, joy and lift. Served out of magnum.
Deep and seamless, the 1961 Brane-Cantenac offers up aromas of sweet red berries, chimney soot, cedar box, camphor and dried orange rind. Medium-bodied, lively and seamless, with melting tannins and a deep core of fruit, it's an elegant, precise middleweight that's drinking beautifully today.
The 1961 Brane-Cantenac is a wine that I have been lucky enough to taste three or four times before. It’s a wonderful 1961 that comes racing out of the blocks, displaying vestiges of red fruit, autumn leaves, mint, chlorophyll and blood orange on the nose. It just feels multifaceted and more complex than the 1959, even if it does not quite reveal the same vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and impressive concentration. It is maybe a little rustic in style but certainly shows more depth and concentration than the 1961 Rauzan-Sègla that I tasted a month earlier. There is a touch of Earl Grey and tobacco lingering on the finish. Maybe this is in gradual decline, since it does not match the stellar bottle tasted back in 2010, yet it remains a great Margaux. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château .
About the producer
Château Brane-Cantenac has been a consistent performer in the Margaux wine appellation since Henri Lurton took over the property, but thanks to replanting and investment in the last decade, quality has seen another sharp upswing.