Château Brane Cantenac

The history of the estate

Named after its successive owners, this great wine estate produced one of the Médoc's most famous wines long before the 1855 classification. At the time, its rating placed it right at the top of the Grands Crus. Lucien Lurton, an agricultural engineer by training, inherited Château Brane-Cantenac in 1954.

A great winegrower with a passion for history, he brought Brane-Cantenac to the top. By 1992, Lucien was at the helm of eleven châteaux, including six crus classés, and had handed over all his properties to his children. Henri took over the reins of the château.

Trained as an oenologist, he focuses on technique and research. But also on the vines and knowledge of the soils. His aim: to perpetuate the style of this racy, aromatic wine.

The vines

Three hectares planted with white grapes are located on a clay-silica microterroir, embedded in the middle of the great deep gravel terroirs of Margaux, but appellation Haut-Médoc. Henri Lurton had the intuition that these parcels could be a great terroir for Blanc.

And this was confirmed with the birth of Brane-Cantenac Blanc. Three hectares of vines are planted with 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon. Here, grapes are harvested by hand, variety by variety and plot by plot, at ideal ripeness.

Next comes the vat room for pressing and barrel fermentation. Each batch is aged on fine lees in barrels before blending at the end of the ageing process.

The wines of Château Brane-Cantenac

The estate produces three different wines:

The grand vin Château Brane-Cantenac Produced at around 150,000 bottles a year, this is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This wine is traditionally vinified after hand-picking, optical sorting and malolactic fermentation in barrel. It is aged for 18 months in 70% new French oak barrels. The Château Brane-Cantenac grand vin is produced mainly from the gravelly Brane cut.

Baron de Brane, the second wine This wine is made from the same grape varieties, but without the Cabernet Franc most of the time. It is aged in barrels for 12 months, of which 20% is new wood. It has the same production as the grand vin, i.e. 150,000 bottles a year.

Château Notton, the third wine This one comes from a vineyard whose name it bears, made up of young vines and various plots in Margaux. Today, Brane-Cantenac responds perfectly to Henri Lurton's wish to produce a great dry white wine, fruity, fresh and offering a perfect balance between roundness and acidity.