Quite impressive ripe dark plums and blackberries with sweet, earthy depth and cedary background oak on the nose. The palate has smooth, slick tannins that carry rich dark fruit long and fresh. This has terrific energy and depth. Really vibrant. Incredible length.

The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is medium to deep garnet-purple in color with a nose of crushed black berries and chocolate-covered cherries with touches of fried herbs and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, refreshing and elegant in the mouth, with chewy tannins, it has an herbal lift on the finish.

Silky and refined, with seductive crushed plum and raspberry fruit that glides along, perfectly melded with singed alder and mesquite notes along with black tea and warm licorice details. A violet element hangs in the background, adding to the elegance.

Right from the attack this has beautiful intensity and focus, with tannins covered by a layer of silk. A dash of violet and white pepper comes in from the Carmenere and Cabernet Franc two-step (from now on you can expect this partnership to appear more regularly). This is frankly delicious, the generous berry fruits reverberating with some wonderful notes of coffee bean and charcoal smoke, outlined by a mouthwatering minerality. A step up in poise and texture from the 2014.

The 2015 Brane-Cantenac saw biodynamics introduced in ten hectares of the vineyard, plus a reconfiguration of the vat room with eight wooden gravity-fed vats. This is very intense on the nose with blackberry, morello cherry and rose petal scents giving way to touches of cassis and violet. The palate is medium-bodied and quite sturdy for a 2015, with sapid black fruit and a grippy, peppery finish that suggests another year in bottle will do it no harm.

Rich, fruity and with great potential, this ripe wine is also dense with firm tannins. Its juicy fruits are a part of a package with the concentrated tannins and smoky wood flavors that allow for long aging. This is an impressive wine from one of the Margaux properties owned by the Lurton family.