Château Brane Cantenac 2003

The 2003 vintage in Margaux

Vintage benchmark: 88/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: The historic heatwave halted ripening in young vines: very ripe, low-acid wines, at their best in Saint-Estèphe, where the clays held on to freshness.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Margaux. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

Dark garnet color with purple reflections. Complex nose dominated by vanilla and toasted character. Aeration reveals notes of black fruits (blackberries, morello cherry and raspberry), spices (pepper), and blond tobacco. Round attack, evolving into fleshy tannins. The structure is well balanced and the long finish is very aromatic. Although still very young to assess, its peak is estimated at 8-25 years old.

Blend of the 2003 vintage

Figures from the 2003 sheet

• 13 % vol.Alcohol
• 31 hl/haYield
• 150,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

The harvest for the great Merlots began on September 18 under the sun after the rains of the previous week. A slight dilution was corrected by bleeding the tanks by 10 to 15%. The Cabernet harvest took place later from September 25 to October 6; the great cabernets at optimal ripeness the weekend of October 1st… before the rain. Aged for 18 months in barrels (60% of which are new).

Ageing

18 months in oak, including 60 to 70% new barrels

Terroir

Historically recognised as one of the greatest in the Médoc, the terroir of Brane long earned the property the description of first of the seconds. The heart of the property is a 45-hectare block, unchanged for three centuries. The very deep gravel (12 m) has a high clay content. It ensures a sufficient water reserve throughout the year while its compactness limits the amount of water the plant takes up. The water table is very deep here (5 to 6 m), allowing the roots to develop deep down. The upper layers of the soil, sandier, tend to saturate quickly during heavy rain. Much of the water then runs off, thanks to the topography.