2012 Château Cantenac Brown, Margaux, Bordeaux

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.

If Pauillac is the bastion of ‘traditional’ Red Bordeaux, Margaux represents its other facet in producing wines that are some of the region’s most sensual and alluring. The largest commune in the Médoc, it encompasses the communes of Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labaude, in addition to the village of Margaux itself. Its finest examples are paragons of refinement and subtlety which have few parallels in Bordeaux.

Cantenac-Brown, a 3ème Cru Classé estate, is located in the Haut-Medoc wine appellation on the western extremes of the Margaux appellation. As with so many Bordeaux estates, the tale of the last 120 years focuses on early years of problems, caused by both vineyard diseases and economic depradations, followed by recent revival once the property has been bought by someone with the means to invest properly in its future. The revitalisation of Cantenac-Brown only really looked a realistic possibility with its acquisition in by AXA Millésimes in 1989. The AXA team, led at that time by the since semi-retired Jean-Michel Cazes, with the help of Daniel Llose and under the direction of Christian Seely, began to turn the estate around. The team had a history of success in Bordeaux, not least at Lynch-Bages but at other estates such as Pichon-Baron, Suduiraut and Quinta do Noval.