CHATEAU CANTENAC BROWN - Margaux, Bordeaux - France

"The 2016 Cantenac Brown comes from a Margaux estate that has upped its game in recent years. It has an intense bouquet with floral aromas filtering through the black cherries, cassis and boysenberry notes, in an odd way almost Saint-Emilion in style. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. Silky smooth with very well-judged acidity, there is a sorbet-like freshness imbued into this Margaux and it just glides across the palate towards the quite sensual finish. This is certainly equal to the impressive 2015 Cantenac Brown."

"This has a very delicious and attractive nose offering ample dark berries and plums with cocoa and freshly cut bracken. The palate has a smooth, fan-like array of fine but sturdy tannins that carry very fresh and upbeat into the finish. Try from 2023."

"Poised and precise, this is excellent quality with well-defined black fruits. It feels like the fruit is ripe but not overly so, carefully delineated by great freshness and touches of slate, rosemary and dark chocolate. The extremely precise nose slowly reveals itself, gaining in power. I loved this en primeur and it's even more striking today. A great job by the Cantenac Brown team, it lives up to the quality of their 2015. 49% of production went into the grand vin, matured in 60% new oak."

"A solid step up and a brilliant Margaux, the 2016 Cantenac Brown checks in as 68% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32% Merlot raised in 60% new French oak. Black cherries, currants, smoke tobacco, graphite, and hints of earth all emerge from this beautifully layered, medium-bodied, and concentrated 2016 that shines for its purity and precision, while still offering beautiful depth of fruit. Give it 3-4 years and enjoy this fabulous effort over the following 2-3 decades."