Vintage - 2017

Country - France

Region - Margaux

Grape Varieties - 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc

Alcohol by volume - 13.5%

Bottle - 75cl

Château Cantenac Brown is without doubt one of the most original buildings in the Médoc. John-Lewis Brown bought the vineyard in Cantenac at the beginning of the 19th century and built a traditional Tudor style château reminiscent of his Scottish origins. The estate quickly passed out of his family but his name will be forever linked to the château. Today Cantenac Brown has 75 hectares of sustainably cultivated vineyard located in the heart of the Margaux appellation, principally in the southern commune of Cantenac. The Cantenac Brown terroir is made up of gravel which ensures good drainage and Cabernets in particular do well in this soil; producing fine wines with intense bouquets which are suitable for ageing.

The double Guyot trained vines are meticulously cultivated throughout the year, with pruning, removal of buds, leaves and secondary shoots; thinning out and controlled yields. The vineyard is managed using sustainable agricultural practices and only plant-based fertilisers are applied in moderation. The Cantenac Brown team uses traditional soil maintenance techniques to enhance the structural, chemical and biological properties of the soil. The soil is predominantly gravelly soil, with clay and sand. Regarding the 2017 vintage, Château Cantenac Brown wrote the following.

“After a cold January month, February and March were quite mild and the budburst was fast and homogeneous. The vintage began to look promising; April was particularly beautiful, with important thermal amplitudes. The wind shifted to the north. At dawn of April 27th and 28th, the sky was perfectly clear and temperatures fell below 0°C (32F). We are lucky; as the majority of Château Cantenac Brown vineyard did not suffer too much loss. After this climatic shock, the following months were hot, especially the end of June where a heat wave boosted the vegetation. It was a true godsend. In July and August, temperatures stayed reasonable; while the vines remained advanced compared to the thirty-year average.

The crop started progressively mid-September. We began with the plants and seedlings. Then we prepared ourselves to harvest the old vines at good maturity. 2017 will remain in the memories as the vintage of the frost... but 2017 is above all an early vintage with a regular and fast flowering and a homogenous veraison. The great terroirs gave great grapes. Very early, bunches presented a remarkable wealth in anthocyanins, juices are fresh and colored. Merlots are plump and gourmands. Cabernets reveal complex aromas.”

Fermentation occurred in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, followed by approximately three weeks of maceration to impart colour, flavour, and fine tannins. Malolactic conversion took place in a combination of oak barrels and vats. The wine was then matured for 12 months in French oak barrels, comprising 25% new and 75% one-yearold wood. Racking was performed every three months, and the wine was fined using egg white prior to bottling. The second wine of Château Cantenac Brown is textured and opulent with rich aromas of red fruits complemented by notes of dark chocolate. Full and round, with the red fruit aromas echoed on the palate, the tannins are seamlessly integrated through to a powerful finish