Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château, the 1989 Brane-Cantenac has for many years been one of my favorite vintages in recent years. "We began the picking for one day and then stopped for two weeks in 1989," proprietor Henri Lurton told me. "The tannins were just not there." That decision to wait paid off. Noticeably deeper in color, more youthful than the 1990, it has a really quite enthralling, beautifully defined bouquet with ample red berries, cold tea, sous-bois, tobacco and mint - perhaps more energy here than the next decade combined! The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannin, a fine seam of acidity, grainy in texture but complex with thyme and wild fennel on the finish. This is probably at its peak now, but it has the substance to last another 15-20 years. This is the Brane-Cantenac to go for - a great wine. Tasted March 2016.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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