This ripe, spicy wine is full of blackberry fruits, generous tannins and touches of wood. Its balance is coming together, promising a complex wine that will also have weight and some concentration. Drink from 2024.

The 2017 Château Brane-Cantenac should be a terrific wine and offers a medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, silky, elegant style. Loads of black raspberries, cedar pencil, and dried flower notes as well as sweet fruit, ripe tannin, and a complex, layered texture make for a classic Margaux that's going to drink nicely for two decades.

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Brane-Cantenac starts off a tad restrained and reluctant to show, opening out to notes of baked blackberries, plum preserves and crème de cassis with hints of cigar box and tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wearing a lot of muscular fruit with firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with great length. Needs time!

The 2017 Brane-Cantenac is a pretty wine that emphasizes persistence over volume. Medium in body, with good depth, the 2017 is attractive, and yet it remains a bit compact and slender in feel. It will be interesting to see if it gains a bit more volume with time in bottle, although I don't see that happening. Just is it did en primeur, the 2017 is marked by strong Cabernet signatures in its flavor profile, textural feel and overall energy.

A light singed alder hint leads the way here, along with light bay leaf and savory notes, while the core of gently steeped black cherry and plum fruit fills in slowly. Shows modest intensity through the finish but the flavors knit nicely. Score Range: 88-91