The 2005 Brane-Cantenac, which was picked September 17 to October 10, has a suave, elegant bouquet of blackberry, cedar, gravel and tobacco scents, certainly showing more intensity and energy than any of the last five vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with fine and surprisingly supple tannins that are finally beginning to soften. I love the freshness here, and the wine is less of a curmudgeon than I rudely asserted in the past. It is beginning to loosen its tie, and as such, it’s a vintage to keep an eye on. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château Januar 2019

Good bright red-ruby. Subdued but pure aromas of currant, dark chocolate and sexy oak. Moderately sweet, medium-bodied and vinous, with ripe acidity and a floral element providing mid-palate lift. Still a bit medicinal and unevolved, but this has the serious structure to develop slowly and well in bottle. Finishes long and firm. Mai 2008

Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château, the 2005 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. It has a focused, conservative (for the vintage) nose with gravel-tinged red berry fruit intermingling with cedar, graphite and pine needle scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm structure and unlike the bottle tasted in January, which I declined to score, there is no green streak on the finish. It is very backward and some might describe it as curmudgeonly. Personally I would not touch it for another five years, even though apparently it is beginning to open according to Henri Lurton. No, I would afford it another two or three years in bottle and let's see where we are then. Dezember 2016