Château Cantenac Brown, Margaux, 3ème Cru Classé, 2008

Fragrant depth of Cabernet, spice, undergrowth, fennel and earth minerals on the nose. Good, nicely concentrated ripeness, lots of presence and very attractive with fresh acidity.

Deeply spiced damsons come through on the attack alongside touches of blue cheese that suggest this is just heading into the next phase of its evolution. It's still young with black fruits dominating, but you can see the tertiary black truffle, earth, leather and undergrowth notes starting to show through. This is a delicious Margaux but I would say a medium rather than long-term keeper (so in Margaux terms think 10 to 15 years more rather than upwards of 30). 33% of production in 1st wine, 60% new oak. Harvest October 1 to 19.