Vinous 97
The 2020 Cantenac Brown is an outrageously beautiful wine. Ample, vertical and soaring in its intensity, the 2020 is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Punchy red berry fruit, lavender, spice, mint and rose petal abound. What I like most about the 2020 is the way it balances fruit intensity with vibrancy and energy. Cantenac Brown is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage.

Wine Enthusiast 97
This grand estate that recently changed hands has produced a seriously promising wine. Bold black fruits and dark tannins are just beginning a fine interplay, reinforced by the wine's acidity. Expect a good future for the wine.

Jeb Dunnuck 96
The 2020 Chateau Cantenac Brown showed beautifully and is a serious, concentrated, powerful Margaux that's going to need bottle age. Ripe blackcurrants, toasty oak, ripe tobacco, and dried flower notes all define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, balanced mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. It shows the more focused, slightly understated style of the vintage, yet everything is in the right place, it has terrific purity, and its just a brilliant Margaux. I followed this bottle for multiple days, and it never put a foot wrong. It will hit its prime drinking window in 7-8 years and evolve for two decades. Best after 2030.

67% Cabernet Sauvignon ~ 33% Merlot. In French oak barrels during 12-14 months (60% new barrels). 2020 is a winemakers vintage. The ripeness is astounding, dark in color, the aromas are rened, complex and spicy, the tannins are elegant and sexy, with the sensation of a balanced power. It stands up to the challenge of the 2018 and 2019 vintages, with a pretty dash of supplementary freshness. 2020 is an open window to the future. ~winery notes

John Lewis Brown, an animal painter of Scottish descent, purchased the vineyard in the early 19th century and commissioned the construction of a Tudor-style chteau. A bon vivant, he soon acquired a reputation for hospitality thanks to the brilliant celebrations he hosted at his chteau. He sold the estate in 1843 to a banker named Gromard who was the owner in 1855 when Chteau Cantenac-Brown was granted a grand cru classification. One hundred fifty years later, the Simon Halabi family have given a new impetus to the estate, which they are determined to raise to the very highest level.