2008:  09-93

"This is one of the most complex wines of the appellation, exhibiting notes of underbrush, sweet currants and subtle touches of roasted herbs, incense and spice box. It does not possess the power of depth of the 2005 and may not even eclipse the 2006 but it is beautiful, pure, mid-weight, well-balanced, impeccably pure Margaux that should drink well for 15+ years"  Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, May 2009, issue 182

 2005: 93-95

"A magnificent effort, the 2005 is the greatest Brane Cantenac I have tasted. Even more compelling than it was last year. It admirably demonstrates why this was such a highly regarded property in the middle of the 19th century. Boasting a dense purple colour, stunning sweetness and a glorious perfume of spring flowers, lead pencil shavings, black berry jam and black berries, it is an elegantly styled wine with gorgeous concentration, superb harmony, beautifully integrated tannin and acidity and an expansive, long finish. Yet, the overall impression is one of finesse, elegance, and serious flavor concentration. While it will undoubtedly last 30 years of more, it is hard to know whether it will close down or become more drinkable. I recommend giving it 3-4 years of bottle age and drinking it over the following two and half decades"  Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, May 2007

2008 :NOTE 90-93

 

Lire la suite

2008: SCORE 90-93

 

Don’t miss if you live in the region…

2008:

"This is one of the most complex wines of the appellation, exhibiting notes of underbrush, sweet currants and subtle touches of roasted herbs, incense and spice box. It does not possess the power of depth of the 2005 and may not even eclipse the 2006 but it is beautiful, pure, mid-weight, well-balanced, impeccably pure Margaux that should drink well for 15+ years"  Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, May 2009, issue 182

Parmi les crus classés de Margaux, interprétation du goût juste de l'appellation pour Brane-Cantenac

Lire la suite

Out of Margaux’s Crus Classés, the appellation's most balanced taste goes to Brane-Cantenac

‘Dark color, normal intensity. Fine nose, ripe fruit, notes of truffle and a bit lively. On the palate, the wine is very aromatic, with a fine touch and a somewhat subtle middle. The finish is more powerful in terms of aromas than substance. Good length with fine tannins. This wine has class but its potential is unclear at this age’

Organisée par Mark Goldodetz, le journaliste américain (Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Beverage Media, and Antiques and Fine Arts), cette dégustation impressionnante réunira 14 grands amateurs autour d'un dîner orchestré et créé spécialement par Stuart Leaf dans sa demeure historique de Brooklyn Heights. Les bénéfices (350 $ par personne) de cette belle rencontre seront reversés à l'organisation caritative Midnight Run (www.midnightrun.org) qui s'occupe de soulager, de soutenir moralement, de nourir et d'habiller des sans- abris de New York et de ses environs. Henri Lurton sera bien entendu l'invité d'honneur et commentera chacun des vins. En tant que membre de la presse, Mark a très généreusement accepté que nous invitions un autre journaliste, Dr Vino, afin de couvrir l'évènement pour Internet. Cela devrait être une soirée inoubliable qui permettra aux dégustateurs de voyager dans le temps, à travers leurs sens... et nous attendons avec impatience leurs commentaires!

Lire la suite

Organized by the American journalist Mark Goldodetz (Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Beverage Media, and Antiques and Fine Arts), this impressive tasting will bring 14 top connoisseurs together around a dinner coordinated and specially prepared by Stuart Leaf at his historic townhouse in Brooklyn Heights. Profits ($350 per person) from this event will go to the charity Midnight Run (www.midnightrun.org), which delivers meals to underprivileged people in New York and the surrounding area. Henri Lurton will of course be the guest of honor and will comment on each of the wines. As member of the press, Mark kindly agreed to let us invite another journalist, Dr. Vino, to cover the event for the Internet. It should be a memorable evening that will allow the tasters to travel through time, through their senses...we're looking forward to their reactions!

"Just a quick update for the Brane-Cantenac Wine Dinner with Henri Lurton, the owner. Stuart Leaf, a close friend, has very kindly agreed to host the event at his Brooklyn townhouse, and the address is 70 Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights. As it is a  weeknight, we are beginning early 6:30 PM  for 7:00 PM. Looking through the wines, we have some gems; the 1928, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1983, 1986  and everything from 2000 til 2009 which were made by Henri. For those of you who have not encountered Stuart's cooking, I consider him the finest chef I have ever encountered outside of a professional restaurant (and better than most in them) so we will certainly dine well.

 

A little bit of housekeeping. The tasting/dinner will benefit Midnight Run, a wonderful charity that works with the homeless. Checks should be made out for $350 ( more if you are feeling generous). Dale Williams, fellow wine lover, who runs the charity will be there, and can answer questions" Mark Golodetz.

Sous un soleil radieux, dans une ambiance empreinte d'une grande sérénité et une atmosphère de répétitions studieuses et de vocalises mélodieuses, nous avons accueilli pendant trois jours de 'grands' jeunes talents très prometteurs et un jury de renommée internationale, en dépit des grèves de train et des annulations d'avion! Ont du être excusés avec énormément de regret, bien entendu, Michel Plasson qu'il n'est pas nécessaire de présenter, le pianiste américain Dalton Baldwin, l'anglais Mark Eynon de Covent Garden et l'italien Girolamo Salerno, président de l'Académie Musicale de Palerme.Mais les membres du jury qui avaient réussi à venir jusqu'à nous nous ont comblés! Quel honneur de recevoir la célèbre cantatrice hongroise, Sylvia Saas; le metteur en scène comédien et chanteur nantais Thierry Pillon; le très charismatique Henri Maier, personnalité musicale de l'année 2000 et ancien directeur de l'Opéra de Leipzig; le critique musical du Monde la Musique, Radio Classique et maintenant Musikzen, François Lafon; sans oublier, Bernard Lummeaux, directeur de la diffusion artistique à la mairie de Bordeaux et chargé de la culture à celle d'Arcachon. Une palette de talents mise à la disposition de jeunes chanteurs, tous plein d'espoir et d'ambition!

Ce concours, qui en est à sa troisième édition, a été créé par Elizabeth Vidal et André Cognet, tous deux chanteurs d'opéra mondialement connus. Elizabeth Vidal, l'une des plus hautes voix du monde' a été nommée meilleure soprane colorature en Italie en 2000, et a chanté dans les plus grands rôles du répertoire lyrique, tels que la Reine de la Nuit de la Flûte Enchantée de Mozart ou Gilda dans Rigoletto de Verdi. André Cognet, de son côté, a été le plus jeune baryton engagé par Bernard Lefort à l'Ecole de Chant de Paris et depuis a fait aussi une magnifique carrière internationale. Tous deux ont créé 'Operaction', qui a pour mission la formation et le suivi de carrière de jeunes chanteurs internationaux ainsi que la démocratisation de l'opéra, notamment dans les milieux défavorisés (www.operaction.fr). Depuis trois ans donc, le Concours International des Jeunes Stars Lyriques de Musique au Coeur du Médoc s'inscrit parfaitement dans cette ligne d'engagement et tous deux, en plus d'être membres du jury, consacrent patiemment beaucoup de leur temps précieux à conseiller, 'coacher' les candidats, en les épreuves, donnant ainsi à cette compétion un esprit unique et une couleur plus humaine!

La gagnante du premier prix (3000 euros) de l'édition 2010 fut une bordelaise, Romie Estevez, qui nous a tous époustouflés. Le prix du public (1500 euros) a été remporté par Anne Derouard.

Lire la suite

For three bright sunny days, in a peaceful atmosphere amidst studious rehearsals and melodious singing, we welcomed highly promising ‘great’ young talents and an internationally renowned jury, in spite of train strikes and cancelled planes! The following were unable to come, with much regret: Michel Plasson, who requires no introduction, the American pianist Dalton Baldwin, the British Mark Eynon from Covent Garden and the Italian Girolamo Salerno, President of the Palermo Music Academy. But we were more than happy with the members of the jury who made it all the way to be with us!  It was such an honor to welcome the famous Hungarian soprano Sylvia Saas; the actor, director and singer Thierry Pillon from Nantes; the highly charismatic Henri Maier, musical personality of the year and former director of the Leipzig Opera; the music critic from Le Monde de la Musique, Radio Classique and now Musikzen, François Lafon; not to mention Bernard Lummeaux, director of performing arts at Bordeaux City Hall and director of culture at Arcachon City Hall. Talented personalities who were available to help the young singers, all filled with hope and ambition!

 

Three châteaux were involved in the organization of this exceptional event, which goes to show that the Margaux properties in Cantenac are on such good terms with one other. Our hats go off to Nathalie Schÿler, who opened the doors of her orange grove and château to warmly welcome the candidates, the members of the jury and the members of the Musique au Coeur du Médoc association. Thanks to flawless preparation, Château Kirwan was truly a theater for moments of intense emotion and incredible musical pleasure. Château Brane-Cantenac and Château Prieuré Lichine both organized dinners for the judges and the press.

The nicest compliment and the warmest encouragements came from François Lafon who wrote:

“...I could go on for pages about the charms of the Médoc and the wonderful way I was welcomed. I was particularly impressed by the tone of the event.

I know it’s hard to define an art program in places with large capacities, and that a singing competition, even one of high quality, is less prestigious than a gala event. But you can find gala events just about everywhere (that's what summer festivals are for), and there will always be more tailored venues, more efficient structures to organize them, whereas an initiative like this competition is much more original, and pays off more over the long term.

I’ve attended quite a few singing, piano and even composition competitions that were all pretty much the same. What they had in common was that their participants liked to blow their own horns. They were all just a bunch of indifferent machines there to award diplomas.

This one, by virtue of its serious and yet fun character, is, to the best of my knowledge, one of a kind. There is a unique, precious atmosphere that is probably linked to the magic of the region. This year, it was threatened by the cloud of ash and the train strike, and yet it turned out to be a success. With proper communication, it could become a “must."

There you are. In the meantime, I can only repeat that I spent, thanks to all of you, three delightful and enriching days."

 

A few pictures of the dinner at Brane on Friday evening:

In the foreground, from left to right, Elizabeth Vidal, Annette Ginestet (president of MACM), and behind them, Henri Maier and François Lafon

Unposed shot of Elizabeth Vidal, Annette Ginestet, François Lafon and Henri Maier

François Lafon and Henri Maier, surrounding Annette Ginestet

Elizabeth Vidal, Henri Maier talking with Sylvia Saas

Sylvia Saas and Thierry Pillon

Elizabeth Vidal and Henri Maier

André Cognet

Toujours dans le cadre de nos rencontres avec nos partenaires, nous recevions aujourd'hui la Maison Descaves... Dégustation de principe de 2009 à 2005 pour une petite révision de nos classiques, suivie d'un déjeuner où nous avons pu redéguster le 2000, le 96 et le sublime 83 en magnum, en très, très grande forme aujourd'hui!!!!  Une fois encore, Brane à son top!

Nous avons été ravis de recevoir Ariane Khaida, Benjamin Jones et Tommaso Pezzato, de Padoue, qui a rejoint cette prestigieuse maison de négoce depuis lundi seulement!

 

Lire la suite

Today, continuing our series of meetings with our partners, we welcomed Maison Descaves to the property. A tasting in principle of 2009 to 2005 for a short revision of our traditional wines, followed by a lunch where we tasted 2000, '96 and the sublime '83 in a magnum bottle, which is in peak shape! Once again, Brane at its best!

We were delighted to welcome Ariane Khaida, Benjamin Jones and Tommaso Pezzato, from Padua, who has been working with this prestigious wine merchant since Monday only!

 Maison Descaves is undergoing profound modernization work. While remaining true to its principles, and especially to its faultless reputation, Ariane Khaida and the entire team are attempting to give this historic company a second wind, by strengthening its sales force and creating new warehouses. The new logo reflects this transformation.

'Another Margaux that performed well and probably could be filed under “under-stated” is Château Brane-Cantenac. The wine is as timid as Henri Lurton at primeur, a wine that I feel dislikes large crowds and therefore, never shows quite as well as it could. .. cropped between 22nd September and 9th October at 48.4hl/ha, I admired the precision on the under-stated nose that took 20-25 minutes to unfurl. There is a softness to the structure, but it coalesced and put on weight in the glass, .... I remain optimistic …let’s see what happens once it is in bottle'.

Lire la suite

2009 Château Brane-Cantenac 91-93
A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc with 11.3% pressed wine, cropped between 22nd September and 9th October at 48.4hl/ha, this has a very precise nose with blackberry, cedar, sandalwood and a touch of mint, but returning after 20 minutes, boy does this open up with some lovely sweet raspberry and coffee aromas developing. The palate is medium-bodied, a little disjointed at first but coalescing beautifully over half an hour. Good acidity cutting through the fruit: soft raspberry and strawberry mixed with a hint of dark chocolate, veering towards a savoury finish. This wine only shows its true colours after some serious aeration. A second sample at the UGC was similar on the nose, but there was some vegetal notes coming through towards the finish that were not previously present. This is difficult to work out this Margaux at this stage, but the way it harmonizes gives me optimism. Tasted March 2010.

Un gros succès pour Brane 2007 en Tchéquie cette année au cours de la dégustation de Merlot d'Or à Prague... Voici le compte rendu et sa traduction en français pour les Margaux.

Lire la suite

Brane 2007 met with tremendous success in the Czech Republic this year during the Merlot d'Or tasting in Prague. Here is the report and its translation into English for the Margaux wines.

We apologize for the missing accents. Our blog isn't very compatible with the Czech language!

"Asi nejdiskutovanejsi apelace prinesla velmi pekna vina i znacna zklamani. Velice diskutabilni bylo Ch Palmer  také dalsi vino z tohoto zamku, Alter Ego. O obou vinech se v sale vzrusene diskutovalo, chvilemi to dokonce vypadalo, ze se proti nim mineni verejnosti postavilo az trochu prilis jednoznacne. Osobne u Palmeru citim urcitou hloubku, ale jen do doby, kdy zjistim cenu, za kterou je nabizeno. 4360 Kc za lahev teto kvality je opravdu prilis, i kdyz bereme v potaz salvu jména. I v mnoha dalsich vinech z Margaux chybela jejich povestna elegance, finesa a hloubka. Na druhou stranu Ch Brane Cantenac pro mne bylo jednim z nejlepsich vin audience. Perfektne zvladnuté, harmonické, vyrovnané, s mnozstvim ovoce, dobrou strukturou taninu a s velkym potencialem. Solidne p°usobilio i Ch d'Issan. Lascombes a Giscours uz za svym obvyklym standerdem trochu pokulhavala."

Michael Setka

Margaux

The most discussed appellation contributed some excellent wines but also some disappointments. Château Palmer and its second wine, Alter Ego, were the subjects of much discussion. Visitors were full of emotion as they spoke of these wines. We thus observed that public opinion is mostly against these wines. As for myself, I sensed the wine’s density but only until the moment when I found out its price. I think that CZK 4,360 is too expensive even if we take this château’s reputation into account. Some other wines were lacking in elegance, finesse and density.

However, Château Brane-Cantenac was, in my opinion, one of the best wines in the Audience tasting. Perfectly made, harmonious, balanced, with fruit, a solid tannic structure. The wine has great potential. I also liked Château d’Issan. Lascombes and Giscours did not surpass their usual standard.

 Michael Setka

Henri Lurton parle du 2009 sur le blog de Marisa D'Vari, journaliste américaine, A Wine Story

Lire la suite

Henri Lurton talks about 2009 on American journalist Marisa D'Vari's blog, A Wine Story

http://awinestory.com/2010/04/brane-cantenac-speaking-about-2009-vintage-with-henri-lurton.html

Deux belles notes pour le Brane et son second vin... Un 94 pour le premier et un 91 pour le second...mieux que certains grands crus classés du Médoc et de Margaux!!!

Une jolie réussite pour Brane en 2009....

Lire la suite

Two excellent scores for Brane and its second wine… 94 for the first and 91 for the second…better than some Grands Crus Classés from Médoc and Margaux!

A fine success for Brane in 2009…

2009 Brane-Cantenac

 

Tasted: Mar 2010, Bordeaux, France

 

A magnificent wine from a powerful vintage. Typically Brane-Cantenac is shy and reserved but this wine is of a different mould: It has a soft approach with accessible ripe blackberry fruit along with caressing tannins; it then opens up in the middle with a mouthfull of rich layers of fruit, ripe velvety tannins and has a lingering finish. A lot of power with fairly low alcohol of only 13% (other wines from this vintage are closer to 14%). 94 , peak 95

Peak Range: 
2019 - 2029

 

Info:

Flavours: Floral notes and densely packed blackberries 
Colour: Deep purple
Producer: Chateau Brane-Cantenac, Henri Lurton
Style: Still
Price in Asia: TBD

 

2009 Baron de Brane

 

The richness, fullness and generosity are rarely found in second wines but in 2009, there are wonderful examples such as this one. The wine is densely concentrated and fairly long but it has an approachable suppleness from ripe tannins. 91, Peak 92

Peak Range: 
2017 - 2025

Info:

Flavours: Spicy notes of nutmeg and cinnamon with concentrated, ripe blackberries 
Colour: Deep ruby purple
Producer: Chateau Brane-Cantenac
Style: Still
Price in Asia : TBD

Lire la suite

http://www.onmp3.net/video/cantenac,1,jeannie-cho-lee-mw-interviews-henri-lurton-of-chateau-branecantenac.html

Quand les prix seront sortis bien sûr...Cela va de soi!

"How good are the 2009s? Brilliant in parts is the answer. In such a warm, dry vintage, the Left Bank appellations, where late ripening cabernet sauvignon dominates the blends, fared better than the Right. ...

Depending on their opening prices, I recommend you buy Left Bank wines like Calon Ségur, Pichon-Baron, Léoville-Poyferré, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pontet-Canet, ...BRANE CANTENAC"!!!

http://timatkin.com/articles/article.html?cat=Latest articles&id=486

When the prices will be announced, of course…That goes without saying!

"How good are the 2009s? Brilliant in parts is the answer. In such a warm, dry vintage, the Left Bank appellations, where late ripening cabernet sauvignon dominates the blends, fared better than the Right. ...

Depending on their opening prices, I recommend you buy Left Bank wines like Calon Ségur, Pichon-Baron, Léoville-Poyferré, Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pontet-Canet, ...BRANE CANTENAC"!!!

http://timatkin.com/articles/article.html?cat=Latest articles&id=486

Le 22 mars nous avions convié Nicolas de Rouyn... et le commentaire qu'il a mis ce même jour sur son blog nous a rempli de joie! Car il a osé!!!!! Il a osé dire ce que beaucoup d'entre nous pensent tout bas!!!!

Lire la suite

On March 22, we invited Nicolas de Rouyn to the property…and the comments he put on his blog on the same day filled us with joy! Because he dared! He dared to say what many of us keep to ourselves!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Enchanté, agacé

It’s a sort of balancing act I just can’t get used to. I just finished a lunch at Brane-Cantenac, and I now feel weightless, enchanted by the refined, unique intoxication exuded by great wines.  2003, 2000, 1986, 1928. The 03, a fine illustration of this hot and dry vintage that has already developed so well. The 2000, in the exquisite finesse of noble Margaux wines. The 1986, splendid, still young if you can believe it, fine aromas in a palette of spring undergrowth, unexpected freshness – everything Bordeaux lovers like. And the 1928. The oldest red I drank. The oldest white was a spectacular Champagne, a 1921 Moët, with unsuspected sharpness. But this red. 81 years old. You might think you’d be dealing with an old fish bone. But not at all. Of course, in these cases, we don’t speak of opulence, but it works its magic. It is indeed a great red wine. Substance, structure and aromas – it’s all there. Still today. Extraordinary. Well, I drank everything, which I almost never do in such circumstances (press luncheon) where the height of sophistication is to leave your glasses full. Which I didn’t do. With the utmost pleasure. So I take a walk to the closest terrace, a coffee in the sun, today’s daily paper in hand, guaranteed happiness, the 28 lingering in my memory. And lo and behold, a full-page article on one of the daily press’ favorite topics: alcoholism. « Si c’est pour casser des planètes, va jouer plus loin ». Pure effect of my professional conscience, I read on to the end. It’s appalling. I learn that if you have a drink with your pals whenever you see them, you’re addicted even if you don’t drink afterwards for entire days. That type of grotesque nonsense. The worst part is reading this in this daily magazine which has (by far) the biggest slice of the advertising cake in the Wine industry and which nevertheless doesn’t hesitate to bite the hand that feeds it. I wonder what the journalists in charge of this newspaper Wine pages think, almost all of whom are members of the wine press association, extremely active against prohibitionist lobbies which obviously wrote this page. The kind of irritation that could have spoiled the 1928, but no. The 28 is untouchable.

Published by Bon Vivant

 

Hier soir, nous recevions l'équipe du cabinet de courtage Oenomedia... Nous avions convié Yann Jestin et ses collaborateurs pour leur faire découvrir plus avant les derniers millésimes de Brane et leur évolution d'une part, pour leur permettre de connaître notre groupe tout en s'imprégnant de la philosophie de la maison d'autre part, mais aussi afin de nous permettre de mieux les connaître! Les relations professionnelles sont toujours plus agréables une fois que nous avons rencontré 'live' les personnes avec lesquelles nous sommes en contact régulièrement.

Lire la suite

Last night, we hosted the team from the Oenomedia brokerage firm… We had invited Yann Jestin and his employees to give them a closer look at Brane’s most recent vintages and their development, to give them the opportunity to get to know our group while immersing themselves in the property’s philosophy, and to give us the chance to know them better! Professional relations are always more pleasant once we’ve been able to meet our contacts in person.

That’s how we learned we were dealing with a zealous team of ‘Swiss army knives’ – meaning ‘employees knowledgeable about several appellations and in charge of a wide range of tasks.’ During dinner, many different topics were addressed, often with a degree of nostalgia…Yann’s beginnings as a cork-maker, our first experiences in computing in the age of…minitel (a revolutionary tool if there every was one!!!), the impact of blogs, online tasting groups, Grandes Ecoles wine clubs captivated by Maria…and consequently the fact that Brane’s fans are getting younger and younger, not to mention sluggish markets like the US and markets that should be monitored more closely like China, and the often misunderstood and sometimes thankless role of broker…All in an excellent, relaxed and fun ambiance!!

To accompany a succulent dinner, we served fine wines, once again testifying to Brane’s excellent ability to age well…The ’83, served in a magnum, was ‘grand’!!!  A leading vintage from this decade…probably better than 82 at Brane!

Lire la suite

Steven Spurrier really liked our 2009....

Steven Spurrier a bien aimé notre 2009...

Lire la suite

Comme prévu, nous avions hier soir notre dégustation Prim'Or 2009 au Quai 65 pour présenter à nos amis de Facebook le millésime 2009, en marge des dégustations primeurs de l'Union des Grands Crus, réservées aux professionnels...

 

Lire la suite

As planned, we held our Prim’Or 2009 tasting at Quai 65 last night to allow our Facebook friends to taste the 2009 vintage, since the Union des Grands Crus primeur tastings are reserved for professionals.

 Delicious tapas, a warm ambiance, around a hundred guests, and fine bottles of wine – what else could you need to have a fun evening?! We met loyal fans of Brane who were eager to taste the 2009, a few brokers, one or two wine merchants, friends...a wide range of followers, some enlightened, others not...but everyone appreciated the quality of the wine and the vintage!

Thanks to the Quai 65 team who organized such a lovely event, and to Maria Martinez and Benjamin, who transported boxes, glasses and brochures and made sure all our guests were happy!

We’ll be sure to hold this event again next year!

A few photos for our Facebook album!!!

Lire la suite

Imaginez 68 personnes de tous les coins du monde venues sous la pluie battante visiter nos chais et déguster notre 2009 avant un succulent dîner...Le tout dans un ambiance internationale formidable et ...surtout accompagné d'impériales de Brane 88 et 85!!!!!!!!!

Lire la suite

Imagine 68 people from all around the world braving the pouring rain to visit our cellars and taste our 2009 before a succulent dinner...All in a wonderful international ambiance accompanied by Brane 88 and 85 in Impériale bottles!

We could describe the evening in detail, but it would be much too long and much too boring...so we've decided to put our photo album online...

We were delighted to welcome many journalists such as Adam Lechmere (Decanter.com) and Guy Woodward (Editor of Decanter Magazine), Reva Singh and her son Shiv from Sommelier India, Jane Anson, the local correspondent of Decanter, writer), Jan Van Roekel and David Bolomey (Bordoverview, Holland), not to mention our American blogger friends, Allan Liska from Cellar Blog, Chris Riccobono and his photographer Danny from Pardonthatvine.com; the French team from In Vino Veritas in Toulouse, Didier Sanchez, Philippe Ricard and Pierre Citerne. And, of course, the clients of some of our partner wine merchants, Maison Joanne, The Wine Merchants, Barrière Frères and Withwine...

We'd like to thank all our guests and friends for making this evening a real success, in a warm, casual and festive ambiance!

Here are some pictures!

Captions:

Henri Lurton giving his welcome speech

Dream Wines in Alberta (Canada)

Fanny Ma from Chinese Chance

Samson Yip from Chinese Chance

David Sokolin from New York

Justin Christoph from Manhattan Wine Company, client of The Wine Merchant

Tom Sherwood, a British client of Withwine

Christophe Capdeville, Brane’s operations director, discussing with Pierre Citerne from In Vino Veritas

Charles de Ravinel, Brane’s vineyard manager, with a taster from In Vino Veritas

Xavier Scadifi from BV Vins in Lausanne

The journalist Jan Van Roekel talking with Justin Christoph and Matt Tornabene from Manhattan Wine Company (USA), clients of The Wine Merchant

Mark Wessels from MacArthur Beverages in Washington DC and Panos Kakaviatos, journalist

KK Wong from Rare and Fine Wines Hong Kong

Maria Martinez Ojeda, Quality and Reception Manager at Brane, with Stanislas Kressmann from Barrière Frères and Joe Bruno from Holiday Market (Michigan, USA)

Reva Singh and Shiv Singh from Sommelier India

... Dream Wines in Alberta

Allan Liska live on Twitter

Nicolai Hedegaard and his clients, Gail and George Herron, from Fine Wines of Stockton (California,USA)

The guests of Maison Joanne, from JJ Buckley (Oakland, CA)

Cathy Richard from Joanne

Adam Lechmere from Decanter.com, Michael Pronay (Vinaria, Austria) and Peter Schleimer (Vinaria, Austria)

Didier Sanchez, In Vino Veritas Toulouse, winner of the RVF European blind tasting contest with Pierre Citerne

Chris Riccobono and Danny Iselborn, from Pardonthatvine.com, with Henri Lurton

Clients of David Monnier, Withwine, from the Chinese company Chinese Chance

Jane Anson and Michael Pronay having a lively discussion

Jane Anson from Decanter Magazine

Guy Woodward, editor of Decanter

Eric Riewer from Revue du Vin de France

George Herron from Stockton, California

Laurent Ehrmann and Gail Herron... all smiles!

Deep discussion at Isabelle Lurton’s table ...with Eric Riewer from RVF and Adam Lechmere

Big smiles!!!

Shiv Singh and the 1998 Impériale bottle

A client of Stanislas Castex from Lifeeng China

Stanislas Kressmann from Barrière Frères and his guests : Christophe Laidebeurre (Eagle Eyes, USA), Joe Bruno and Jeff Mar (Holiday Market, USA) around an imperial bottle of Brane Cantenac 1988

The group from JJBuckley

Xyping Zhan, from Barrière Frères and her client from Lifeeng China

KK Wong from Rare and Fine wines HK, his son Alan and Mrs. Grace Yu from Hong Kong

Stan Castex’s group.... from Lifeeng China and Alan Wong.

David Monnier’s guests from Chinese Chance, Los Chan, Michelle Chan, Helena Lee, Wendy Ho

Fanny Ma from Chinese Chance, and Hugues de Lestrange, Brane’s finance director

Grace Yu from Society of Wine Educators, Hong Kong and Wendy Chan from Telford Hong Kong