Plus connu pour son blog, "Pardonthatvine.com" -the most unbiased wine review forum in the world- Chris Riccobono est un jeune dégustateur américain (30 ans!) totalement indépendant, qui fait sensation depuis début septembre sur Internet mais aussi sur de nombreuses chaînes de télévision. Nous l'avons reçu à Brane aujourd'hui, en compagnie de ses parents. Ils ont fait une visite de nos chais et une belle dégustation... filmée! Son but est d'apprendre aux amateurs et non aux spécialistes à déguster et à apprécier toutes sortes de vins, de 'styles' de vins, et tout cela sans aucune approche commerciale, contrairement à celui du non moins célèbre Gary Vaynerchuck de "The Wine Library" par exemple qui vente les vins que l'on peut trouver dans son magasin du New Jersey ou sur son site Internet. Chris est devenu une 'overnight sensation' et représente une nouvelle génération de critiques 'en ligne' s'adressant à un nouveau public de novices 'en ligne' aussi...Un business qui d'après l'émission de NBC représente plus de 27 billions de dollars. A méditer!

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Best known for his blog, “Pardonthatwine.com” – the most unbiased wine review forum in the world – Chris Riccobono is a completely independent young American taster (30 years old!) who has caused a stir since September on the Internet and on several television stations. We welcomed him at Brane today, in the company of his parents. They visited our cellars and enjoyed a filmed tasting! His goal is to teach amateurs – not specialists – to taste and appreciate all kinds of wines, all styles of wines, with no commercial motivations, unlike the just-as-famous Gary Vaynerchuck from “The Wine Library” for example who sells the wines that can be found in his store in New Jersey and on his website. Chris became an overnight sensation and represents a new generation of ‘online’ critics targeting a new audience of ‘online’ novices. It’s a business that, according to the NBC piece, represents over 27 billion dollars. Something to think about!

http://pardonthatvine.com/merlot/2010/01/24/show-68-nyfanbc-news-piece-on-video-wine-blogs-and-me/

17/20 et tête de liste des Margaux pour le Brane 2007...

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17/20 and top of the Margaux list for Brane 2007…

“Lovely silky nose with hints of coffee, leather, sweet tobacco and ripe fruit; superb attack in the mouth with balanced minerality, excellently structured, elegant and with integrity. Ripe Merlots, splendid Cabernet.  Elegant, it leaves a long sensation of black and red fruit. Cedar, dark chocolate, cherry. Fine wood, perfectly integrated. What class!”

http://www.telecran.lu/index.php?load=Artikel&id=982&nav=Weine&nav1=margaux

Le tout nouveau magazine sur l'art de vivre haut de gamme, spécialement destiné aux hommes contemporains, a remarqué le Brane 2008 en dégustation et l'a recommandé parmi ses préférés!

 

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The brand-new upscale art de vivre magazine, specially aimed at contemporary men, singled out Brane 2008 in a tasting and recommended it as one of its favorites!

‘Powerful, elegant, mature nose. The mouth is impressively well-balanced: roundness, suppleness and freshness, long finish with stewed fruit. A fine wine!’

Thank you, Christophe Gorgeret, and good luck to your new magazine!

To drink it, you will still need to wait awhile because we are currently putting the finishing touches on it in our cellars, as we look forward to delighting your taste buds within the next few years. Contact your cellarmen at the end of the year…just in time for the holidays!

Sans modération   (au diable Monsieur Evin!), ce Saint Patron des vignerons sera honoré chaque weekend de janvier jusqu'au 14 février (St Valentin!). Il l'a été le weekend dernier avec CHATEAU BRANE CANTENAC!

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Without moderation (to hell with Mr. Evin!), this Patron Saint of the vineyards will be honored every weekend from January until February 14^th (Valentine’s Day!). Last weekend, CHATEAU BRANE CANTENAC was present!

Every year since 1995, Le Lion d’Or has been celebrating its neighboring wine-growers and owners, by organizing Les Rencontres de la Saint-Vincent at its restaurant throughout January and until Valentine’s Day. Brane was in the spotlight on January 16^th and 17^th!

First, there was a preparatory weekend in Margaux, in late November. You can read the detailed report on Le Lion d’Or’s blog, Sapere.com. There was a lovely visit organized by Kinette Gauthier and a report together with photos by Mrs. Clément.

Here is an extract: “Vineyards are stamped with man’s will” – a statement by Henri LURTON who, since 1992, has been overseeing the finest bench of large-sized gravel within the Margaux appellation called “the plateau of Brane”. Here, time is at work. Patience, humility and perseverance: no ostentatious effects, just the bare essentials! Like the lights filtered by long wooden screen walls that lead to the cellar, the teams supervise and protect the wine, which is maturing like a language to be deciphered. And what a language! The cabernets are stylized, arrogant, precise; the merlots smoothly reveal their depth while the structure, cunningly designed, is a model of fruity architecture.

Then, last weekend, Henri Lurton went to Romorantin for a magnificent dinner organized by the chef, Didier Clément, who pairs wines and enjoys playing on variations of the Sologne region’s flavors. This original cuisine, eminently delicious, is a unique way for connoisseurs to revisit this lovely region in central France. Its secret: the art of understanding nature to produce surprising dishes. Its specialities include the “bar bazar”, sea bass with briar honey, and Challandais duck mixed with cocoa and malagueta pepper.

C'est avec grand plaisir qu'aujourd'hui Henri Lurton a reçu pour un déjeuner et une visite, Nicole Rabe (l'acheteuse) et Mélanie Wagner (la sommelière) de Schwarzer Adler, le célèbre restaurant de la Forêt Noire.

 

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Today it was with great pleasure that Henri Lurton hosted Nicole Rabe (buyer) and Mélanie Wagner (sommelier) from Schwarzer Adler, the famous restaurant from the Black Forest, for lunch and a visit.

Henri had discovered their legendary establishment this past November, during a short stay organized by Sylvie Pechstein from ‘The Wine Merchant,’ where he was the guest of honor for a superb tasting of old Brane vintages. On a menu concocted by Thibault Servas, our two guests discovered Baron 2004, already very round and open, with lamb sweetbread glazed in juice and caramelized silverskin onions; Brane 200, still quite young and particularly fresh and fruity, served with spiced roasted pigeon and lightly seared morels; then a fine 1998 with mature cheese from Michèle Cols-Boada. Dessert, a chocolate coulant with cocoa nibs, served with a raspberry-hibiscus compote, was absolutely succulent!

It was a friendly, relaxed visit for a three-day program that was absolutely packed for our two visitors, one of whom, Mélanie Wagner, just received ‘Best Sommelier of the Year’ award from Gault et Millau-2010 Edition. Congratulations!!

For more information about this restaurant, which probably has the finest wine list in Europe, visit www.schwartzeradler.eu

From left to right:  Nicole Rabe, Melanie Wagner from Schwartzer Adler, Sylvie Pechstein from The Wine Merchant and Corinne Conroy

Weekend VIP à Margaux et déjeuner à Brane...

 

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VIP weekend in Margaux and lunch at Brane…

 If you would like to enjoy a rare tasting experience, ‘Terre de Vins’ is organizing a VIP weekend on Friday May 21^st and Saturday May 22^nd in Margaux, with one night at Le Relais de Margaux. Among other pleasures, experience a grand tasting at Château Margaux, a dinner at Château Palmer and of course, a lunch at Château BRANE-CANTENAC! Amazing gustatory discoveries for a memorable weekend. For prices and reservations, contact Pmoureuille@terredevins.com

Un bel article tout récemment paru dans FRANCE MAGAZINE WINTER 2009-10, intitulé 'Extreme Estates' relate que dès la fin des années 90, Henri Lurton avait décidé de construire le nouveau cuvier et le chai de Brane en tenant compte déjà d'impératifs écologiques ...

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A fine article that was just recently published in FRANCE MAGAZINE WINTER 2009-10 entitled ‘Extreme Estates’ recounts that in the late 1990s, Henri Lurton decided to take environmental issues into account when building Brane's new vat-room and cellar.

 Brane’s operations buildings, which were built according to the blueprints of architect Vincent Dufos de Rau in 1999, fulfil very stringent environmental and energy criteria. Wood and its by-products were generously used for the frame, insulation, walls and partitions. The cellar’s natural ventilation system that uses earth cooling tubes makes it possible to adjust the inside temperature without consuming energy. Folding panels on the southwest façade keep the building's walls from heating and contribute to natural air-conditioning. Large bay windows allow sunshine to enter...These working tools - the vat-room and cellar - also needed to be spacious, more functional and intelligently designed to make labour and maintenance easier. Aesthetically unique, the new buildings perfectly blend into the environment.

At Brane, this respect of natural resources and sustainable development still applies, and now to an even greater extent, to all of our production processes: viticultural, plant protection and wine effluents are treated to eliminate all polluting particles; waste is sorted and recovered according to type: green waste is composted, cardboard, glass, used oils and plastic are recycled, and the incineration of the plant biomass (trellis posts, vine stock, stems, etc.) to produce electricity is under study; old farming equipment is replaced frequently to obtain more fuel-efficient machinery and limit soil compaction; phytosanitary inputs are reduced and products are chosen that have a minimum impact on humans and the environment; in the vineyard, biodegradable supplies have been chosen; green areas without plants are sodded or left fallow for flower-growing; water consumption is limited and chlorine has been eliminated.

 

RENTREE SOUS LA NEIGE A BRANE.....

Quelques photos de notre vignoble et la vigne endormie sous un manteau de neige inattendu ce matin...patinoire sur les routes en prime aussi...

 

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BACK TO WORK COVERED BY SNOW AT BRANE…

Here are a few pictures of our vineyards and the sleeping vines under an unexpected layer of snow this morning...the roads are slippery as well...

But the New Year also means... BLENDING! And in spite of the bad weather outside, this morning we started tasting the various 2009 batches with Mr. Boissenot who braved the snow and ice to try out this exceptional vintage…very promising, he says…Stay posted!