It was with great pleasure yesterday that we hosted journalist James Suckling from Tatler Asia, accompanied by his friend, wine merchant Pierre Lawton (Alias), a cameraman and his assistant, for a retrospective tasting of the last 11 vintages of Château Brane-Cantenac and a special advanced tasting of 2011.

We'd been holding such a vertical tasting for a long time to allow James to appreciate the changes in our wine over the past ten years and the exceptional quality of the last three vintages, with 2011 boding extremely well for Brane. The Carménère, which we think is going to be added to the blend for the first time, will bring a great deal of complexity to the wine which is dominated by Cabernet, a grape that already looks very promising. The ultra-strict selection process that has been undertaken in the vineyards over the past three years combined with our optical sorting system highlight the fruit, purity, finesse and elegance that Henri Lurton strives for in his wines.

Pierre Lawton, Alias, Henri Lurton, James Suckling and Corinne Conroy in the Brane tasting room