Henri Lurton
Margaux
Featured:
Friday, May 10, 2024 at the Trade Tasting and Vintners Dinner & Auction
Saturday, May 11, 2024 at the Bordeaux Master Class & Grand Tasting
A Second Growth in the unchanging classification of Grand Crus Classés in 1855, Château Brane-Cantenac has established itself as one of the greatest Margaux estates. Through its exceptional terroir and its prestigious history, this estate stands proudly at the heart of one of the most illustrious appellations of Bordeaux, and more broadly among the most renowned wine regions in the world.
Past the gentle gravelly hills, this Margaux Grand Cru Classé stands nobly, nurturing a vineyard of 72 hectares planted with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 3.7% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Carménère and 0.8% Petit Verdot. The heart of the vineyard is the dominant Brane ridge: a unique plateau renowned for containing some of the finest plots in the Margaux appellation.
Named after its successive owners, Hostein in the 17th century and then Gorce in the 18th century, this great wine estate produced one of the Médoc’s most famous wines long before the 1855 classification. At the time, its rating placed it right at the top of the Grands Crus. In 1833, Marie-Françoise de Gorce sold the estate to Baron Hector de Brane, who had just sold his Pauillac estate, Brane-Mouton (now Mouton-Rothschild). His son Jacques-Maxime de Brane, a talented winegrower nicknamed the “Napoleon of the vines” would change the name of the estate by adding his own to the one of the village. He wrote: “Weakness or pride, I have faith in my name and have decided to give Gorce the name Brane-Cantenac”
Since 1925, the estate belongs to the Lurton family. In 1992, at the height of his professional success, Lucien Lurton, then head of eleven Châteaux including 6 crus classés, sold his properties to his children. His son Henri took over the reins. His training as an oenologist, focused on techniques and research, as well as on the vines and knowledge of the soils, is in keeping with the family philosophy, for which the quality of the product is paramount. Using his experience gained from South Africa, Australia and Chile and with an experimental mindset, he has developed Brane’s inimitable identity and unique wines.