Michael Schuster | A marked minerality to smell, with a light Cabernet blackcurrant; medium-full, fresh in acidity, firmly but finely tannic in texture; sweet, plump, sensually textured Brane but, unusually, a bit dried by its new wood. To date this has been typically 60–70% new oak, but it is 100% this year. Graceful and tenacious to taste, complex, aromatic, superfine-textured, close-grained wine, the 2nd-growth complexity and class are clearly there, the fruit is delicious, it is Margaux-fine, and it has lovely fruit-fragrant persistence. But the new-wood tannin texture does impinge, and detracts somewhat from the wine’s usual harmony. What is the rationale for this, I wonder? That said, this is glorious Brane- Cantenac, gorgeous Margaux. 2035–50+.