2015 Vintage
Harvest
Berries were healthy and the maturity was there. Good timing for harvest is the key: Not too early, not too late, not too ripe. We decided to harvest grapes when they would develop “red berry” flavors not “black berry” ones: tannins had to be nicely ripe, alcohol content needed to be balanced, not too high, and acidity was to be tasted but not too high. Maybe all of that seems logical, but we know how lucky we have been to decide the ideal ripeness of our berries without constraint.
![Château Cantenac Brown 2015](https://www.cantenacbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cantenac-Brown-2015.jpg)
Informations
Varietals
61% Cabernet Sauvignon
39% Merlot
Aging
16 months in French oak barrels
60% new oak barrels
40% one-year-old barrels
Harvest proportion
51% Château Cantenac Brown
Harvest dates
Merlot: Sept. 17th – 24th
Cabernet Franc: October 1rst
Cabernet Sauvignon: Sept. 28th – Oct 8th
Year 2015
Beginning in the spring, temperatures were warmer than average. At the end of May, floweringwas fast and homogeneous. In June and July, the warm temperatures led to a slow growing season, which stopped early. Conditions were similar to those in the best vintages.
In August, rains were on time to complete the “véraison” that had started by the end of July.
In September, the difference of temperatures between cool nights and warm days, with the addition of brief rains helped reach a perfect ripening.
We decided to harvest grapes when they would develop “red berry” flavors not “black berry” ones : Tannins had to be nicely ripe, alcohol content needed to be balanced, not too high, and acidity was to be tasted but not too high.
2015 was a bright and cool year with perfect weather conditions, giving our wines wide aromatic potential, with fine and‘’ round tannins.