Château Margaux - Château Margaux, 1st Growth of Margaux

Château Margaux, 1st Growth of Margaux

Things of very high quality have never come about by chance.  To make a great wine, generous soils, a kind climate and the painstaking attention to detail of everyone involved are all essential requirements.
 
In these respects, Château Margaux enjoys the privileges of its location, where a certain perfection comes through, both in terms of wine growing and of viticultural environment.  It is found not only in the gifts bestowed by nature, but also in the careful contributions made by successive owners who have fallen in love with this magical place.  From the Lestonnacs, the true founders, to the Mentzelopoulos, who strive to perfect it even more, these successive families have demonstrated for centuries their concern to defend the image and quality associated with its name.

  • 2009 Vintage

    • "A wine such as this is like the quintessence of terroir. A super, uber-concentrated perfume of creme de cassis and flowers cascades across the palate with a lightness of being despite massive concentration, a sumptuous personality, and an unctuous texture. I have never tasted a Chateau Margaux quite like this. It should be relatively drinkable at an early age, yet will last for 50-100 years." 98-100 Points Wine Advocate

    • "Good full ruby-red. Pure, ripe aromas of cassis, graphite and cedar, lifted by floral and mineral high notes. Dense and amazingly concentrated yet light on its feet, with compelling, extremely pure flavors of spicy blackcurrant, tobacco leaf and minerals. The extremely long, slow-building and wonderfully fine-grained finish offers an exhilarating combination of power and sweetness. This comes across as quite backward today yet is anything but austere. A real essence of Margaux's great terroir, and one of my favorite wines of the vintage. As I walked to the parking lot with Pontallier after the tasting, he said to me, "If people don't think this is one of the greatest wines I have ever made, then it means I haven't really understood anything in the last 30 years spent making wine." 97-100 Points International Wine Cellar

    • "Fine black red, quite magical bouquet, pure quality of cashmere silkiness on the palate with a touch of fragrance from Cabernet Franc, blending softness of attack with pure density. A wine of stunning fragrance and purity, the most perfect expression imaginable of the greatest of Margaux vineyards.” 20/20 Decanter

    •  "Understated in feel, but not for lack of depth or length, as this has beguiling and well-defined notes of black tea, sandalwood, singed vanilla bean and Kenya AA coffee, backed by gorgeously silky plum, blackberry and cassis fruit flavors. But the finish is so balanced, suave, gentle and long, it would be easy to overlook just how much range there is here. So be patient and let cellaring do its thing." 96 Points Wine Spectator

  • 2008 Vintage

    • "Only 36% of the crop was utilized and the yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. An exceptionally late harvest for this estate began on October 3 for the Merlot, and finished on October 23. The final blend includes a whoppingly high 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As always, the first characteristic one notices is the extraordinary floral component as well as the sweet black currant fruit allied to full-bodied richness, sweet tannin, and superb freshness and delineation. In many ways, the 2008 is reminiscent of the 1996, but the former wine is showing even more density and concentration than the 1996 did at the same point in its evolution. The 2008, which appears set for 30-40 years of longevity, is a remarkable effort from this great estate." 95-97 Points Wine Advocate

  • 2007 Vintage

    • "Bright red-ruby. Wonderfully floral, pure nose offers blueberry, cherry and violet. Juicy, spicy and classic, with berry, floral and spicy flavors that seem to vibrate in the mouth. This boasts remarkable inner-palate perfume. An extremely subtle and discreet wine with excellent balance, very good but not exceptional density, and lovely lingering perfume. The IPT here is a relatively modest 61 (compared, for example, to 78 in 2005 and 73 in 2003). Pontallier compared this to the estate's 2004-"only softer." If it puts on weight in barrel, it should ultimately merit a score at the high end of my range." 91 Points International Wine Cellar

    • 92-94 Points Wine Advocate

  • 2006 Vintage

    In 2006 barely 36% of the crop went into the first wine. One single batch of Merlot went into the final blend, constituting a record-low of 4% of the final blend. The 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc means the total of Cabernet Sauvignon was 90% of the blend. This Cabernet brings to the 2006 an extraordinary aromatic finesse, a tannic richness, and a particularly dense and tight-knit texture. The finish is very long, fresh and lively, firm but already packed with flavor. 

    • "This has a wonderful nose of perfume, sandalwood, ripe plum and berries. Full-bodied, with seamless tannins and a long finish. Gorgeous.  Best after 2015." 95 Points Wine Spectator

    • "This is not a big Château Margaux, its style showing more elegance and discretion. The tannins are soft, although producing a dense web that lies underneath the black currant and plum fruit flavors. It is a wine that envelops the mouth, an edge of firmness over velvet fruit textures. The wine floats away slowly on the close." 95 Points Wine Enthusiast

    • "It is worth noting that when the bottled 2006 Chateau Margaux, which appeared closed and less impressive than I had predicted from barrel, was retasted alongside the remarkable 2008, I elevated my score to 94+. It does not possess the size or power of the 2008 or 2005, but the 2006 exhibits impressive density, a deeper color, and the beautifully textured, pure style that is a hallmark of this estate. Moreover, it is relatively precocious, and can be drunk now or cellared for 25+ years." 94+ Points Wine Advocate

    • "A sexy vintage of Margaux, this is heady and seductive right from the start. Floral strawberry and red currant flavors back the wine's gentle sweetness, while floral acidity gives it a sting. Black tannins hint at more serious, long-term prospects, though much of the vintage may get drunk before it has a chance to reach any deeper, more essential terroir expression." 94 Points Wine & Spirits Magazine

  • 2005 Vintage

    A truly great, pure Château Margaux. A nose of finesse, grace and depth found only in a few dream vintages, and an exceptional concentration, superior to 2000 and even 2003. The color has unprecedented intensity, and the palate an extraordinary density and length with Château Margaux’s hallmark harmony. The Cabernet Sauvignon (85%) reached perfect ripeness without going over 13 degrees; 8% of the blend comes from the sole batch of Merlot that did not reach 14 degrees. 

    • "Black in color, delivering extraordinary aromas of blackberry, raisin, spices and fresh mushroom. Full-bodied, with an amazing core of ripe fruit, yet ultrabalanced and finely textured. Touches every taste bud. This incredible young red spent two years in new wood, but you can't tell. It's all glorious fruit. A legendary wine. Best after 2017." 100 Points Wine Spectator

    • "Another celestial effort from Paul Pontallier and Corinne Mentzelopoulus, the 2005 Margaux, a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, boasts a dense opaque blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of spring flowers, blueberries, black raspberries, creme de cassis, licorice, and, despite its having spent two years in 100% new wood, only a subtle touch of toasty oak. Although full-bodied, the wine seems light on its feet because of the silky tannins as well as the great gravel terroir from which it comes. Beautiful purity, length, and nobility define this modern day classic. Is it better than the 2000, 1996, 1990, or some of the vintages from the decade of the eighties? Who knows, but it is unquestionably one of the all-time great wines made at Chateau Margaux. This estate has produced only exceptional wines over the last three decades. The seamlessness of the 2005 suggests it will perform well early, but it should last for a half century or more. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2050+." 98+ Points Wine Advocate

    • "Saturated red-ruby. Explosive aromas of plum, raspberry, bitter chocolate, coffee, almond paste and smoke; this smells voluptuous. Then extraordinarily opulent on the palate, with an almost marzipan-like ripeness. Coats every square millimeter of the mouth with a texture of liquid silk. The baby fat here is incredible, but there's a structure of steel and powerful minerality underneath. One of the longest samples I tasted in Bordeaux this spring, and a wine with uncanny finishing sweetness. This fabulous vintage of Margaux should evolve positively in bottle for three or four decades in a cold cellar." 98 (+?) Points International Wine Cellar

       

    • "For a Château Margaux, this is an especially rich wine. The dense fruit, superripe but not overpowering, and the blackberry jam flavors show the richness of the year. There is wood alongside the juiciness and sweet tannins. Of course, it will age, but it’s so delicious to drink now." 98 Points Wine Enthusiast