Robert Parker, tasting note published in July 5th 2016
Bottle Ex-Château 2020 - The 1996 Chateau Margaux, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, should be a strong contender for wine of the vintage. It offers everything you want from this First Growth. It is blessed with stunning definition and freshness on the nose, understated at first and then blooming with mineral-impregnated black fruits, hints of blueberry, crushed stone and violet. The palate is perfectly balanced with filigree tannin, perfect acidity, a wine where everything seems to be in its right place. Blackberry, crushed stone at the front of the mouth, just a touch of spice towards the finish that shows supreme control. This is a Margaux that seems to enlighten the senses. It was remarkable in its youth...something that has not changed one bit over the two decades since. This may well prove to be the pinnacle of the Left Bank of the 1990s.
It owes its unique qualities to the genius of its terroir, as well as to the passionate work of a succession of generations. It is a remarkable wine that comes from a combination of characteristics that are only rarely found: finesse, elegance, complexity, density, intensity, length and freshness. Although its tannic concentration may be exceptional, it is rare to detect astringency.
The great vintages are distinguished by their formidable capacity to move us. The smaller vintages give pleasure to sensible enthusiasts. They offer the advantage of evolving very quickly and, after a few years, they reveal, rather than power, this subtlety which is the prerogative of the great terroirs.
Château Margaux has an extraordinary capacity to evolve. Over the years, it has developed a delicacy, an aromatic complexity and a remarkable presence on the palate. The wine is aged for 15 months in 10% new oak and 90% second use barrels. Due to the particularities of the vintage, Cabernet Sauvignon made up 88% of the blend, with Merlot making up only 12% of the blend. It is important to note that the wine is kept in bottle until ready to drink, which may not mean that the vintages are available sequentially.
Allergens information
Contains sulphites.
SKU: 105905-4
Château Margaux
Château Margaux is one of Bordeaux’s most famous wine estates, located east of Margaux itself in the Médoc. Along with Lafite, Latour and Haut-Brion, it was classified as a first growth in Bordeaux’s original 1855 Classification of the Médoc. Generally, Margaux is regarded as the most elegant of the first growths and is consistently one of the world’s most expensive wines. La Mothe de Margaux existed as a separate estate in the 12th century, and was established as a wine estate in the 1570s when Médoc farmers began to abandon cereal crops in favour of vines. In 1705, the London Gazette announced the first auction of 230 barrels of ‘Margose’, and in 1787 Thomas Jefferson made his famous visit to Bordeaux and identified Margaux as one of ‘four first-rate vineyards’. In 1800, the estate occupied 265 hectares (655 acres) with a third planted with vines, which is still the situation today. The iconic Neopaladian castle, nicknamed “The Versailles of the Médoc”, was built in the early 19th century to match the vineyard’s reputation.
The vineyards of Château Margaux have a complex combination of soils that are unique to the region. These consist of limestone clay under a top layer of coarse and fine gravel, which is well suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for around 75 per cent of the plantings. Merlot makes up another 20 per cent, with the rest planted to Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As is typical of top Bordeaux estates, the vineyard is densely planted at 10,000 vines per hectare. There are also 12 hectares (30 acres) of Sauvignon Blanc to make Margaux’s white offering, Pavillon Blanc, which should be sold as Bordeaux AOP, not Margaux. The red wines are fermented in a mixture of traditional wooden and stainless steel vats; the great wine sees aging for between 18 and 26 months in new oak barrels.
