Chateau Margaux launches third wine

Margaux: third wine on the way

The name of the wine has not yet been revealed but it is likely to be ‘simple and to the point’, Margaux managing director Paul Pontallier told Decanter.com.

‘We have been ever more severe with our selection for Pavillon Rouge, but the 2009 vintage was so good, and all barrels have aged so well, that we decided it was appropriate to create a third wine of the estate.’

Until now, wine that was not considered high enough quality for Pavillon Rouge was declassified from Chateau Margaux, and would have been used for a generic AOC Margaux made most usually by a wine merchant.

Effectively this means there are now four levels of wine at Chateau Margaux, as there will still be some vines selected out into a generic AOC.

The third wine will not be sold en primeur, as Chateau Margaux and Pavillon Rouge are currently, but will be kept back in bottle.

This is why 2009 is the inaugural vintage, to be bottled in the next few months.

Pontallier said it was ‘highly likely’ that the quality of the 2010 would mean they would do the same thing this year.

Chateau Latour has produced a third wine, called Pauillac de Chateau Latour, since 1973. It has bottled it annually since 1990.