The 2009 Bordeaux vintage has lost none of its power to charm and captivate.

A recent tasting in Atlanta showed that most of these wines are still in their first blush of youth, and the best will live for decades.

The intervening years have only confirmed what we suspected even on release – this is among the epochal vintages from Bordeaux.

It represents a turning point in the wines of Bordeaux in so many ways – the warming climate, the changing styles, the fashion for the wines – yet 2009 stands alone.

The chance to revisit these wines was exciting for all the tasters. Michael Davis, principal at Hart Davis Hart auction house in the US, expressed it best when he said that for him 2009 was 'joyful and expressive'.

The alluring 2009 style

There were several top-flight vintages in the first decade of the new century, beginning with superb millennial vintage, the almost unbearably hot 2003 that delivered sybaritic delights; the monumental 2005, still tannic and not yet ready to drink, with the charming 2006 and 2008 just behind.

There are many wine lovers, however, who would argue that the finest vintage of the decade was 2009. The wines are voluptuous, accessible, and hedonistic, yet structured enough to last.

It occurred to me while tasting through these two dozen wines that 2009 resembles the wines from 1982, and I began to think of 2009 as an updated version of 1982 – almost a ‘1982.2’.

The wines in general are substantial and have abundant extract; lots of tannin yet no astringency; enough acidity to give definition but not so much as to make them hard or unyielding; and a sweet, ripe character to the fruit with no sense of it being baked or over-ripe.

The secret to the seductive nature of the fruit in 2009 is that the vines never shut down during the growing season, as they do in the face of excessive heat or drought.

There was just enough water in July and August to keep the vines ripening the fruit throughout the season, and while there were hot days (and plenty of sunshine), the grapes did not suffer the excessive heat spikes that they saw in 2000 or 2003.

The weather behind the magic

The year got off to an appropriate start with a cold, wet winter that plunged the vines into dormancy, refilled the water table, ensuring that budbreak didn't start too early.

There was no hint of spring frost, and although there was a hail storm on 11 May, it did not damage the best vines.

Flowering happened early and finished quickly, setting a large crop on the vines. Crucially, the growing season was hot and sunny, but not so much as to interrupt the grapes gentle ripening.

The region saw moderate rainfall on 18, 19, and 20 September, but there was no further rain until the harvest was complete.

The key to success was to wait until after the rain to pick the Merlot, and to wait until the Cabernet was fully ripe, beginning in mid-October.

Because of the gentle nature of the growing season, the vines ripened to levels not often seen in Bordeaux – mostly over 14% on the Left Bank and up to (and sometimes beyond) 15% on the Right Bank.

If picked at the right time, both Cabernet and Merlot were successful.

Because of the lush, forward character these conditions delivered, these powerful wines are beginning to open up now.

While it is not too early to pull some corks, the best of these wines should continue to improve for decades to come.

From boom to bargain: The market context

When the 2009 vintage came to market, the world was in love with Bordeaux wine. Demand was booming in Asia, and the 2008 financial crisis was disappearing in the rear window.

With consumers in the UK, US, and Hong Kong all avidly chasing top Bordeaux wines, the 2009 primeurs offers were optimistic, and prices seemed dear indeed.

In the intervening 15 years since this primeurs campaign, however, much has changed – Bordeaux wines have lost some of their shine, the global wine market is depressed, and producers are sitting on significant stocks.

As a consequence, prices for these sumptuous wines have not increased greatly, and are, in some cases, lower today than they were upon release.

For a buyer looking for immediate pleasure, long-term cellaring potential, and perhaps smart appreciation, the 2009 vintage represents a wonderful opportunity.

Standout performers

Among the delights of the tasting were second growths that were drinking like firsts, particularly Léoville-Las Cases, Léoville-Poyferré, Pichon-Baron and Gruaud-Larose (as well as perennial overachieving fifth growth Pontet-Canet).

There were also strong performances further down the price ladder like Poujeaux and Malescot-Saint-Exupéry.

Although were some disappointments – I felt that both Lynch-Bages and Pavie should have done better given the conditions – the best wines of the vintage are classics that will long outlive most of us, particularly Margaux and Lafite, with Cheval, Mouton, and La Mission Haut-Brion not far behind.

Bordeaux 2009: 24 top wines from this epochal vintage

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Overshadowed by the first and second growths, the Médoc’s third growth estates are quietly undergoing one of Bordeaux’s most compelling qualitative evolutions – often delivering second growth-level quality but at more approachable prices.

Ironically, the catalyst may be the very classification that’s considered by many as obsolete.

With two notable exceptions, the third growths occupy an uneasy position within the Médoc hierarchy, neither rivalling the established aristocracy of the firsts or ‘super seconds’ (those second growths widely considered now to be performing at potentially first growth standard), nor having their status challenged by any glaringly insurgent success stories emerging from the fifth growths, whose own stars regularly defy official ranking.

Fifths such as Châteaux Pontet-Canet and Lynch-Bages now regularly command secondgrowth pricing, for example.

The 1855 Classification, in other words, has long ceased to function as an immutable ladder of quality.

Instead, the third growths exist in a zone defined less by hierarchy and more by expectation: dependable, historically respected, yet less often thrilling.

But a recent comparative tasting shows how that perception is changing.

Natural progression

For this article, the Maison Héritage restaurant in Sessenheim, Alsace (formerly known as Auberge au Boeuf, holder of a Michelin star from 2015 until early 2026) hosted a horizontal tasting of all 14 Médoc third growths from the 2020 vintage.

Unsurprisingly, Châteaux Palmer and Calon Ségur emerged as clearly the leading wines. More revealing was how the remaining 12 compared.

Pricing data from Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, show that, aside from Palmer and the rapidly ascending Calon Ségur, these estates have traded within a significantly lower band of pricing for roughly a quarter of a century.

Qualitatively, however, divergence has become increasingly apparent. As you can read in the tasting notes, each wine was paired with an older reference vintage, to gauge not only stylistic identity but tangible progress.

Improvements in viticulture, investment in wineries and increasingly precise winemaking have begun to reshape the third growth category from within.

Hive of activity

The framework defining these estates remains frozen in time. Conceived for Napoleon III’s Exposition Universelle de 1855 in Paris, the Classification still governs perception despite more than 170 years of transformation.

Of the 14 third growths, 13 continue to display their classified status prominently on labels, serving as both historical credential and commercial shorthand.

Only Château Palmer declines to display the distinction.

The irony is in the history. Charles Palmer was still assembling vineyards in Cantenac shortly before the 1855 Classification was finalised, meaning the estate that today rivals Bordeaux’s elite had not yet fully taken shape when the rankings were fixed.

Palmer’s third growth status reflects timing rather than intrinsic quality – a discrepancy long since corrected by the market.

Leaps and bounds

If the Classification no longer accurately describes a hierarchy, it continues nonetheless to shape behaviour.

Over the past two decades, that influence has produced something unexpected: competition within the Classification itself.

Across the Médoc region, vineyard restructuring, sustainability initiatives and increasingly refined cellar practices have collectively raised standards.

In St-Julien, Château Lagrange illustrates how long-term investment can quietly bolster stature.

A complete cellar modernisation completed in 2010 nearly doubled fermentation capacity, enabling precise parcel-by-parcel vinification.

Château Langoa Barton, long overshadowed by second growth Léoville Barton, has refined its approach steadily over the past 15 years through careful replanting and increasingly precise gravity-fed vinification, improving tannin quality while preserving its own style of St-Julien restraint.

Château La Lagune, the only Haut-Médoc appellation wine among the third growths, reflects the long-term influence of Caroline Frey, whose tenure from 2004 to 2025 (now managed by sister Delphine Frey) saw conversion to certified biodynamic winemaking alongside the introduction of massal selection (by taking cuttings from existing estate vine stocks) starting in 2008, strengthening vineyard identity and resilience.

Rising tide of quality

Including Palmer, 10 of the 14 third growths come from the Margaux appellation, some better known than others.

Château Ferrière, which impressed many tasting participants (some of whom had never heard of it) continues to pursue certified biodynamic viticulture following cellar renovations in 2013 that have enhanced precision and transparency in winemaking.

Better-known Château Giscours has sustained technical stewardship and, especially since the beginning of this century, it has transformed former inconsistency into one of Margaux’s most compelling contemporary expressions, combining aromatic finesse with structural confidence.

Château Cantenac Brown has entered a new phase of refinement, with 9.5ha of newly acquired vineyard parcels in 2020, additions that contribute greater depth and compositional precision, as well as the installation of completely new cellars, inaugurated in April 2024 (first vintage 2023).

Château d’Issan, known for its parcel-by-parcel winemaking and one of the most appreciated wines in the tasting, also acquired vineyard parcels in 2020, bordering Château Margaux, adding Malbec and Petit Verdot as blending options since that vintage.

At Château Kirwan, a decisive stylistic shift endures, following the arrival of general manager Philippe Delfaut in 2007.

Moving away from later harvesting and heavy oak influence, the estate adopted softer extractions and a more classical expression, consolidated by new cellars opened in 2017 enabling parcel-by-parcel vinification.

Château Malescot St-Exupéry retains a richer, more modern Margaux expression shaped with late consultant Michel Rolland, although the wood regime here seems to evolve toward greater balance, with new oak usage reduced in recent vintages.

Château Marquis d’Alesme shows renewal through both technical and experiential investment.

Cellar renovations completed in 2015 improved vinification precision, while increased Cabernet Sauvignon plantings and the creation of Le Hameau, a tucked-away space for food accompanied by the estate’s wines, have positioned Marquis d’Alesme as an innovator in wine tourism within Margaux.

Unequal progress

Not all estates have advanced equally.

Aside from increasing percentages of Petit Verdot in recent blends, Château Boyd-Cantenac remains austere, while Château Desmirail, another less well-known estate, appears only recently to be translating technical evolution into qualitative momentum.

The inclusion of Petit Verdot from mature vines, advances in pragmatic ecological vineyard management and the addition of truncated wooden vats have allowed more refined maceration and improved structural polish.

Such disparities underline a central paradox: the Classification groups estates together, while modern viticulture increasingly separates them.

Above this transforming field stands Château Palmer, not a static exception but rather a moving benchmark.

Under director Thomas Duroux, biodynamic viticulture, rigorous parcel selection and tasting-led extraction have progressively refined texture and transparency, allowing the estate to redefine excellence within this Classification rank.

Château Calon Ségur represents a different, still unfolding ascent.

Extensive replanting since the mid-2000s has left the vineyard unusually young, yet increases in both vine density and the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard promise further gains in structure and precision.

Recent vintages, including the 2020, already perform convincingly up against second growth-level wines.

Inspiring to improve

Which brings us inevitably to the enduring question: is the 1855 Classification obsolete?

Undeniably so, if judged as a hierarchy intended to reflect today’s realities. Yet its continued existence has produced a fascinating irony.

Unable to change their historical rank, estates have instead worked to be deserving of it.

Many of the third growths, positioned at the centre of Bordeaux’s most famous classification, consequently now count among the Médoc’s most dynamic properties.

The 1855 Classification may no longer precisely determine quality, but the desire not to fall short of its rankings continues to drive producers’ ambition.

In Bordeaux, history rarely disappears. Sometimes, inconveniently yet effectively, it contrives to keep everyone on their toes.

Médoc third growths: The Panos Kakaviatos (PK) revised ranking

If the 1855 Médoc Classification of grand cru classé estates were revised today, the following are my hypothetical rankings, based on current quality, market perception and qualitative evolution of each estate – listed in their proposed ‘new’ order, and alphabetically within that.

Tasting notes and pricing shown here (average price before tax as shown on wine-searcher.com on 12 April 2026) use the 2020 vintage as a benchmark; pricing among the Médoc third growths reveals how the existing 1855 hierarchy can still dictate market positioning, albeit not always in step with relative quality.

Châteaux Palmer and Calon Ségur are both priced in clear recognition of top performance in 2020.

Then there is the cluster of 12 other current third growths, though not all are equal in quality – in reinterpreting the rankings today, I would create a category similar to the ‘super seconds’, or in this case the ‘thrilling thirds’.

This is to reflect the reality that estates such as Cantenac Brown, d’Issan, Giscours, Lagrange and Langoa Barton are delivering relatively higher quality than the others, at prices that have not yet fully caught up.

By contrast, wines such as Château Desmirail and Boyd-Cantenac appear less compelling in value terms, relative to their peers.

The 1855 Classification appears on all their labels, other than Palmer, but the degree to which the Classification still anchors price, regardless of progress in viticulture and winemaking, creates striking disparities in value within the category.

Château Palmer

Margaux

PK revised ranking: First growth

Directed by Thomas Duroux, Palmer cultivates 66ha under certified biodynamic management, combining meticulous parcel stewardship with advanced research into climate resilience and vineyard adaptation.

Technical expertise underpins precise extraction and ageing, with wines maturing 20-22 months in 50%-70% new oak.

The inauguration of the estate’s Village complex in 2025, including staff facilities and a restaurant, reflects Palmer’s commitment to collective identity, sustainability and long-term cultural as well as technical leadership.

Average bottle price: £243*

Château Calon Ségur

St-Estèphe

PK revised ranking: Second growth

Directed by Vincent Millet, Calon Ségur cultivates a largely unchanged 55ha vineyard representing one of the Médoc’s rare historical continuities.

Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for roughly 57% of plantings here, with restructuring underway to increase its proportion. Ageing extends 18-20 months in new oak.

Average bottle price: £88*

Château Cantenac Brown

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Under director José Sanfins, this 75ha estate is planted largely to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Since new ownership in 2019, vineyard acquisitions together with major investment – notably an eco-designed gravity winery first used for the 2023 vintage – have strengthened precision and estate coherence.

Wines mature for 16-18 months in about 60% new oak.

Average bottle price: £42*

Château d’Issan

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Jointly owned by Jacky Lorenzetti and Emmanuel Cruse, d’Issan cultivates 55ha under technical director Eric Pellon.

Careful parcel-by-parcel selection and vinification, reinforced by recent vineyard acquisitions, enhance precision and integration across the estate.

Wines age for about 18 months in 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £45*

Château Giscours

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Led by general manager Alexander van Beek, Giscours cultivates 100ha planted predominantly to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Continued refinement in both vineyard and cellar has reinforced consistency and precision across vintages.

Ageing lasts up to 21 months in around 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £47*

Château Lagrange

St-Julien

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Directed by Matthieu Bordes, Lagrange cultivates an unusually continuous 118ha estate dating back to 1855.

A major cellar expansion completed in 2010, which effectively doubled vat capacity, allows extensive parcel-by-parcel vinification and enhanced precision.

Wines age up to 21 months in roughly 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £38*

Château Langoa Barton

St-Julien

PK revised ranking: Thrilling third

Managed by Damien Barton Sartorius, Langoa Barton cultivates 20ha reflecting a classical St-Julien balance rooted in long family stewardship.

Recent investment has improved parcel precision while preserving traditional proportions.

Wines are aged about 18 months in 60% new oak.

Average bottle price: £36*

Château Ferrière

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Owned and directed by Claire Villars-Lurton, Ferrière cultivates 24ha under certified organic and biodynamic management.

Old massal-selection vines contribute finesse and aromatic precision, reflecting a philosophy centred on terroir expression.

Wines age 16-18 months in roughly 40% new oak.

Average bottle price: £33*

Château Kirwan

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Directed by Philippe Delfaut, Kirwan cultivates 37ha with an emphasis on gentler extraction and greater terroir clarity following stylistic evolution initiated in the late 2000s.

Modern cellars enable detailed parcel by parcel vinification, with ageing lasting 18-21 months in about 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £40*

Château La Lagune

Haut-Médoc

PK revised ranking: No change

Long guided by Caroline Frey and now managed by her sister Delphine Frey, La Lagune cultivates approximately 80ha planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Biodynamic certification achieved in 2021 reflects sustained attention to vineyard vitality.

Wines age 16-18 months in around 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £34*

Château Malescot St-Exupéry

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Owned by Jean-Luc Zuger and guided for almost three decades by the recently late consultant Michel Rolland, this 28ha estate cultivates Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot alongside smaller proportions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

A gradual reduction in new oak seeks greater freshness within the estate’s historically opulent style.

Ageing lasts 16-18 months.

Average bottle price: £39*

Château Marquis d’Alesme

Margaux

PK revised ranking: No change

Acquired by Hubert Perrodo in 2006 and subsequently developed under the leadership of his daughter Nathalie Perrodo, this 14ha estate has undergone extensive renovation since 2015, improving vineyard precision and balance.

Wines age 16-18 months in about 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £36*

Château Desmirail

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Fourth growth

Now directed by Thierry Lurton, Desmirail cultivates 35ha combining Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with increasing Petit Verdot influence.

Expanded vineyard holdings and updated cellar facilities allow more detailed parcel vinification.

Wines age 16-18 months in about 50% new oak.

Average bottle price: £31*

Château Boyd-Cantenac

Margaux

PK revised ranking: Fifth growth

Owned by Lucien Guillemet, this 17ha Margaux estate cultivates predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon alongside Merlot, Cabernet Franc and increasing Petit Verdot proportions intended to reinforce structure and freshness.

Wines are aged 15-18 months in 80%-90% new oak.

Average bottle price: £36*

Third Growth wines

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Margaux produced one of the most elegant and surprising expressions of the vintage, with varying styles dependant on harvest and vinification decisions.

While June was exceptionally dry during cell multiplication and multiple days exceeded 40°C, the lighter late-August/early-September rains (around 60 mm) arrived at precisely the right moment.

These showers eased stress, moderating sugars without dilution, and delivering the 'miracle' freshness that turned potential 2022-style opulence into something far more classical.

The result is wines with ripe but non-heavy tannins, unique floral expression, juicy yet precise fruit, and a supple, silky texture framed by tension, energy and minerality.

Thomas Duroux, technical director at Château Palmer, explained that the rains brought the three elements of ripeness together perfectly.

These wines are less 'solar' or exuberant than 2022, more classical and fresh (close to 2016 in many winemakers’ minds), with the concentration and density of warmer years but far greater drinkability and subtlety.

Axel Heinz technical director at Château Lascombes was surprised by the freshness and precision: ‘We have power, richness and density but framed by freshness and crisp and vibrant aromatics’.

The resulting wines are a real, ‘surprise from such an extreme year – these are still unmistakably Bordeaux. In the past we’d have a cold growing season saved by an Indian summer but this year we had a cooler and rainier end to the season which stopped it being so solar and exuberant.’

Unforeseen fermentations

Small berries were universal (‘as small as 2022’). For Château Margaux, 2025 will represent the smallest volume of grand vin production since 1856 with only 37% of the total yield of 22hl/ha going into the top wine.

Château Siran recorded its smallest yield without hail or frost at 32 hl/ha, and Château Brane-Cantenac's owner, Henri Lurton, reported the Margaux average yield of 28hl/ha with very small berries (Merlot down 30%, Cabernet 15%).

Winemakers also emphasised the need for adaptive, thoughtful vinification.

Philippe Bascaules, technical director at Château Margaux, called it a ‘great vintage’ that required more precise decisions on temperature, maceration and length than 2018 or 2022.

‘The vinifications were uneven – not as good as 2018 or 2022 in terms of homogeneity. We saw that when we the grapes entered into the vats, some had alcohol levels less than 13% ABV and others at 15.5% which meant we had to really adapt the vinifying conditions. Some tanks took 12 days and 28 days for others – we’ve never seen that before in the cellar.’

Château Giscours had already used cover crops and a lowered canopy to retain water in the heat, and was then also able to put it new thermo-regulated cellar for cold maceration to use for the first time this year.

The 'miracle' vintage

During our tasting, Château Rauzan-Ségla’s director of development, Axelle Araud, highlighted the wine's unique floral expression, and a perfect marriage of 2022 ripeness with 2016 energy and tension.

Henri Lurton called the style ‘close to 2016 which was really fresh… less alcohol than 2022’.

Gonzague Lurton owner of Château Durfort-Vivens called it a ‘miracle year’ and remarked on the ageing ability with ripeness, lots of tannins and high acidity.

At Château Marquis d’Alesme, Aymone Fabre, said he and his team found, ‘more complexity in the wine than 2023 – it’s the same kind of modern style in terms of keeping the freshness but also there’s something really drinkable about these wines’.

Daisy Sichel at Château Angludet described it as, ‘a really good drinking vintage. It’s one you can drink young and find pleasure with but also keep for 30 years. There’s matter and silkiness, and tension, but subtle’.

Anniversaries

Château Giscours marked 30 years under the ownership of the Albada Jelgersma family and with general manager Alexander van Beek at the helm.

Château Margaux completed its final year of organic conversion (certification expected 2026).

The Lurton family marked 100 years at Château Brane-Cantenac

Further reading from this report

• Pomerol
• St-Emilion
• Pessac-Léognan & Graves
• Dry whites
• Crus Bourgeois
• Pauillac
• St-Estèphe
• St-Julien
• Sauternes

Bordeaux 2025: Top wines from Margaux

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At Decanter’s Fine Wine Encounter, few masterclasses feel quite as electrifying as Château Margaux. Yet tasting nearly four decades of the Bordeaux first growth’s wines alongside a member of the owning family remains a rare privilege.

Led by Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, Château Margaux’s CEO and the third generation of his family to steward the estate, the special occasion offered not just a vertical tasting, but a window into time, place and precision.

From the outset, Leven-Mentzelopoulos set the tone by anchoring Margaux firmly in history. Although classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé in 1855, the estate’s roots stretch back far earlier, with vines planted on the gravel mound of La Mothe de Margaux from the 16th century.

Ownership has changed many times, but the modern era began in 1977, when Leven-Mentzelopoulos’ grandfather, André Mentzelopoulos, purchased the estate after it had languished on the market for two years.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for all eight wines from the Château Margaux masterclass

‘Nobody really wanted the estate at the time,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos recalled. ‘The 1970s were difficult years – economically, and in terms of vintages. But my grandfather immediately understood the potential, and also the scale of the investment that would be needed.’

That investment was swift and decisive: replanting vineyards, restoring cellars and renovating the château itself under historic monument supervision.

André Mentzelopoulos would not live to see the full renaissance he set in motion, passing away in 1980, but his daughter Corinne – then just 27 – took over and led the estate for more than four decades.

Leven-Mentzelopoulos officially assumed the CEO role at the end of 2023, working alongside his sister Alexandra, president of the supervisory board.

‘We are still very much a family business,’ he said. ‘One family, one estate, one obsession.’

Precision over volume

One theme that recurred throughout the masterclass was selection. Château Margaux today produces roughly half the volume it did in the 1980s, with just 100,000 to 120,000 bottles of the grand vin in most vintages.

‘In the past, up to 75% of the harvest went into Château Margaux,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos explained. ‘Today, it’s closer to 35-40%. That changes everything.’

The opening of the new gravity-fed winery in 2015, designed by Lord Norman Foster, was a crucial step in this evolution. With close to 100 individual vats, the team can vinify parcels with extraordinary precision, sometimes dividing a single plot into multiple lots based on subtle differences in soil or exposure.

Alongside this sits one of Bordeaux’s most quietly ambitious research and development programmes. Established in 1999, the R&D team now oversees thousands of experimental bottles exploring rootstocks, pruning systems, fermentation techniques, ageing vessels and closures.

‘If we change something,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos stressed, ‘it’s never for fashion or marketing. It’s because we have years of tasting and scientific evidence behind us.’

Whites with history – and a future

The tasting opened with Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, a wine with over 300 years of history and a singular identity in Bordeaux. Always 100% Sauvignon Blanc, drawn from around 11 hectares, Pavillon Blanc is as much about texture as it is about freshness.

‘Our objective is to make a wine that is very concentrated and mature, but at the same time elegant and fresh,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos said. ‘Acidity and fatness together – not one without the other.’

The contrast between the youthful 2018 and the reconditioned 1996 illustrated both the wine’s ageing potential and the estate’s evolving approach. Only around one third of the harvest now makes it into Pavillon Blanc, with the remainder either sold off or, since 2022, bottled as a second white.

The 1996, served after re-corking under nitrogen, was luminous rather than tired, offering honeyed, citrus-peel complexity without oxidative heaviness.

‘It shows what Pavillon Blanc can become,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos noted. ‘Not oxidised, just transformed.’

A hierarchy defined by tasting

Moving to the reds, Margaux du Château Margaux 2018 – the estate’s third wine – demonstrated how increased selection has reshaped the hierarchy. First released with the 2009 vintage, it was created to preserve quality that would previously have been sold in bulk.

‘Every grape is treated the same at harvest,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos explained. ‘Only tasting decides what goes where.’

The 2018 was supple, fragrant and immediately appealing, a warm-vintage wine with lift and charm. It was followed by Pavillon Rouge 2009, the estate’s historic second wine, first named in 1908.

‘Pavillon Rouge today is very close to what Château Margaux was 20 or 30 years ago,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos said. ‘That’s how much the level has risen.’

The grand vin through the decades

The heart of the masterclass lay in the sequence of Château Margaux vintages themselves, each illustrating a different expression of the estate’s DNA.

The 2009, from a warm, dry year, showed depth and generosity, yet with the signature Margaux perfume intact. ‘It’s giving enormous pleasure now,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos said, ‘but it’s only at the beginning.’

By contrast, 1999 – often overshadowed by 2000 – offered delicacy and immediate charm. Quoting former director Paul Pontallier, Leven-Mentzelopoulos described it as ‘a candy that melts in your mouth’.

The shift into the 1980s brought a palpable hush to the room. The 1989, harvested unusually early in mid-September, combined power with silkiness. ‘People sometimes say Margaux has fewer tannins,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos remarked. ‘That’s not true. They’re just better integrated.’

The final wine, 1985, was the most emotional pour – and my top pick – of the afternoon. Elegant rather than imposing, it underlined a core message of the masterclass: greatness at Margaux is not about force.

‘A good wine gives pleasure,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos said resoundingly. ‘A great wine gives emotion.’

Looking ahead

Despite the weight of history, the session ended firmly focused on the future. Trials with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and even small plantings of Malbec and Carménère reflect a long-term response to climate change, alongside earlier harvesting and ever finer extraction.

‘We are proud of our history,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos concluded, ‘but we never want to rest on our laurels. Everything we do is for the next 30 or 40 years.’

Tasting these wines, it was hard to doubt that Margaux’s long view remains one of its greatest strengths.

Watch the video highlights from Decanter’s Singapore Encounter featuring Alexis

Tasting four decades of Château Margaux:

Wines are listed in the order they were tasted

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For two months in the spring of 2016, my postal address was ‘Château Palmer’. I was an intern at the Margaux third growth estate, and the deal included some temporary lodgings. Not being French, and having never lived in the countryside, this was quite a departure for me. But I liked living in Margaux. The clean air, the silence and the expansive sky set it apart from anywhere I’ve lived before or since. The vines were a plus, too.

I’ve long since left, moving house half a dozen times, moving country even. The place has stayed with me, though, the landscape etched into my mind: approaching Margaux from Cantenac along the D2 ‘route des châteaux’, the expanse of vines on one side, the walls of Château d’Issan on the other, the turrets and flags of Palmer up ahead in the distance. The Médoc may not be the prettiest wine region in the world, but there is beauty to be found – and you need look no further than Margaux.

Exploring the châteaux

Bordeaux is not as closed-off to the world as some would have you believe. It’s possible to rock up to various wineries unannounced for a tasting, at least, and occasionally an impromptu tour. Many have impressive boutiques, where you can buy everything from back vintages to wine accessories, honey and more. That said, this is France, and most châteaux prefer to do things by appointment. You’ll get a lot more from the experience if you plan – and book – ahead.

Around one quarter of Margaux’s wineries are part of the 1855 classification, more than anywhere else in the Médoc. Don’t overlook the appellation’s many unclassified estates, though. Some of these supposedly lower-profile châteaux offer world-class hospitality, occasionally putting far loftier names to shame. (See websites for booking details.)

The English-French Sichel family of Château Angludet, south of Cantenac, are well known for their classic claret. Slightly less well appreciated, perhaps, is their focus on tourism and hospitality: food-and-wine experiences at La Terrasse Fleurie, an idyllic tasting area under a veteran chestnut tree, start from €15, with private tours from €20. Château Paveil de Luze at Soussans will do you a tour and seasonal picnic lunch for €42 per person. And if you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to taste wine in a nuclear bomb shelter, Château Siran in Labarde offers a vertical tasting in its subterranean bunker for €45 per person (and free for under-16s), or alternatively an escape game for up to eight people (€25), as well as other tours and activities.

Not all of the classified growths are open to the public. First growth Château Margaux, for instance, only offers tastings for wine professionals, but you can arrange to visit this stunning property, and its impressive cellars, by appointment. If there’s a particular château you’re keen to visit and you’re not sure, check its website. Most of them will have an email address or a contact form for enquiries.

To suit all tastes

There’s no shortage of top estates you can visit, though. Many offer a range of options at different prices; some offer both public and private tours, with the latter generally more expensive. Margaux Tourism is a useful resource to explore what’s available in more detail, and most estates will provide a list of their tours and tastings online.

Charming Château du Tertre, near Arsac, offers visits starting from €18 per person and also has guest rooms, as well as a gorgeous outdoor pool. Just north of Cantenac, historic Château d’Issan boasts an actual moat and has a range of tours starting from €30 per person. At Château Marquis de Terme, you can explore the 1855 Médoc Classification in depth with a tasting of one wine from each of the seven appellations featured (Workshop Grands Crus Classés, €120 per person for two hours). Bike hire is also available here, at €30 per day. At Château Kirwan, near Cantenac, the top package among several lets you taste a young wine directly from barrel, followed by tasting a special vintage year of your choice (€160 per person).

For something a little different, try Château Ferrière. Based in the village of Margaux itself, the estate belongs to Claire and Gonzague Lurton, whose portfolio also includes nearby Château Durfort-Vivens. You’ll learn all about the couple’s focus on regenerative viticulture and biodynamics, and this may be the only tasting room in the Médoc where you can sip a natural orange wine in between your grands crus classés. Tours start from €25 per person.

Now, never let it be said that the Bordelais aren’t creative. Château Giscours, near Labarde, has devised the world’s first wine-and-magic ‘mystery tour’ (from €80 per person), for example. Notable, too, is its ongoing series of events, La Terrasse de Giscours, at which you can taste the estate’s wines in a relaxed setting with food and live music. Château Dauzac, east of Labarde, offers an e-scooter tour of the vineyard; for €59 per person, get up close and personal with the vines without breaking a sweat.

There have been some noteworthy developments in Margaux in recent years. The recently finished raw-earth cellar at Château Cantenac Brown, south of Margaux village, is an impressive architectural feat in and of itself, particularly when compared with the distinctive Tudor manor-style château. Château Lascombes, also close to Margaux village, is now part of a leading Napa Valley-based group headed up by Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy Jr, so you can expect their hospitality efforts to ramp up considerably. For the time being, tours start from €35 per person, with bespoke options available.

If you want to truly immerse yourself in the Margaux appellation, Château Palmer, on the D2 road at Issan, is rolling out its individually tailored new Promenade tour this season (€460 per person, Tuesday to Friday; book via email on hospitality@chateau-palmer.com). Taking the best part of a day in all, each visit will be slightly different, a ‘made-to-measure’ experience based on your interests and the time you have available. You’ll take a ride or a walk around the estate, stopping here and there to meet the real people behind the scenes: vignerons, gardeners, farmers, cellar workers and more. The tour culminates in a private lunch in the château prepared by executive chef Jean-Denis Le Bras, whose CV includes stints around the world with Pierre Gagnaire (of the famed eponymous Michelin three-star establishment in Paris) as well as Sketch in London. The innovative cuisine is complemented with wine pairings from the estate’s sommelier.

Open house

Note that outside the main tourist season (May-September), many châteaux operate limited days and hours, and some stop offering visits – so do your research ahead of time. If you find yourself in Margaux in early spring, consider the Médoc’s Portes Ouvertes event. Dates vary annually, but during this open weekend, many estates offer free tours and tastings without appointments. Expect big crowds and a lot of hustle-and-bustle – intimate and quiet it is not, but it’s a great way of quickly taking in a selection of Margaux’s estates without the need for much forward planning and at a relatively low cost. Some estates offer food for sale, or schedule concerts or other ticketed events to coincide with the day itself.

My perfect weekend in Margaux

Friday

If you’re staying locally, drop your bags off and start with Château Marquis d’Alesme for a private guided visit and tasting (€70 per person), followed by lunch at La Table de Nathalie. Or for something different, have lunch with the estate workers at Château Palmer.

After lunch, explore Margaux village on foot. Browse the extensive wine selection at La Cave d’Ulysse or the Maison du Vin de Margaux. If you have a sweet tooth, Mademoiselle de Margaux, opposite, makes wine-inspired chocolates. Finish with a tour and dinner at Château Marquis du Terme.

Saturday

Rent a bike and spend the morning cycling. Of the various routes suggested by Margaux Tourism, ‘La Boucle des châteaux de Margaux’, rated ‘easy’ at 5km-8.5km, takes in some of the appellation’s most impressive estates. Next, head for a wine-blending workshop (from €60) and private lunch at Château Dauzac.

Spend a lazy afternoon at the spa at the Relais de Margaux, then head to Château Giscours to explore its 35ha forest and park. Follow that with a tour and tasting and a private dinner at La Table de Giscours.

Sunday

Even at the height of the tourist season Sundays are quiet, and most wineries are closed. Head into Bordeaux city for a late-morning feast of oysters and white wine at Le Marché des Capucins market, off Cours de la Marne. If the weather is good, Lacanau and its beaches are less than an hour’s drive away, heading due west to the coast via the D207 or D6.

Your Margaux address book

Accommodation

Château Dauzac

Having carried out major renovations, Château Dauzac now offers a selection of seriously smart accommodation. Choose between the five large rooms in the attractive Chartreuse or opt for the privacy of the Boulangerie – once a working bakery, with an old oven still as its centrepiece.

Château Giscours

You’ll find a choice of three guest rooms in the renovated stables next to the château. Tours, tastings and fine dining are all available on-site. For those staying at the guest house, a limited number of bikes are available free of charge. It’s a short walk to the park, where you can walk or cycle amid a thriving ecosystem including sequoia trees, geese, turtles, coypus and more.

Le Relais de Margaux

Situated on the banks of the Gironde, this luxury hotel offers a spa, a golf course, tennis courts and more. With an on-site brasserie and bar, this is a smart choice if you don’t fancy wandering too far afield.

Restaurants

Au Marquis de Terme

Château Marquis de Terme is conveniently situated just at the southern edge of Margaux village. Executive chef Grégory Coutanceau opened the estate’s gastronomic restaurant in 2021. The extensive wine list has some 600 references from which to choose.

Château Palmer

As well as the private lunch by chef Jean-Denis Le Bras if you’re really pushing the boat out with the new Promenade tour, there’s also the Cantine Vigneronne, where estate workers take their lunch. It’s now open to the public for a limited number of covers daily, Monday to Friday, service 12.15-2pm only, €24 per person. Enquire directly with the château well ahead of your visit via the contact details on the website.

Le Lion d’Or, Arcins

Little short of a Médocain institution, just north of Soussans. Expect seasonal and local specialities, with lots of beef, lamb and game alongside oysters and fish. It’s a regular haunt of château-owners and directors, many of whom have a personal store of wine bottles in cupboards along the wall.

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All Bordeaux 2024 coverage:

Full vintage analysis & top-scoring wines | How the weather conditions shaped the vintage | The growing season month by month | Wine styles: what to expect | Market conditions and pricing strategies 

Appellation analysis to come

St-Julien | St-Estèphe | Pauillac | Pessac-Léognan | St-Emilion | Pomerol | Cru Bourgeois | Dry whites | Top value | Sauternes & Barsac

Margaux 2024: The appellation with some of the most exciting, charming and friendly wines of the vintage

Average yield: 33.1hl/ha

Variance from 2023: -13.8% (37.7hl/ha)

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top wines from Margaux 2024

Vintage overview

The 2024 vintage posed problems for all producers, and those in Margaux were no exception, especially given the size and varying terroirs of the appellation. Yet it fared better than many, with plenty of lovely, expressive, and typical characteristics emerging.

The wines offer great aromatic florality, juiciness and a sense of charm.

For Cynthia Capelaere, director of Château du Tertre, the 2024 harvest was the quickest in their history. ‘It was a question of means,’ she said.

‘We had to do a lot of sorting during the harvest to eliminate the millerandage. We lost some Merlot grapes but it was a good way to keep the quality. If there had been a bigger yield, the grapes wouldn’t have had the same concentration’.

Du Tertre ended up with a yield of 40hl/ha, well above the appellation average.

For Thomas Duroux, managing director of Château Palmer, the vintage can be described as ‘modest’ with ‘happy wines’.

Organic viticulture

‘It was not easy, we had a lot of doubt, even at harvest time,’ he said, adding that they sprayed 33 times on their organically-farmed vineyards and had a yield of 22hl/ha after harvesting from 25 September and finishing on 10 October. ‘We took risks but there was no real issue with botrytis.’

Ten percent of the crop was discarded using a vibrating table and optical sorter.

Nearby Château Rauzan-Ségla, also under organic management, had a yield of 30hl/ha. General director Nicolas Audebert said, ‘It was a fight every day – we needed permanent vigilance. There’s some luck in the movement of the rain, but you needed dedication and precision.

The team used a cold room to store a days’ worth of harvested grapes before going into the cellar for the first time in 2024 – it was planned for a long time, but ‘came in handy’ and a ‘further step in precision,’ said Audebert.

Château Margaux carried out a green harvest to eliminate all the bunches of unripe grapes ahead of the harvest and stopped picking each time it rained. ‘The berries were bigger in 2024, so we crushed a bit more to increase the level of extraction and extended the maceration’, general director Philippe Bascaules said.

‘The 2024s are complex and fresh – they’re great as long as you don’t want to make a big wine,’ he added. The estate produced 46% of the top wine – an amount not achieved since 2004 due to such a large percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend at 93%.

For Château Brane Cantenac, owner Henri Lurton made the decision to ‘spray early’ and ‘be ready every day’. ‘It was unusual to have phenolic ripeness (ripe skins) before technological ripeness (ripe juice),’ he said adding that they had to harvest quickly and increase the number of harvesters and those on the sorting tables.

‘I think we made good choices, but it was a bit of luck too’, Lurton added.

Fine tuning

Château Giscours used their cover crops effectively for the tractors to access wet soils for spraying and increased their harvest team to 200 people.

While they didn’t chaptalise the wines, technical manager Jérôme Poisson said blending was more challenging than usual: ‘We focused on finding balance and harmony while enhancing the body.’

The grand vin includes all four grapes; 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot only the second time along with 2022.

Château Angludet chaptalised for the first time since 1989 but didn’t lose any yield to mildew having learned from the pressure in 2018 and subsequently created their own spraying machines.

The wine will be aged 40% in amphora to ‘retain the natural aromatic dimension’ in the wines, said Daisy Sichel, seventh generation member of the Sichel family who are owners of the estate.

For Axel Heinz, ex-Ornellaia winemaker and now the director of Château Lascombes, the 2024 ‘took a lot of energy – it wasn’t the easiest but it was far from a disaster’.

He said that the 2023 vintage allowed them to change direction and change style but that 2024 was ‘closer’ to what they have in mind for the the type of wines they want at Lascombes. ‘2024 is a natural and faithful expression of the vintage,’ Heinz said.

‘We didn’t do more extractions but longer macerations on the Merlot, we couldn’t get much out of extractions because we needed to be careful of the tannins,’ he added.

The estate also debuted the 2024 vintage of a new wine during the en primeur tastings, a 100% Merlot cuvée named La Côte from a specific clay and limestone plot near the Garonne river.

The 2022 vintage was the first trial and will be released later this year – an article delving deeper into this wine will be on Decanter Premium soon.

Standouts

• Château Margaux
• Château Palmer

Highlights

• Château Brane Cantenac
• Château Rauzan-Ségla
• Château Lascombes
• Château Durfort-Vivens
• Château d’Issan
• Château Giscours
• Château Cantenac Brown

Value

• Château du Tertre
• Château Siran
• Château Labégorce

See all Margaux 2024 en primeur wines tasted

See the top-scoring Margaux 2024 wines

Search all 700+ Bordeaux 2024 en primeur ratings

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Given the size of the Margaux appellation, and its varying terroirs, it’s often hard to generalise on quality, but in 2022 it performed excellently for both classified and non-classified wines.

Scroll down for the top-rated Margaux 2022 in bottle

Hints of opulence

Margaux usually delivers some of the most charming wines on the left bank, with pronounced floral aromatics and silky tannins giving a smooth mouthfeel that set them apart from the more structured and robust tannins found in the wines from neighbouring appellations.

The softer texture comes from the soils which are predominantly gravelly with some sand and clay – depending on how near or far they are from the moderating Gironde estuary.

In 2022, the charm is amplified with plenty of ripe fruit flavours, fleshy tannins and hints of opulence while keeping expressive aromatics. The best managed to deliver this glossy richness but with mouthwatering acidity as well as precise and finessed tannins.

A vintage apart

During the 2022 in-bottle tasting at Château Margaux, CEO Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos and winemaker Philippe Bascaules remarked that they thought they might age the wines longer than usual because of this density.

However, the ‘wines were much softer with well integrated tannins’ so they kept the bottling to July as usual.

Bascaules said: ‘2022 is one of the best vintages for sure,’ but, ‘also one that cannot be compared with any other’.

‘You can compare 2018 with 2019 and 2020, but 2022 is set apart because of the concentration and because of the alcohol’, he said. Yet the wines retain low pHs giving incredible freshness alongside a sense of brightness and lift.

‘1961 and 1986 stand out because they were respective firsts to reach a certain level of ripeness and concentration and 2022 is the same,’ he concluded.

Fruit and freshness

For me, châteaux Brane-Cantenac, Rauzan-Ségla and Palmer all delighted, as did Cantenac Brown, Giscours and d’Issan.

In terms of wines to seek out that you may not have had before, I particularly enjoyed Château Le Coteau and the ‘Margaux’ appellation wine from Maison Sichel.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the range of single-terroir wines from the Durfort-Vivens vineyards (certified organic) made by Gonzague Lurton.

Les Plantes, designed to showcase the ‘freshness and fruit’ of the appellation, really shone with vibrancy and punch. The Durfort grand vin was also exceptional, and although a bit shy now feels well made.

With the exception of a few wines, you don’t have to wait too long to tuck into these wines and although many will age well, there’s lots of enjoyment to be found in their youth.

All Margaux 2022 in bottle scores

COMING SOON

Tasting notes for all 800 Bordeaux 2022s

plus

BORDEAUX 2022 IN BOTTLE SCORE TABLE: Top-scoring wines with 93 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

Pauillac 2022 | St-Estèphe 2022 | St-Julien 2022 | Pomerol 2022 | Pessac-Léognan & Graves 2022 | St-Emilion 2022 | Cru Bourgeois 2022 | Dry and Sweet whites 2022 | Best value 2022

Top-rated Margaux 2022 in bottle

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Glenmorangie is a single malt whisky that is no stranger to wine cask maturation. But the new Glenmorangie Pursuit of Passion Wine Cask Collection elevates that association to a different level.

Fans of the Highland distillery will be used to core expressions such as The Lasanta 12 Years Old (Sherry casks), The Quinta Ruban 14 Years Old (Port casks) and The Nectar 16 Years Old (sweet wine). This new trio of whiskies, however, explores three of the wine world’s most hallowed locations: Margaux, Corton-Charlemagne and Barbaresco.

Nor is the title – Pursuit of Passion – a mere marketing tag. ‘While whisky is my life, wine is my hobby,’ says Glenmorangie Master Distiller Dr Bill Lumsden, a long-time collector with a decent cellar. ‘There’s no doubt that it drove many of the little experiments which led to this whisky collection.’

One notable feature of the new range is the length of the wine cask maturation – ‘finishing’ really is a misnomer here. The trio were aged for a total of 27 to 29 years each, of which 18 to 20 years were spent in their respective wine casks.

This places them early in the history of Lumsden’s Glenmorangie career. He spent four years as distillery manager in the ’90s before taking on the forerunner of his current role, including the responsibility for cask sourcing.

‘Then the gloves were off in terms of experimenting,’ Dr Lumsden recalls. ‘That’s when I had barrels from Yquem and Romanée-Conti and such like. It was around 2003 to 2005 that these particular experiments were carried out.’

Some wine cask experiments are a real unknown quantity, he adds. ‘With the Margaux, I was fairly sure how that would work out because I’ve used Bordeaux barrels before: red fruit, white chocolate, cedar wood and cigar box.

‘I bought the Corton-Charlemagne just out of curiosity, because I find it a little bit of an outlier in the world of great white Burgundy – an appellation that a lot of people are not that familiar with… When I went back to taste it four or five years ago, I was intrigued by just how good it was.

‘With the Barbaresco, I just did not know at all how that was going to turn out. Nebbiolo is so much more bold and full-bodied, and tends to be a bit more tannic than Sangiovese from Tuscany. So I was a little bit cautious, but it seemed to work pretty well.’

Priced at £7,740/€9,000 per set, the Glenmorangie Pursuit of Passion Wine Cask Collection is available from autumn 2024 through the Moët Hennessy Private Client channel and from the Glenmorangie boutique in Heathrow Terminal 2, as well as from select retailers worldwide and the distillery visitor centre in Tain from October. Registrations of interest can also be made on the Glenmorangie website. 

Glenmorangie Pursuit of Passion Wine Cask Collection: Tasting notes

Glenmorangie Barbaresco Wine Cask Finish

Rich, decadent and oily, this is an absolute beast of a whisky but a well-dressed one. There’s candied plum and Red Delicious apple on the nose, building into ripe dates and then molasses. The palate is positively oily and richly sweet, showing black cherries in dark chocolate, a petrichor element and an anis lift that is found – in various forms – across all three whiskies. A 27-year-old bottling. Alcohol 51.3%

Glenmorangie Corton-Charlemagne Wine Cask Finish

Restraint from the outset here, combining jasmine, honeysuckle and pink peppercorn, before deepening into hazelnut praline and pastel de nata – all lifted by notes of lime flower and lemongrass. The palate shows great depth, with dark honey, Pontefract cake and charred pineapple. The anis notes are borne aloft by the velvety mouthfeel. A 28-year-old bottling. Alc 52.1%

Glenmorangie Margaux Wine Cask Finish

Fresh and not remotely jammy, with raspberry and redcurrant to the fore on the nose, accompanied by a scented floral note edging into Parma Violet sweets. The texture on the palate is pure silk – a common feature of the range – carrying darker notes of plum and cassis, undercut by eucalyptus. An extremely elegant and beautifully balanced whisky. A 29-year-old bottling. Alc 52.5%

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All Bordeaux 2023 coverage:

Verdict & top-scoring wines | How the weather conditions shaped the vintage | Decoding the yields | Wine styles: what to expect

Appellation analysis

St-Estèphe | St-Julien | Pauillac | Pessac-Léognan | St-Emilion | Pomerol | Haut-Médoc | Dry whites | Top value | Sauternes & Barsac

Margaux 2023: Challenging conditions but with some standout wines

Average yield: 37.7hl/ha

Variance from 2022: +20%

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Margaux en primeur 2023 wines

Vintage overview

Margaux had excellent flowering that led to high yields. These were not as high as further north in the Médoc, given both mildew pressure and the degree to which late summer heatwaves affected the hotter, more gravel-dominant soils in the appellation.

At Château Margaux, estate director Philippe Bascaules said that 10% of the harvest was lost due to sunburnt grapes, with the heat so unbearable some days in late August that harvesters had to stop working at 10am.

As for the mildew pressure, Château Rauzan-Ségla director Nicolas Audebert, who also directs winemaking for Château Canon in St-Emilion, drew a comparison between the two, as it proved more demanding to treat vines in the more spread out Margaux estate as opposed to the smaller and contiguous vineyard around Château Canon.

Those estates with crews ready for hard weekend work to treat vines throughout rather large Médoc estates best handled the pressure, and Château Rauzan-Ségla is one of the top wines of the appellation.

The grand vin had one of the highest-ever proportions of Cabernet, with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, but managed to elicit gorgeous floral aspects and quite refined tannin to best exemplify the appellation. Quality also depended on the extent to which estates were able to remove grapes unfit for the wines, with much talk of sorting, sorting – and more sorting.

As in other parts of the Médoc, lacking Merlot affected some wines, leaving an impression of somewhat stricter-than-usual tannins. Nevertheless, a handful of châteaux rose above the vintage, such as Château Angludet and Château Brane Cantenac.

Most especially, the superlative Château Palmer with plenty of excellent Merlot exhibited rare opulence, which proved more balanced and refined compared to the 2022 Palmer.

Estates with cooler microclimates such as Château Du Tertre, near a forest, or Château Giscours, with deep clay in parts of its vineyard, also crafted wines with pleasing mid-palate juiciness.

See the top-scoring Margaux en primeur 2023 wines

Search all 500+ Bordeaux 2023 en primeur ratings published

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A personal favourite appellation of mine in 2021 despite some unevenness. Average yields were higher than in 2020, but Margaux also has the highest overall yield relative to the 10-year average meaning that, despite its size and attacks of frost and mildew, it suffered a little less than other appellations in 2021.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Margaux 2021 in-bottle wines

Château Palmer is an absolute standout from the recent tastings as is the second wine Alter Ego with extreme care taking during the growing season, harvest and ageing.

Châteaux Margaux is excellent while Brane-Cantenac and Rauzan-Ségla are also very good. Improvements from Primeurs include d’Issan and Cantenac Brown with lovely elegance and finesse on show. Giscours, Marquis de Terme, Prieuré-Lichine, Dauzac, Du Tertre are also notable.

The worst wines are rustic and austere with acidity outplaying fruit density but overall there is a lot to like from Margaux with many wines showing gorgeous aromatic profiles, juicy acidities, cool fruit and creamy aspects to the tannins.

BORDEAUX 2021 IN BOTTLE SCORE TABLE: Top-scoring 133 wines with 93 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

St-Estèphe 2021 | Pauillac 2021 | St-Julien 2021| Pomerol 2021 | Pessac & Graves 2021 | St-Emilion 2021 |

See tasting notes and scores for the top Margaux 2021 in-bottle wines

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Château Margaux is primarily renowned for its esteemed red wines, but the First Growth estate has also produced a highly-rated white wine since the early 18th century.

The wine was named Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux in 1920, and it has earned rave reviews from critics in recent years.

Jane Anson gave the 2017 Pavillon Blanc a perfect 100-point score in Decanter, and Rebecca Gibb MW awarded it 98 points. Georgina Hindle described Pavillon Blanc 2018 as ‘extremely impressive’ after awarding it 96 points.

Château Margaux has become increasingly discerning when selecting which grapes to use for its Pavillon Blanc bottlings.

The estate now often uses less than half of its Sauvignon Blanc harvest to create the wines after conducting ‘extensive analysis and understanding of the different soils in the plots of white grapes’.

However, the winemaking team decided that the remaining grapes were too good to waste.

The estate determined that ‘the second selection was of such high quality’ that it decided to bottle Pavillon Blanc Second Vin, starting with the 2022 vintage.

It is just the fifth white wine released by Château Margaux in the past five centuries.

Only 8,000 bottles of Pavillon Blanc Second Vin were produced from this initial vintage, as 2022 was the hottest and driest year on record for Château Margaux.

Yields were among the lowest in the estate’s history, but the intense heatwaves led to ‘an amazing vintage producing wines with aromatic complexity and concentration’, according to Château Margaux.

Pavillon Blanc Second Vin is said to have a complex and floral nose, leading to a creamy palate balanced by a fresh, saline finish.

The wine will be available soon at specialist retailers. It can be enjoyed in youth, but it will also age harmoniously for at least 20 years.

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Corinne Mentzelopoulos has decided to retire from her position as CEO of Chateau Margaux’s holding company after 43 years in charge, and the reins will now be formally passed to the next generation.

Her son, Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, 30, will take over as head of Château Margaux. He joined the Bordeaux first growth in 2020 as business development director, before being appointed deputy general manager in charge of strategy and development in September 2021.

His sister, Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos, will become president of the holding company’s supervisory board. She has spent the past 11 years as part of the estate team, first as brand ambassador, and then deputy managing director of communication and image since 2016.

Decanter jointly spoke to both Alexis and Alexandra about the new structure and what the future holds for Château Margaux.

‘It’s big news of course, after 43 years of management by my mother,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos said.

‘Château Margaux was her life and her passion, but recently she’s been a bit less hands-on in some ways on a daily basis, and of course one of our objectives from the very beginning was for it to stay in the family.

‘We’re one of the only ones at this level to be owned by so few family members [some wine estates have a large group of extended family members and other parties as shareholders].’

He added, ‘We have a second sister who is not involved but is also a shareholder, so it’s really the continuation of the family business – my mother will in someway stay involved and continue to be aware of what’s going on because she’s passionate about it, and I’ll be happy to tell her the big news that is going on.’

Leven-Mentzelopoulos said there wouldn’t be any significant changes in the immediate future and confirmed that the existing winemaking and technical teams will remain in place.

‘We have our amazing terroir, which of course stays the same, we have a fantastic technical team, which my mother put in place and which we’ll be relying on – all the team will stay the same. The moment is to respect Château Margaux and to continue to produce a great wine each year.

‘Every management is different and every generation sees things a bit differently, so in that respect this will be a change but the passion of Margaux is the same and as for the quality of the wine, we’ll do everything we can to make sure that stays the same.’

‘There’s a lot of pressure…but it’s a dream come true’

When asked if he feels any pressure taking up the helm at such a young age, he replied: ‘There’s a lot of pressure, it’s a huge amount of responsibility, especially when you’re so young, right? I’m 30 years old, but at the same time, even more than some pressure, it’s determination. I’m very motivated and I feel there’s no choice other than to make it work.

‘Château Margaux needs it, the team needs it, every wine lover that loves Château Margaux wants it to continue to work so well, so of course there’s responsibility, I totally realise that. A lot of things are waiting for me, but it’s a dream come true.’

With the estate at the top of its game in terms of prestige, reputation and wine quality, Leven-Mentzelopoulos finds that although it’s perhaps an easier job than it was in the 1980s, there are still modern-day challenges that will need addressing.

‘The big difference between when my mother took over at 27 years old in 1980 was it was at time when Château Margaux was just emerging from the major economical and qualitative crisis – she had a lot more to do in some ways,’ he said.

‘Every generation has its own dilemmas to deal with’

‘When I inherited it today, it could hardly be in a better state – the wines are amazing, financially people are willing to purchase the wines at expensive prices, so in this sense we’re very privileged, but of course there are some new matters and subjects that will have to be put on the table which my mother didn’t have to deal with.’

Leven-Mentzelopoulos highlighted climate change, sustainability, and being more responsible and respectful of the environment and the impact of production.

He also cited the different style of consumers who might be moving away from high-end wines, plus the emergence and expansion of other wine regions around the world, placing Margaux in a more competitive climate; ‘certain topics that didn’t really exist in the 1980s,’ he said.

‘Every generation has its own dilemmas to deal with. I still feel we’re in a more secure environment compared to what my mother had to deal with in 1980. The idea is not to stand on our laurels, it’s always trying to improve and perfect what can be done, and this is what my mother has always been doing.

‘There’s a big difference between on the one hand, respecting the terroir and understanding that this Château has been here for 500 years and that you should definitely not feel that you’re suddenly arriving and know better than all the previous generations. You’re not here to revolutionise anything, but at the same time you cannot just stay the same and say that the wine is great and it will stay that way.

‘So, it’s about finding the balance between inheriting the knowhow and looking upwards and dealing with the present times. Along with my sister, I am firmly committed to continuing the family objective of making Château Margaux one of the greatest wines in the world.’

Speaking about her new role, Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos said: ‘Alexis will be the one in charge on a day-to-day basis, he will be the one hands-on, and this is something I profoundly support. He’s been doing an amazing job over the last few years and has been much more involved than I’ve been.’

Since becoming a mother of two, Petit-Mentzelopoulos has ‘stepped aside a little’, but ‘a love for Margaux’ meant she wanted to stay involved – albeit in not such a 24-7 capacity.

The role will keep her in the company in a supervisory role, ‘giving support and maintaining a family running things together’, she said.

‘If we can hand the next generation an estate in 30 or 35 years which is as qualitative as it is now, it would be a great success,’ Leven-Mentzelopoulos said. His sister added, ‘We’ve been handed something amazing and transmission is definitely the goal.’

In a press statement sent out by the estate, Corinne Mentzelopoulos said: ‘I am deeply proud to see Alexis take over the reins of a company that I have managed for 43 years. It’s a natural progression in this great family adventure. With Alexandra at his side, his human and operational qualities will enable him to meet the challenges of the future and ensure that Château Margaux retains its position.

‘I have every confidence in the future of Château Margaux because I know that he will be able to continue the tradition of excellence that Château Margaux has maintained for five centuries, in a constant quest for progress and innovation.’

Château Margaux’s rise under the Mentzelopoulos family

The first growth estate was acquired by André Mentzelopoulos in 1977 and passed on to his daughter Corinne soon after, following his sudden death in 1980.

By 1986, it was reported that the money invested in the estate was equivalent to the funds used to buy it, some 70 million francs against a purchase price of 72 million francs.

Alongside a programme to replant vines more than 30 years old, famous Bordeaux wine professor and consultant Emile Peynaud worked for Margaux as an oenologist.

Meanwhile, reportedly on Peynaud’s recommendation, talented young winemaker Paul Pontallier had joined the estate in 1983. The Château Margaux 1983 wine went on to enter Decanter’s hall of fame as a Wine Legend.

A 75% stake in Château Margaux was initially sold in the early 1990s to the Agnelli family of Italy, founder of Fiat and owner of Juventus football club, but Corinne Mentzelopoulos retained full management of the first growth.

The Mentzepoulos family kept a minority stake in the property and subsequently repurchased the estate, becoming sole owner in 2003.

At the time, Decanter contributor Stephen Brook wrote: ‘Corinne Mentzelopoulos has been an impeccable custodian of Château Margaux for decades. She and (managing director) Paul Pontallier have created a golden age for this wonderful estate.

‘I expect wine lovers the world over will be delighted that sole ownership is now in her hands. There couldn’t be a better outcome.’

Paul Pontallier, who had become Château Margaux’s MD in 1990, passed away in 2016 aged 59. He spent his career at the first growth, forging a celebrated working partnership with Mentzelopoulos ‘that has never been surpassed, even by that of Jean-Bernard or Jean-Philippe Delmas with Haut-Brion’, said the late, great wine critic Steven Spurrier in a tribute.

He was succeeded as MD by Philippe Bascaules, who had originally been hired by Pontallier in 1990 as estate director, remaining at Château Margaux for 21 years from 1990 until 2011. Bascaules left to run Francis Ford Coppola’s Inglenook Winery in Rutherford, Napa Valley, where he is still director of winemaking alongside his duties at Margaux.

He will continue in that capacity, supporting Leven-Mentzelopoulos, who is based equally between Bordeaux and Paris, and Alexandra, based in Paris.

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Château Margaux has long been an enigma to me. It has a very high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in its vineyards—more than any other first growth save Château Latour—and Cabernet often dominates the wine.

Both the 2000 and 2010 vintages are 90% Cabernet. Yet despite the preponderance of this grape, the word that springs most readily to mind in describing the wines of this château is ‘finesse’.

Scroll down to see Charles Curtis MW’s notes and scores for 17 vintages of Château Margaux

Château Margaux often strikes me as an eminently silky and approachable wine, in contrast to Latour, which seems more muscular and rough-hewn, particularly in its youth.

This ripeness may be down to the depth of the gravel beds, something the former director Paul Pontallier often emphasised. But gravel is typical in the Médoc, while the finesse of Château Margaux is altogether unique.

The birth of Château Margaux

It is thought that the estate dates to the 12th century; Penning-Rowsell says in The Wines of Bordeaux that it belonged to the English king Edward II, although I can find no corroboration for this. Vines were first planted by Pierre de Lestonnac in the late 16th century. By the end of the 17th century, it had attained its present size, and the property came to increasing prominence in the following century.

Early American presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams highly lauded the wine of Margaux after their visits in the 1780s. Confiscated during the Revolution, the château was sold several times during the 19th century and saw the turn of the 20th century as the property of banker Count Frédéric Pillet-Will, who emblazoned his name on the label at the time.

Under his administration, the château created the second wine, Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux. The estate now produces three separate bottlings, the grand vin, Pavillon Rouge and a straight Margaux. The selection for the grand vin is particularly severe.

The château ran into financial difficulties during the phylloxera crisis near the end of the Pillet-Will period, but the family was saved by an infusion of cash from the count’s son-in-law, Louis-Charles de La Trémoille. According to author Nicholas Faith, in his work on the château, La Trémoille resolved to sell the property after losing in the parliamentary elections, and the château was sold to a consortium of investors in 1921, organised by the courtier Pierre Moreau.

Among the purchasers was négociant Fernand Ginestet, whose importer in Saigon loaned him the funds to invest. The Ginestet family would increase their share gradually until they became the sole proprietors in 1950 under Fernand’s son Pierre.

At a previous tasting at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Geneva, I enjoyed two vintages from the Ginestet years, the 1928 and the 1949. Both still showed exceptionally well in 2012, and the 1928 was particularly youthful. Another famous vintage from the Ginestet tenure was the 1966, which I have enjoyed on several occasions and is still in form today.

Although the wines from the later years of this period have not always enjoyed the best reputation, there were undoubtedly memorable high points during the period. As at many châteaux, the years following the energy crisis and recession of the early 1970s were difficult, exacerbated by poor vintages in 1972, 1973 and 1974.

A first growth revival

The Ginestet family was forced to sell the jewel of their empire, although it took them several years to do so. My selection includes the 1978 vintage which was the first vintage completed after the acquisition of the estate by André Mentzelopoulos. His purchase marked the beginning of the true renaissance of Château Margaux. Mentzelopoulos invested greatly in the estate and hired the famous oenologist Emile Peynaud.

Mentzelopoulos was succeeded by his wife and daughter, Corinne, upon his death in 1980, and Corinne became the driving force at the château. She appointed the legendary Paul Pontallier in 1983 as oenologist. He later became the managing director and was the face of the château for 33 years until he passed away suddenly in 2016.

Today, Corinne Mentzelopoulos is still at the helm, joined by her daughter Alexandra and her son Alexis. The managing director is Philippe Bascaules, the technical director is Sébastien Vergne and the commercial director is Aurélien Valance.

Lay of the land

When I visited in 2000, the size of the estate was given as 262ha, nearly the same as in the 17th century. 78ha is planted to vines, with 66ha of black grapes and 12ha of Sauvignon Blanc.

Approaching the château from the south along the famous alley of ancient plane trees, one is surrounded by vineyards on every side, but most of the vineyards (and those most prized) lie behind the château to the north, on the gentle slopes overlooking the Gironde. There are two principal sites for the best grapes.

The walled clos of Le Cap de Haut is split between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, while the rocky confines of Le Puch Sem Peyre (‘well without stones’ in Gascon) are wholly devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Further to the west, the Sauvignon Blanc for Pavillon Blanc is planted in soils with more limestone, and there is a small amount of Cabernet Franc and some 60-year-old vines of Petit Verdot along the road to St-Julien.

The Cabernet is planted along the gravel mounds from whence came the original name of the property, La Mothe de Margaux, while the Merlot is planted where there is more clay, and ceramic drains are installed as needed.

There is even a small parcel called Les Brauzes along the border with Château Palmer that had a hard layer of clay which impeded drainage of this section, so much so that Mentzelopoulos had it excavated and replaced with earth from elsewhere on the estate. The property practises sustainable agriculture, mainly employing organic principles (although it is not certified) and does not use pesticides.

The grapes are picked when ripe, but not exaggeratedly so. Fermentation is done in a combination of oak and stainless-steel vats. After a fermentation that can approach four weeks, the finished wine is run into casks where it will age for up to two years before fining with egg whites and bottling.

The entire process is traditional, measured and balanced, and this harmony comes through in the finished wine. The beauty of Château Margaux is in its elegance, and this vertical tasting easily demonstrates how richly it merits its centuries of accolades.

How this vertical tasting was organised

As a companion to the soon-to-be-published vertical of Château Haut-Brion, host Mark Taylor (long-time fine wine collector and inventor of The Durand® – a patented, two part device that enables the removal of older and fragile wine corks whole and intact), treated us to the opportunity to luxuriate in the deliciously silken wines of Château Margaux. The preparations begin several hours before the start. Master Sommelier Michael McNeill and I open and taste the wines with the help of Ohio-based collector John Hames, looking for cork taint and other faults. We double-decant the younger wines to clean them of sediment and help them open up, then bag the wines and number them to protect their identity.

Moments before tasting (right after a glass of white Burgundy and a light snack), a phalanx of volunteers pours the wines, and we begin to ponder them. This year, however, we encountered a problem – one of the bottles of the 1982 vintage was oxidized and could not be served. In this instance, Mark Taylor would replace the bottle if possible, but he did not have a replacement for the 1982. We decided after much debate that we would open a bottle of the 1978 (the first vintage for the present owners), and half of the tasters would get the former and the other half, the latter.

The most striking aspect of this vertical tasting was the rock-solid consistency and quality of the wines under the Mentzelopoulos ownership. The 2000, 2009, and 2010 vintages understandably proved to be high points. The only disappointment (if any) was the 2004 vintage, a notoriously challenging one in Bordeaux.

I do not mean to say the wines do not evolve, since I have had the 1990 vintage on many occasions, and it has changed over time. This year it seemed more solid, firm, and almost more youthful than it has in the past, when it has seemed voluptuous and approachable. The evidence of this tasting suggests that prudent collectors would wait for the 2010, 2009, 2006, and 2003 vintages. The delightfully accessible 2002 vintage and all those produced before it seem ready to drink.

My sense is that the monumental 1982 still has a long future before it, while the 1978, though delightful now, should be enjoyed sooner rather than later.

See Charles Curtis MW’s notes and scores of 17 Château Margaux wines

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At Château Lascombes during Bordeaux en primeur week in April 2023, Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy Jr (MS) and I were sitting on a saggy, slightly dingy sofa in a reception room.

‘This couch will have to go,’ he says, laughing, but his frown told me replacing it was already on a list.

He’s the detail-minded, ambitious 38-year-old managing partner of Lawrence Wine Estates, founded five years ago by American billionaire Gaylon Lawrence Jr, who is now a major player in the US wine world.

In 2022, the pair acquired their first Bordeaux property: Château Lascombes in Margaux, a second growth in the 1855 Classification.

On the vast lawn outside was a hint of the future. The Château was hosting the official Union des Grands Crus 2022 en primeur trade tasting for the Margaux appellation and a fancy glassed-in structure welcomed attendees for lunch.

Given this was the new ownership’s first official tasting, it signalled that Lawrence intends to be visibly active in the Bordeaux community and brings the personal commitment and financial resources to upgrade an estate that needs both.

Buyer background

McCoy and Lawrence already have a track record in Napa for innovation and quality that bodes well for Château Lascombes’ future.

Lawrence snapped up the historic Heitz Cellar in 2018, hired Master Sommelier McCoy, and since then they’ve purchased and revamped iconic estates Stony Hill and Burgess Cellars (both 2020); created wineries for storied Napa vineyards Ink Grade (spun-off from Heitz) and Haynes (bought in 2019); and launched less-expensive brand Brendel (2021) as well as an import/négociant firm, Demeine Estates (2020).

Burgess Cellars Cabernet shows the most immediate style change, with the 2021 far more precise and transparent than the winery’s previous richer, more rustic wines.

‘With Château Lascombes, we’re taking our time,’ says McCoy. ‘We come here humbly and excited. But also with principles: we won’t go on a path just to please people.’

They’re keeping most of the team, as well as consultant Michel Rolland, who has been there since 2001 and, as McCoy explains, ‘has lots of experience with the Château.’

New CEO Axel Heinz, hired after they interviewed 20 candidates, will lead the new direction. Famous for his tenure at Italy’s SuperTuscan estates Ornellaia and Masseto, he arrives this summer and will oversee the 2023 harvest.

Understanding the terroir

McCoy and Lawrence have been strategising since last year. The vineyard was the first focus, says McCoy.

In one day, the duo covered the estate’s 120 hectares (296 acres) in Margaux and 10 hectares (24 acres) in the Haut-Médoc appellation, walking and assessing each plot.

A map from the previous ownership showed which had received the most inputs of time and energy and the ones whose grapes always went into the grand vin.

‘But we’re taking a blank slate, farming everything with the same care, even in the Haut-Médoc,’ says McCoy. ‘We have to start by being great farmers. And if you’re not looking one metre down, it’s meaningless.’

Which is why one of the first steps was to enlist Bordeaux terroir whisperer Xavier Choné to analyse the vineyards.

It’s a complicated task, because this very large estate includes just about every soil type in the Margaux appellation. The goal is to earmark certain blocks that weren’t performing well to try and understand why.

Where to replant and experiments with different forms of trellising are on the list. There’s a cycle of learning with vines, and McCoy believes it takes a decade of working with a vineyard to understand it.

Among the challenges is understanding the climate, which is very different from California.

McCoy brings knowledge of dealing with drought and wildfires, but Bordeaux doesn’t have Napa’s shift between cool nights and hot days. Luckily, Heinz grew up in Bordeaux, studied at the University of Bordeaux, and worked at various properties there early in his career.

Future style

The future wine style will include more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, and maybe a slightly less voluptuous profile.

‘We’re not Right Bank people,’ McCoy hastens to tell me. ‘We want less Merlot. We like structure and freshness. Soft wines don’t age. When you’re blending, you need to build a frame like a house.’

Structure, he believes, is what people look for in a Bordeaux grand vin. One plan is to plant more Cabernet on clay.

At this year’s en primeur tastings, the Château Lascombes 2022 blend showed a big shift with 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, compared to 55% in 2020 and 2021. The remainder comprises 30% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot to round out the blend.

Too much of the latter, McCoy says, ‘risks rusticity in the wine’. The 2022 isn’t a finished wine yet, though, and they might change the blend further.

Expect less new oak influence. Neither McCoy nor Lawrence like a heavy oak taste, and the 2022 is slated to use only 60% new oak. In the past, some vintages saw 100% new oak, though in recent years it was reduced to about 70%. The new owners plan experiments with larger wooden foudres, too.

Another factor that bodes well for the future is that Lawrence Wine Estates is family-owned.

Lascombes was in the hands of institutions for several decades. Sold by Alexis Lichine and a handful of US investors in the 1970s to British brewing company Bass-Charrington, it was then bought by US-based investment firm Colony Capital, which sold to MACSF, a French-based medical insurance company in 2011.

McCoy says they are dreaming bigger when it comes to quality, and the team reduced the amount of grand vin in 2022 by nearly half from its typical 30,000 cases.

In Napa, a winery’s single vineyard often defines the wine’s character. That’s not the case for Lascombes. Like other estates in Margaux, its plots of vines are dispersed over several communes.

‘We need to define Lascombes’ identity and terroir better,’ says McCoy, ‘with the goal of telling the story of Margaux.’

He calls 2022 ‘a great vintage’. The reception among critics to Lascombes’ barrel samples ranged wide, with some calling it overextracted and modern, others sumptuous, flamboyant, and velvety. I found the grand vin bold and powerful, with lush fruit, a silky texture, and definite oak but with more refinement and polish than in the past.

But McCoy isn’t worried. ‘I don’t care what the score is. I can’t be concerned about that. We’re thinking 10 years on after hyperfocus. The question is what kind of wine Lascombes will be in 20 years.’

For now, all eyes will be on the 2023 vintage with harvests across the region expected to start in the middle of September.

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Margaux 2022

Average yield:

• Average yield 31.3hl/ha, -21.2% relative to the 10-year average of 39.7hl/ha.
• In 2021 the yield was 38.6hl/ha. An increase of 8% from 2020.

Rainfall during the vintage in mm and % relative to the 10 year average

• Pre-budburst (Nov-March) 380.9mm (-22.8%)
• Véraison to harvest (August-October) 58.5mm (-53.0%).
• Total: 801.7mm (-12.3%)

What you find from the 2022 wines

A firm favourite appellation of mine in 2022 with so many delicious, charming, plush and round wines.

Estates on water retentive terroirs that got harvest dates and vinification temperatures right produced some of the best wines in their respective histories.

It’s clear from yields that the appellation suffered from the heat and drought – especially young vines – and given the size of the appellation there are variances in style and quality, but the best are both incredibly drinkable and ageable.

Both Cabernet and Merlot fared well however and there are plenty of old vines to be found in the blends adding complexity and character.

See tasting notes and scores for all 48 Margaux 2022 wines

Top picks:

• Château Château Margaux
• Château Brane-Cantenac
• Château Rauzan-Ségla
• Château Palmer
• Château Durfort-Vivens
• Château d’Issan
• Château Ferrière
• Château Monbrison
• Château Giscours
• Château Cantenac Brown
  
• Château Angluet
• Château Labégorce
• Château Marquis d’Alesme
  

See the top-scoring Margaux 2022 en primeur wines

Search all Bordeaux 2022 en primeur ratings published so far

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

Axel Heinz, the longtime director of Ornellaia and Masseto, is leaving Tuscany for Bordeaux to take up a new position at Château Lascombes, classified second growth in Margaux.

It was announced yesterday (23rd March), that Heinz was stepping down as estate director at Ornellaia and Masseto. His role will officially come to an end this summer.

Heinz joined the Bolgheri estate in 2005. His 18-year tenure was marked by ‘massive development and success’ said CEO Giovanni Geddes, which, he added, were due to ‘Axel’s professionalism and technical, communicative and human abilities’.

The President of Marchesi Frescobaldi, Lamberto Frescobaldi, added that a ‘strong team will remain at Ornellaia and Masseto, which has worked side-by-side with Axel for many productive years’.

Heinz added: ‘It has been an incredible honour to contribute to the success of Ornellaia and Masseto in these years and I’d like to thank Giovanni Geddes and the Frescobaldi family for this invaluable journey. I have had the chance to manage these astonishing vineyards and two innovative wineries, which have allowed us to bottle the fruits from a terroir that expresses all the elegance of the Mediterranean. Now the moment has come to return to France. Bolgheri, Ornellaia and Masseto will always remain in my heart.’

Today, 24th March, it was announced that Heinz would be joining Château Lascombes as estate director in time to oversee the 2023 harvest.

Lawrence Wine Estates acquired the property in November of last year, with promises to ‘spare no expense to ensure we bring it to its full potential’.

CEO Carlton McCoy said of the new appointment: ‘Axel is a master of his art and the work he accomplished while in charge of Ornellaia and Masseto drove the reputation of these already well-regarded estates to new heights.

‘I am delighted to work with Axel to help Château Lascombes reach its full potential and make it one of the greatest domains in the world.’

The move appears a natural fit for Heinz. Not only is he well acquainted with the soil types and grape varieties – especially Merlot – that Bolgheri and Bordeaux share, but his mother was from the region; he grew up there, studied at the University of Bordeaux and took his first oenological roles at estates in the Médoc and Saint-Emilion.

Heinz commented: ‘I am happy and honoured to be joining Château Lascombes. After 18 years in Tuscany, it is time to come home. With Gaylon Lawrence and Carlton, I have every intention of creating the next great chapter for this historic Bordeaux domain.’

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A strong showing for Margaux in 2020 that battled with difficult growing conditions like much of the Left Bank, with estates battling with climatic extremes and dealing with drought the best they could.

Estates on clay-gravels performed well and those that harvested grapes at full maturity from the middle of September were generally successful.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Margaux 2020 in-bottle wines

Careful extraction was also necessary in 2020, so calm and relaxed vinifications were also key to attaining elegance with no harshness.

Margaux had an average yield of 36.3hl/ha in 2020. This compares to 37.4hl/ha in 2018 and 49.2hl/ha in 202 with a 10-year-average of 41.2hl/ha.

For Claire Villers-Lurton at Château Ferrière, 3ème Grand Cru Classé, Margaux, 2020 is a ‘big vintage’, with ‘quite a lot of austerity compared to 2019. But, it’s rich and pure – one of the best vintages I’ve ever had.

‘There are lots of tannins in 2020 but the wines are supple, well balanced and complete. I think it’s a great vintage.’

Lurton makes some comparison with 2010 in terms of power and stucture, but says ‘the vines are different and the winemaking is different – we decided to do much more slower extractions in 2020 to ensure we produced smoother wines’.

At Durfort-Vivens, Gonzague Lurton noted the ‘small, rich and concentrated crop’. For him, ‘2020 is in between 2018 and 2019 in terms of style, richer and more full bodied than the 2019 but more freshness than 2018.’

‘Ten years ago we might have worried about producing heavy wines from sunny vintages but we have balance and freshness here’.

For Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, business development director and deputy general manager at Bordeaux first growth Château Margaux, 2020 was a dream vintage in the end producing a wine of statuesque quality. ‘I can’t imagine making a better wine that 2020,’ he explained during a tasting at the property, ‘except perhaps for 2022’ he added.

Top 4 Margaux 2020 wines:

Château Margaux, (1er Cru Classé) 99 points

Château Rauzan-Ségla, (2ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Palmer, (3ème Cru Classé) 98 points

Château Brane-Cantenac, (2ème Cru Classé) 97 points

SCORE TABLE: top-scoring 349 wines with 92 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

St-Estèphe 2020| St-Julien 2020| Pauillac 2020 | Pessac & Graves 2020 | St-Emilion 2020 | Pomerol 2020 | 

See all Bordeaux 2020 in-bottle wines in score order

See tasting notes and scores for the top Margaux 2020 in-bottle wines

The following wines all scored 93 points or above. 

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Château Lascombes, the Margaux-based second growth in Bordeaux’s 1855 Classification, has become the first winery in Europe to be acquired by Lawrence Wine Estates, which already owns top Napa wineries Heitz Cellar, Burgess Cellars and Stony Hill.

The group was established by the Lawrence family, led by US entrepreneur Gaylon Lawrence, alongside managing partner and Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy Jr (MS).

‘We are honoured to become the new stewards of such a historical estate,’ said Lawrence. ‘This chateau has some of the greatest vineyards in Margaux and our family looks forward to caring for Château Lascombes for many generations to come.’

Financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed. Insurance group MACSF – Mutuelle d’Assurance du Corps de Santé Français – has owned Lascombes for the past 11 years and retains a minority stake in the estate, Lawrence Wine Estates said.

‘We will spare no expense’

‘Château Lascombes is the largest estate in Margaux,’ said McCoy Jr. ‘With such exceptional vineyard holdings, we are confident that we can craft some of the most exceptional wines in the region and we have full confidence that [technical director] Delphine Barboux can achieve this.’

He added, ‘Château Lascombes is a special place, and we will spare no expense to ensure that we bring it to its full potential.’

Lascombes has around 100 hectares of vineyards, including a gravelly outcrop planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, a block of clay-gravel with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as clay-limestone plots planted to Merlot, Lawrence Wine Estates said.

It noted that the estate traces its history to the 17^th century, when Jean de Lascombes bought the Segonnes estate in Margaux in 1681, naming it after himself and building up the vineyard holdings.

More recently, it credited MACSF and Dominique Befve, who it said had managed the property since 2001, with land acquisitions, renovations and ‘undoubtedly furthering the wine quality and hospitality experiences’ at the estate.

The Lawrence family bought historic Napa Valley winery Heitz Cellar in 2018, with Carlton McCoy Jr MS coming on board as CEO.

Together, the partners then acquired Burgess Cellars and Stony Hill in 2020 and 2021 respectively, among other vineyard properties: their portfolio also includes Brendel and Ink Grade, as well as Demeine Estates, which is described as a Napa-based ‘producer, importer and marketer of the world’s finest wines’.

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Despite incredible sweeping views of the New York skyline from the tasting room, located on the 60th floor of Manhattan in New York’s financial district, all eyes were firmly focused on the eight tasting glasses of Château Margaux wines.

Some of the 80-strong crowd for this special masterclass at Decanter’s inaugural New York Fine Wine Encounter had flown in to take part, and to say a personal hello to the host, Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the eight Château Margaux wines in the masterclass

The wines were generously provided by Château Margaux to showcase all of the estate’s strengths. Attendees got to taste:

• iconic white wine Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux from the 2018 vintage;
• the relatively rare third wine, Margaux de Château Margaux, from 2015;
• the 2010 vintage of the estate’s second wine, Pavillon Rouge;
• five incredible vintages of the grand vin itself, Château Margaux 2004, 2009, 1995, 1989 and 1985.

Château Margaux: a brief history

This estate traces its roots back to the 12th century, when it was known as La Mothe de Margaux, and began to take shape as we know it today in the 16th century, so it’s no surprise to learn that there have been many owners.

First managed by a series of wealthy lords, Olive de Lestonnac bought the ‘Maison Noble’ of Lamothe Margaux in 1610. Her father, Pierre de Lestonnac, is credited with having planted the first vines at the property in the second half of the 16th century.

From there, it became one of the nascent elite wine producers of Bordeaux, on a path that would eventually lead to it being named a First Growth in the 1855 classification. The estate’s 1771 vintage was the first claret to appear in a Christie’s auction house catalogue.

Fast-forward to the 20th century, and the modern era began with a prescient purchase in the 1970s.

A fact few people may know is that Chateau Margaux was on sale for two years in the 1970s before it was purchased by Alexis’ grandfather, André Mentzelopoulos, in 1977.

According to oft-told family stories, he saw an ad that the estate was for sale in the Financial Times while travelling from the UK to France. ‘Because of the difficult financial situations at the time, nobody really wanted it,’ Alexis says.

‘He had the genius move to see the potential; he went to check it out for himself, immediately fell in love and bought it. Of course he also understood the great amount of investment that he would have to put in to really bring back Château Margaux to the top, to the place it was worthy of.’

Renovations in the vineyard and cellar quickly followed, as well as on the estate’s iconic chateau building itself, ‘which was entirely restored’.

Alexis says the 1978 vintage that was recognised as great at the time was due to both the beneficial climatic conditions of the year and the efficiency of his work. ‘In a very short amount of time he was really able to restore the quality of the wines and the reputation of the estate.’

André passed away in 1980, ‘way too early to witness the renaissance of Château Margaux’, and his daughter, Corinne, took over and still owns the estate today. It remains the only First Growth to be solely dedicated to one property.

The current generation now leads the way, with brother and sister duo at the helm; Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos came onboard in 2020 as deputy general manager, strategy and development, while Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos was appointed deputy managing director, communication and image, in 2016.

So what is it like being born into a First Growth family? ‘It’s a huge privilege’ Alexis says.

‘Very young as a child you get a sense of how extraordinary the place is. You’re too young to understand winemaking and the history, but the way people react around the wines and the estate, you realise that it’s something very special and you want to be a part of it.’

Château Margaux terroir

One of the most unique and interesting aspects is that Château Margaux is one of the few vineyards in Bordeaux to have remained relatively unchanged for centuries, retaining the same area under vine today as in 1700.

There are 82 hectares (ha) dedicated to red wine grape varieties, and 11ha for white. The remaining 169ha consists of gardens, forest, Château buildings and a lake.

This doesn’t mean, however, that things have stood still. Under the current family ownership, significant investment was put into the property in the 1980s.

More recently, a new winery was designed and opened in 2015, increasing the capacity for precision viticulture by adding more vats, to give better options for individual-site vinification and so further encourage expressions of both the vintage and the terroir.

Completed by Lord Norman Foster, it includes the ‘Foster Room’ for tasting and a wine library that houses the estate’s oldest bottle dating back to 1848 – not one that Alexis has tasted, yet.

‘We’re now much more precise,’ he says, highlighting stricter grape selection at harvest (200 pickers make a first selection in the vines before fruit reaches the winery) and when it comes to deciding the final blend.

Teams have also grown at the estate over the years, with staff dedicated to research & development, logistics, commercialisation & sales, and more recently a department focused solely on sustainability.

Margaux is also one of the only Bordeaux estates to still produce a portion of its own barrels, around a quarter in total, from an on-site cooperage.

The estate still works with six other barrel makers to ‘have complexity’, but Alexis maintains the importance of keeping the barrel making tools and know-how, especially if there are ever accidents in the cellar. ‘A barrel of Château Margaux that leaks gets very expensive very quickly,’ he tells the masterclass audience in a humorous tone.

Château Margaux at a glance

Planted vineyard: 82 hectares (ha) red, 11ha white

Planted to red: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% split between Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Average age of 35 years.

Planted to white: 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Average age of 40 years.

Second wine: Pavillon Rouge Established: 16th century

Owner: Corinne Mentzelopoulos, her daughter Alexandra and son Alexis (second and third generation); family in place since 1977.

General manager: Philippe Bascaules, arrived in 2017.

Technical director: Sébastien Verne.

Consultant: Eric Boissenot

Winemaking: Margaux is made in a mix of traditional oak casks and stainless steel vats, with space set aside for extensive research and development facilities – a micro-vinification area with vats that go down to 25 hectolitres. In the vineyards, organic farming has been in place since 2012, with a flock of sheep providing an alternative weeding method.

Wines in this tasting

White wine: Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux

Produced for more than 300 years and always made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc from a plot of around 12ha, but the wine first took this name in 1920 and has had the same label since then.

‘Our objective is to make a wine that is very concentrated and mature but at the same time elegant and fresh, to have acidity but also fatness,’ says Alexis.

Terroir, age of the vines and accurate picking dates all combine to create the final product, along with strict selection, says Alexis.

He revealed that only one third of the wine ends up as Pavillon Blanc, totalling around 1,000 cases. ‘We used to produce more so there may be a case for introducing a second white for the qualitative leftover white wine in the future,’ he hints.

Pavillon Blanc is such a singular style that combines minerality from the proximity to the river and acidity that gives the refreshing appeal, delicious when young but also has real ageing potential.

‘Sometimes we have the occasion to taste some older Pavillon Blancs from the ’80s,’ Alexis says. ‘Of course, there’s less acidity, less straightforwardness, but just the aromas and the texture of the wine becomes beautiful.’

He adds, ‘It’s often nice to finish a tasting with the Pavillon Blanc, to leave the room with the freshness and acidity in the mouth. But given the 1985 on the table today we’d rather that was the lasting impression.’

Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 2018

Third wine: Margaux du Château Margaux

The first vintage was 2009, before which the wine that was not used for the first or second wine was sold in bulk.

‘In 2009 we had an exceptional vintage where we made a strict selection to keep the best for the grand vin and Pavillon Rouge, and we really believed that the remaining wine was way too good to be sold as regular bulk wine,’ Alexis says.

It offers a more accessible way into the Château Margaux stable and is aimed at a younger drinker for earlier consumption.

‘We could have put more into the grand vin but we thought this was the better way to go,’ Alexis adds.

Margaux du Château Margaux is not sold via the en primeur system and instead is released onto the market when it’s ready to be drunk. The 2015 is the current vintage, being sold mostly via restaurants.

As an aside, Alexis adds that 2015 was an ‘exceptional vintage for Bordeaux but also an emotional vintage for the estate’.

It was the year where the label for the grand vin was changed for the first time. Alongside the new Lord Foster-designed cellar, 2015 marked the 200-year anniversary of the Château, originally designed by architect Louis Combes with work completed in 1815.

It was also the last vintage of Château Margaux’s late winemaker and general manager, Paul Pontallier, who passed away in 2016. ‘So, a lot of history for us’, he said.

Margaux du Château Margaux 2015

Second wine: Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux

This wine has been in production since the 17th century, and adopted this name permanently in 1908. It’s not made from specific plots but always with the idea of ‘increasing the level of quality from the first wine’, Alexis says.

Because of the selection process, some plots that were previously producing grapes for the grand vin are now part of the Pavillon Rouge make-up.

‘So, in some ways,’ Alexis said, ‘we have a Château Margaux that is on another level compared to what we had 20 or 30 years ago, and we really have a Pavillon Rouge that is at the same level or very close to the Château Margaux we had 20 or 30 years ago.’

He concedes that it doesn’t have the same character, but the aromas and the combination of concentration and power with elegance and freshness are similar. ‘It’s a wine that can open up and be drunk usually earlier but at the same time has ageing potential,’ said Alexis.

There is no recipe for the blend at Château Margaux; all the grapes grown have the potential to go into the grand vin and as such will all be vinified with that in mind. Final blends are decided via several tasting sessions looking for quality of mouthfeel.

‘Nothing is decided before the harvest and there is no set plan,’ said Alexis, but he concluded that ‘Cabernet Sauvignon is at the heart of what we do, planted to 75% in the vineyards’, adding, ‘at the proper level of maturity these grapes provide the ultimate expression of terroir and elegance’.

There is an ageing difference, versus the grand vin, with the Pavillon Rouge aged in 60% new oak for 20 months.

Bordeaux’s 2010 vintage is considered one of the greats overall. Alexis said the vintage expresses itself very well, a bit like 2015 and 2009. ‘Dry but a bit [of a] cooler vintage, so it has more freshness and acidity. It needs more time to open up but has elegance and precision in terms of aromas and texture.’

Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux 2010

Château Margaux: the grand vin

At Château Margaux, the first wine usually represents about one third of the crop. It’s a Cabernet Sauvignon-led blend with Merlot (between 5% and 10%), Petit Verdot (about 2%), and Cabernet Franc (about 2%). Ageing takes place in 100% new oak for 20 to 22 months. ‘[Because] our wines have the capacity to digest it, it’s beneficial,’ Alexis says.

The vintages

Alexis on Château Margaux 2009:

An exceptional vintage, said Alexis, and one that ‘Paul Pontallier said couldn’t be better – that was until 2010 arrived’.

The season was dry but relatively warm with some plots that had hydric stress. The subsequent wine has deep concentration, a bit like 2005, but great freshness and texture that Alexis likens to the 1990 vintage. He says 2009 is currently more charming and open than 2010, but the latter might take the lead in future.

‘A wine that we love and one that is only at the beginning,’ he says of the Château Margaux 2009. ‘It’s giving so much pleasure now but will gain so much more complexity and depth in the years to come. That’s the magic of the wines that we do. We don’t only make wine to age, we make wine that can get better in time.’

This was also the first vintage that used gravity technology to fill the vats after harvest.

Alexis said the winemaking team don’t try to make a specific style and a lot of elements are decided at fermentation. ‘We don’t want to extract too much, we want the terroir to express itself, always to have an elegance which comes from being careful with extraction in the cellar.

‘Then we have the blending – we’re just looking to make the best wine possible, the one that brings the most pleasure based on what the terroir has offered that year.’

If there was a grand vin signature, Alexis said it would be the perfumed elements that come from Château Margaux and the softness of the tannins.

‘We hear sometimes that Château Margaux has less tannins than some of the other First Growths but that’s not true at all, the difference is how incorporated they are.’

Chateau Margaux, Margaux Premier Grand Cru Classe 2009

Château Margaux 2004

Alexis says Margaux 2004 ‘really represents perfectly the style of Château Margaux’. So much so that he jokingly told the crowd, ‘If you don’t like the 2004, I’m wondering how you’re going to like any vintages of Château Margaux.’

There was no excess in temperatures or rain throughout the year. It’s a wine of extreme concentration but also a wine that was drinkable very early in its life – ‘a very young adult’, Alexis says.

The only problem with 2004 is that it comes after 2003 and before 2005, which were both remarkable vintages in their own right, he says.

The 2005 is considered to be a more prestigious vintage, but it takes longer to open up, he says. In various recent blind tastings between 2004 and 2005, Alexis says the preference is unanimously for 2004 simply because it is more charming and pleasurable [at its current stage]. The 2005 is so powerful, while the 2004 is more charming and brings pleasure, he says.

Chateau Margaux, Margaux Premier Grand Cru Classe 2004

Château Margaux 1995

Alexis describes 1995 as a great vintage with heat, drought and important hydric stress in the summer – although a lot of plots suffered, especially the younger vines.

There was some rain during the harvest, more than in 2004, but the rain was useful in helping the grapes reach optimal maturity and adding some freshness, he says. It also taught the team to be a little less scared of rain during or just before harvest, he adds.

The wine has bigger shoulders compared to 2004, with a more impressive tannic structure that needed a lot of time to open up, he says. ‘Five or 10 years ago, this wine wouldn’t have given as much pleasure as it did today.’

To compare with other 1990s vintages, Alexis says the biggest vintages are 1991 – almost as good as 1990, 1995 and 1996, which he says are ‘delicious’, and 1997 ‘which is considered to be a less prestigious vintage but at Margaux it’s lovely’ and the ‘elegant’ 1999.

Chateau Margaux, Margaux Premier Grand Cru Classe 1995

Château Margaux 1989

This was a vintage where the team saw a lot of heat and drought. ‘If you look at the climatic conditions of the year it was optimal from A-Z,’ Alexis says.

There was ‘not one drop of water during the harvest’, he says. ‘Extremely concentrated, [it’s] a wine that took a long time to open, a bit austere at first.’

He adds, ‘We harvested the reds early in 1989, [and] the first parcels around the 10 September, which is extremely rare for Château Margaux – so rare in fact that the only vintage which could compare for a similar date was in 1893.

‘We love the 1989 and like to share it at tasting, but it still has so many years in front of it. If you have some ’89 in your cellar don’t be in a hurry to open them all,’ he tells the audience.

Chateau Margaux, Margaux Premier Grand Cru Classe 1989

Château Margaux 1985

Being the same vintage as Alexandra’s birthday, Alexis revealed they ‘don’t have many 1985s left’, and the wines we have are ‘closely guarded’ – giving masterclass guests an extra special treat.

‘It’s a wine I don’t get to taste a lot but one that I’m very happy to share here. Every time I’ve tasted it, I’ve never been disappointed by it. It is less concentrated than 1989, it has more finesse and is more discrete in a way. So smooth and one that was ready to drink almost straight away. It shows that we can make wines at Margaux that can age even if they weren’t from super powerful vintages.’

He adds, ‘In 1985 we weren’t as selective as we are today, or as precise or careful, and yet we have this wine that is so wonderful.’

A fitting lasting impression from such an excellent masterclass.

Chateau Margaux, Margaux Premier Grand Cru Classe 1985

The future for Margaux

Alongside the tasting, a fascinating discovery at the masterclass was the amount of trials and experiments going on at Château Margaux.

Looking to the future and in relation to global warming, Alexis said the estate team is planting a little bit more Cabernet Franc and just starting to see some plots of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc planted 20 years ago entering the blend of Pavillon Rouge.

The estate is also planting a few rows each of Carménère and Malbec.

Alexis said the team is keen to see how these grapes ‘react to the terroir’, although he said ‘you won’t see Carménère in the grand vin before a very long time, it just may be part of the solution’.

There are also many other projects. The estate’s R&D team takes centre stage here and has been working on different rootstocks and biodynamic trials in the vineyards, as well as different vinification and ageing techniques in the winery – and even different corks when it comes to bottling.

‘We are proud of our history and our know-how but we always want to question ourselves and never rest on our laurels,’ says Alexis. ‘We want to improve and perfect what can be done.’

He says there are almost 10,000 bottles of experimental wines currently sitting in the Chateau Margaux cellars.

However, he says, ‘If we decide to change something, it won’t be for marketing or following the fashion, we’ll do it because we’re 100% sure of the results and because of the experiments behind us.’

He adds, ‘The objective is to balance our traditional know-how with modern day technology. For the first wine 20-30 years ago we produced approximately 200,000-250,000 bottles, whereas now it’s between 100,000 and 120,000.

‘When you think of the amazing vintages like 1982, 75% of the harvest in those days went into the grand vin, [and] all the rest in Pavillon Rouge. So imagine what the wines we’re producing today will be like in 30 or 40 years, the great vintages, with such a high level of selection – they will be on another level. All we have to do is be patient.’

See tasting notes and scores for the Château Margaux masterclass wines

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Producer profile: Château MargauxNEW: Regional profile: MargauxBordeaux: The five first growthsHow the 2005 Bordeaux first growths taste nowBordeaux first growths: How the 2000 vintage tastes now

Both Mouton and Margaux 2021 were released en primeur at €420 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, down 2.8% on the 2020-vintage debut last year, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

While the market dynamics vary between these two First Growths, their 2021 grands vins were being sold en primeur as the cheapest of the last four vintages – below current prices on 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Merchants were offering Mouton 2021 and Margaux 2021 at £5,100 (12x75cl in bond).

Initial signs suggested there was buyer interest in both, even if the Bordeaux 2021 en primeur campaign as a whole has been mixed so far.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Margaux 2021 97 points, putting it among her highest-scoring reds of a tricky vintage. ’Definitely one of the most thrilling and captivating wines of the vintage,’ she wrote.

Analyst group Wine Lister said Château Margaux’s strong appeal and the relative discount versus the previous two vintages might be enough to tempt buyers.

‘Both the 2020 and 2019 vintages have seen their price rise significantly post-release (15% and 57% respectively),’ Lister said.

Its analysis was similar for Mouton 2021, which was released a day earlier on Monday (13 June). It said the price was ‘sensible’, coming in more than 10% below current prices on 2020 and 2019, as well as down on 2018, 2016 and 2015.

Hindle gave Mouton Rothschild 2021 96 points. ‘This has such a sense of quiet confidence – it’s not shouting so much but gently showing off its many layers of fruit, acidity, minerality and freshness,’ she wrote.

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade platform at UK-based merchant Bordeaux Index, told Decanter that Mouton 2021 was ‘more marginally-priced than Lafite [released last week], for example, but has attracted some demand as being cheaper than recent stronger vintages’.

Farr Vintners was reporting low stocks of Mouton 2021 left on its en primeur offers page.

O’Connell said Margaux 2021 had received ‘some, though not outsized, demand from collectors’, and noted the estate’s ‘particularly strong run quality-wise in recent years, which is helpful’.

Château Cos d’Estournel 2021, meanwhile, ‘was highly priced compared to comparable back vintages and has seen quite a muted response from buyers’, O’Connell said.

Cos d’Estournel was released en primeur at €144 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, down 4% on last year’s opening price, Liv-ex data showed. It was offered at £1,716 (12x75cl in bond).

Wine Lister noted the price for the St-Estèphe estate was slightly below the 2020 vintage but around 8% higher than remaining stocks of the in-bottle 2019. 

Hindle rated Cos d’Estournel 2021 at 95 points, praising its elegance and refinement. ‘Charming and lively, this is sophisticated with a minty, fresh, high-toned fruit profile that is poised and focussed, delivering each element in a straight line right now.’ 

There has been a rush of releases in recent days, as noted in our article last week following the launch of Ausone, Canon and Pichon Comtesse.

Château Haut-Bailly 2021, also rated 95 points by Hindle, was another top name out this morning (14 June). It was released €96 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, level with last year, and offered by merchants at £1,152 (12x75cl in bond).

Liv-ex said volumes released were down 60% versus last year, due to the adverse weather in the 2021 growing season.

Haut-Bailly 2021 is the first vintage from the estate’s new cellars and Decanter’s Hindle praised the wine’s elegance. ‘[It’s] Very much in the style of the vintage with no harshness or overt opulence but instead gives a pure sense of classicism, restraint and refinement,’ she wrote. 

For anyone looking at back-vintages, Liv-ex suggested Haut-Bailly 2019 and 2014 could be worth considering, both cheaper than the 2021, according to its data. 

Bordeaux 2021 en primeur: See our full verdict on the vintage

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Margaux 2021

Average yield:

• 38.6hl/ha. An increase of 8% from 2020.

What you find from the 2021 wines

An excellent showing for many wines from Margaux in 2021.

Average yields were higher than 2020 but Margaux also has the highest overall yield relative to the 10 year average meaning that, despite its size and attacks of frost and mildew, it suffered a little less than other appellations in 2021.

There are lots of beautifully elegant and finessed wines here, a trademark of Margaux, but where the cool-classic style was embraced and delivered successfully.

Top picks:

• Château Château Margaux
• Château Rauzan-Ségla
• Château Palmer
• Château Brane-Cantenac
• Château Durfort-Vivens
• Château d’Issan
• Franc de Pied
• Château Rauzan-Ségla, Segla
• Château Palmer, Alter Ego
• Château Margaux, Pavillon Rouge
• Château Giscours
• Château Cantenac Brown
  
• Château du Tertre 
  

See the top-scoring Margaux 2021 en primeur wines

Search all Bordeaux 2021 en primeur ratings published so far

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

Spend a day tasting top wines from around the world and attend exclusive masterclasses at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC right in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District on Saturday, 18th June.

One truly unforgettable and unique masterclass will feature the iconic wines of Château Margaux and is hosted by family member Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, the estate’s deputy managing director and Decanter Premium editor Georgie Hindle.

You will taste an extraordinary line up of five stunning vintages of the grand vin spanning the past three decades plus a showing of the estate’s renowned other wines Pavillon Blanc and Rouge du Château Margaux, and Margaux du Château Margaux.

The wines are:

• Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 2018
• Margaux du Château Margaux 2015
• Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux 2010
• Château Margaux, Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux 2009
• Château Margaux, Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux 2004
• Château Margaux, Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux 1995
• Château Margaux, Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux 1989
• Château Margaux, Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux 1985

Château Margaux masterclass tickets cost $345 and places are strictly limited. This masterclass is almost sold out so we recommend booking today to avoid disappointment. 

Grand tasting

As well as hosting three other special masterclasses throughout the day (Krug, Brunello di Montalcino and Burgundy), fine wine lovers will also be able to attend the walk-around grand tasting with access to over 200 fine wines from 50 of the world’s most prestigious producers.

The Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC is set to be a truly unforgettable day of fine wine tasting – we can’t wait to see you there.

Essential information

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC

Date: Saturday 18th June 2022 from 10:30am to 6pm.

Location: Bay Room at Manhatta

Price: Grand Tasting tickets from $225 | Masterclass tickets from $235

Visit events.decanter.com/newyork

 Buy tickets today

Decanter events homepage

After tasting more than 800 Bordeaux 2019 wines in bottle, Georgie Hindle has given her verdict on how the wines are tasting now.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for all 30 Margaux wines tasted.

See also

Bordeaux 2019 in bottle: overview and top-scoring wines

Photo highlights: Bordeaux 2019 in bottle

The Sénéclauze family at Château Marquis de Terme get the prize for being the longest-running 100% family owners of a classified estate in the Margaux appellation.

They have been there since 1935, with brothers Pierre-Louis, Jean and Philippe in charge today.

Scroll down to see Jane Anson’s Château Marquis de Terme vertical tasting notes and scores

Their directors are similarly long-standing, with just three during nearly 90 years of the family’s ownership.

Today’s director, Ludovic David, has been with them since 2009 and has overseen a flourishing of an estate that is located on prime Margaux land, right in between Rauzan Ségla and Lascombes. Yet for much of the 1990s and 2000s, Marquis de Terme was in the shadow of some of its neighbours.

It has barely changed in size and shape since it was named an 1855 4th Growth

David studied engineering and oenology in Toulouse before moving to Bordeaux, first working for nine years with Jean-Baptiste Bourotte at Clos du Clocher in Pomerol, and as a buyer for Bourotte’s négociant business Etablissements Audy.

He has since worked at Château Fombrauge with Bernard Magrez, as well as stints in South Africa and California, and has brought a sense of imagination and energy to the winemaking at Marquis du Terme.

I went to visit last month to catch up on changes that I had seen in the glass but not recently in person.

See Best Margaux 2020 wines tasted en primeur

While the estate itself has barely changed in size and shape since it was named an 1855 fourth growth, David describes his approach since 2009 as: ‘I did like Joe Biden and set everything back to zero.’

He changed the vinification methods, pushed the harvest date back by 10 to 15 days and changed the harvesting style, introducing more precise sorting both by hand and by using a Tribaie machine that measures grape density.

In the cellars he changed to a gravity flow winery for filling the vats and moving the wine around. And gradually, between 2010 to 2017, the vats were changed to a triconic (or conical) shape to ensure a more gentle extraction during fermentation.

In 2011 there were 10 of them, and today there are 35, in a mix of steel, cement and oak – along with 600-litre cement eggs. A cold soak is used to keep fruit freshness, with temperatures lowered from 33 to 29 degrees Celsius during fermentation.

Even the ageing methods changed. There were five coopers when David arrived and there are 12 today, but 11 of the suppliers are new, because four of the original five were not retained. The coopers now focus on longer seasoning to encourage more supple oak tannins.

David says of the past, ‘1995 to 2005 was largely about refining work in the cellar, while from 2005 we returned to a greater focus on the vineyard and the terroir.

‘There have been moments of experimentation with 200% new oak, even 300% on occasion. Not something we have taken up of course, but all these trials teach you things. The last decade has been about balance, and enhancing a terroir that always gives freshness and maintains a constant ph.’

What was clear from this tasting is that the depth of flavour, and the consistency of the results, since 2014 is notable, with three 94-point wines – always a sweet-spot score for me – from the 2015 vintage onwards.

This is definitely a classified estate with a renewed sense of energy.

If you are visiting Margaux this summer, it’s also worth noting that Marquis de Terme is opening a restaurant on-site, the only one within an 1855 estate in the appellation.

See Jane Anson’s Château Marquis de Terme vertical tasting notes and scores

Château Marquis de Terme 2020 is an en primeur sample, and has been tasted twice. 

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A Château Margaux wine tasting masterclass

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Tasting Bordeaux’s single-variety wines, from Malbec to Sémillon

There was something magical about driving up to Château Margaux on a sunny Friday evening for the most recent Decanter virtual masterclass tasting.

It was held in the Foster Room, a high-ceilinged gallery room full of pale oak and huge glass windows overlooking the graceful park at the back of the estate.

Scroll down to see Jane Anson’s Château Margaux tasting notes and scores from this masterclass

It’s part of the new winery building that was completed by Lord Norman Foster in 2015, the first addition to the property since the iconic château was built back in 1812.

It was also the same year as the youngest red wine that we were tasting, Pavillon Rouge 2015.

The evening took us back to the 1996 Château Margaux, via Margaux 2001 and 2006, and also included Pavillon Rouge 2010 and 2015 before finishing with Pavillon Blanc 2017.

We were joined by estate managing director Philippe Bascaules, who first arrived at Château Margaux in 1990, working alongside legendary director Paul Pontallier before taking over the role himself in early 2017.

Château Margaux is owned and run by Corinne Mentzelopoulos with her children Alexandra and Alexis. It is an estate that dates back to the 12th century, became a full-time wine producing property in the 16th century, was classified at the very top of the ranking in 1855, and is today the only one of the five First Growths to be have no sister estates elsewhere.

There is no négociant business attached – simply a family and a team entirely focused on its wines.

We started off with a simple question: at an estate with so much history, what does it mean to be a First Growth château today?

Bascaules’ reply was equally simple: ‘We don’t think about our classification, we focus instead on making the best wine that we can do, and every single year. The pressure comes from that but not from the ranking.’

Instead, he said the history helped them understand the importance of transmission, and of working in ways that ensure the ecosystem remains healthy. ‘We have been here for five centuries,’ he said, ‘we understand about sustainability.’

The tasting began with two vintages of Pavillon Rouge, one of the oldest second wines in Bordeaux that is still under the same name, with a history dating back to 1908. We also know that a second selection has been made at the property since at least the 17th century, often called simply Château Margaux 2nd Wine.

Bascaules took us through changes in the production of Pavillon Rouge, with an increasing focus on quality alongside the introduction of both a third and fourth selection that means today barely 30% of the overall estate production goes to Pavillon Rouge, and around the same into Château Margaux itself.

The wine of the night in the audience poll was the Margaux 1996, a stunning vintage that I have tasted recently across many 1855 classified estates and been pretty much continually blown away by.

The story of this wine at Château Margaux was particularly interesting, with Bascaules explaining that the team did not immediately appreciate how great it would become.

‘It had been an excellent early season,’ he said, ‘then an unsettled summer, although for most of September we had dry fine weather.

‘When rain came at the end of September, I remember Paul Pontallier telling us that we could not make a great vintage – but then we decided to wait to pick; and the fine weather returned for the picking of the Cabernets.

‘It’s a vintage that taught us to not be afraid of rain during harvest if the grapes are sufficiently ripe before it arrives, and to be brave and to trust in the terroir of Château Margaux.’

Our final wine of the night was Pavillon Blanc, first introduced in 1906 under the name Château Margaux Vin de Sauvignon, and as Pavillon Blanc in 1920, since when not only the name but also the label have not changed.

‘We have records back in the 19th century that tell us the wine was already made from Sauvignon Blanc,’ Bascaules told us, adding to the singularity of its history.

The 2017 vintage was an excellent one for dry whites in Bordeaux, and it was a fitting ending to this most exceptional of evenings.

Château Margaux at a glance

Planted vineyard: 82 hectares (ha) red, 12ha white

Planted to red: 75% Cabernet Sauvingon, 20% Merlot, 5% split between Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.

Planted to white: 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

Second wine: Pavillon Rouge

Established: 16th century

Owner: Corinne Mentzelopoulos, her daughter Alexandra and son Alexis, second and third generation; family in place since 1977.

Managing director: Philippe Bascaules.

Technical director: Sébastien Verne.

Consultant: Eric Boissenot

Winemaking: Margaux is made in a mix of traditional oak casks and stainless steel vats, with space set aside for extensive research and development facilities – a micro-vinification area with vats that go down to 25 hectolitres.

In the vineyards, organic farming has been in place since 2012, with a flock of sheep as an alternative to traditional weeding.

See Jane Anson’s Château Margaux tasting notes and scores for wines in this masterclass

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Margaux 2020

Average yield: 36hl/ha

Individual yields varied widely:

• 45hl/ha at Château Cantemerle,
• 31hl/ha at Château Malsescot St Exupery
• 16hl/ha at Château La Gurgue,
• 47hl/ha at Château Dauzac,
• 36hl/ha at Château Giscours.

What you find

Wines are tannic but flavour-packed, very classic – not as exuberant as 2018 or 2019 but structured and intense.

Philippe Bascaules at Château Margaux recorded less dehyrdration in the grapes in 2020 compared to 2018; so high alcohols were avoided, and a more classic balance is found in the wines.

Margaux 2020 vintage characteristics

Flowering went moderately well in Margaux according to consultant Eric Boissenot, but there was some difficulties during fruit set that contributed to low yields, as well as the hot dry summer.

A big storm in mid-August affected some areas with over 100mm of rain falling in three days. In September rainfall was similar across Margaux, Pauillac and St-Julien – around 65mm on average, falling mainly in the second half, before becoming more abundant in early October.

Patrice de Bortoli at Château Moutte-Blanc pointed out the contrast in the grape varieties, with the early-ripening Merlot being picked with ‘extraordinary levels of potential alcohol, harvested in the heat, then Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot rebalanced by the rain and cooler temperatures’.

What’s new

You have a few estate changes here – no more Château Pontac Lynch, as all the vines have now been included in Château d’Issan, and no more Châteaux Charmant or La Galiane, as again the vines have been sold off, this time to Château Cantenac Brown.

There are new owners at Château du Tertre (the Helfrich family), and at Tour de Mons (Nathalie Perrodo, as at Marquis d’Alesme).

Over at Château Margaux, 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the white wine bottled under the name Pavillon Blanc (although there has been a white wine here for 300 years).

The greening of AOC Margaux also continues. Between 2016 and 2019, 30 winegrowing properties in the Margaux appellation were involved in actions to encourage biodiversity, protecting soil from erosion and providing refuges and food sources for insects and small animals. These included 15ha set aside for late mowing, 42ha of fallow plots, 5ha of wildflower meadows and 10km of hedges.

Top picks:

• Château Margaux,
• Château d’Issan,
• Château Palmer.

Value picks:

• Château Moutte-Blanc,
• Clos de Bigos,
• Château Tayac. 
  

See the top-scoring Margaux 2020 en primeur wines

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Search all Bordeaux 2020 en primeur ratings published so far

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The family’s AJ Domaines said that it has sold Château du Tertre in order to focus on its other estates, which include nearby Margaux-based estate Château Giscours and also Caiarossa in Tuscany.

It said the buyers were the Helfrich winemaking family and also a ‘French institutional investor’, which has purchased the land at the 80-hectare fifth growth estate.

A fee for the deal was not disclosed, but the sale of a classified winery in Médoc is still relatively rare.

‘It doesn’t happen every day,’ said Alexander van Beek, managing director of Giscours, Caiarossa and, until recently, du Tertre.

‘It was a hard decision because it was a property very close to the heart of the family,’ said van Beek, who also had his own wedding at du Tertre.

But he told Decanter the move was in the best interests of both du Tertre and Giscours, a third growth estate in the 1855 Classification.

He said it was difficult to give adequate attention to two châteaux within the same appellation yet with quite different styles.

A decision to sell du Tertre emerged from discussions on long-term strategy among the new generation of the family following the death of Eric Albada Jelgersma in 2018. He had acquired the two Margaux estates in the 1990s.

Van Beek said du Tertre ‘needed to be woken up’ when it was first acquired by Eric Albada Jelgersma and that the family had invested heavily in the past two decades, including by restructuring 70% of the vineyards.

The sale will help the fifth growth to ‘liberate itself from the shadow of Giscours’, he said.

A statement released by AJ Domaines praised the wine sector skill and passion of the Helfrich family. Alongside the family’s history in Alsace wine, Joseph Helfrich founded French wine group Les Grands Chais de France in 1979. Du Tertre will continue to be distributed via the Place de Bordeaux, AJ Domaines said.

AJ Domaines plans to redouble its efforts around the redevelopment and improvement of Giscours. ‘There is an enormous determination to really put Giscours where it belongs,’ van Beek said.

While a lot of work has been done on the vineyards, plans include work on new cellars at the estate, which spans nearly 400 hectares of land.

The statement by AJ Domaines also highlighted the family’s ambition at Caiarossa in Tuscany, and added that it would have the flexibility to ‘seize opportunities’ in other areas or continents, too.

Scroll down to see Jane Anson’s Margaux 2018 top scorers

See the full Bordeaux 2018 report here

See individual appellation overviews for:

St-Estèphe, Pauillac, St-Julien, Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac, Moulis and Pessac-Léognan & Graves

Summer in 2018 was the hottest in Margaux since 2003 and this was the appellation that I felt had the most issues over ageing in barrel.

It is definitely a broad-shouldered, concentrated vintage in Margaux. Having said that, there were many gourmet wines that will find happy homes – coffee and cocoa were flavours that I kept coming back to.

Those who carefully monitored extraction during maceration and ageing delivered brilliant bottles.

My highlighted wines include Palmer, d’Issan and Rauzan-Ségla, while Château Margaux itself was also a notable success across all three of its wines.

Second wines as a whole suffered more than the main estate bottlings in the Margaux appellation, and I would tread more carefully here.

Two top names to look out for:

• Château Palmer
• Château Cantenac Brown

Two value picks:

• Château Deyrem Valentin
• Château Grand Tayac

See Jane Anson’s top-scoring Margaux 2018 wines

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Full report on Bordeaux 2018 in the bottle

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Search all Margaux 2019 wine ratings

Unquestionably an extremely successful vintage in Margaux; but it is not my favourite of the Haut-Médoc commune AOCs in 2019.

There is less clay as a component of the gravel soils of Margaux compared to those in St Julien, Pauillac and St Estephe, and perhaps that made a difference to the fresh grip that is clearer a little to the north.

Scroll down to see the top-rated Margaux 2019 wines

There are still a ton of wines to Highly Recommend, but only six that, for me, reached over 95 points – one less than the much smaller AOC of St Julien.

The top scorers at 98 points were Palmer and Margaux, with Château Margaux the most likely to be a potential 98-100 points when re-tasted in bottle, and overall I felt Philippe Bascaules had delivered the strongest set of Margaux wines since he returned from Napa in 2015, with both Pavillon Rouge and Pavillon Blanc standout delicious.

I would also particularly point out d’Issan and Brane-Cantenac, as well as the ever-consistent Rauzan-Ségla.

There is again a great crop of 94s for Lascombes, Giscours, Marquis d’Alesme, Cantenac Brown, Ferrière and Giscours, all of which I would strongly recommend.

In contrast, I would not blanket recommend the 2nd wines – a hint that the vintage had its issues to deal with, particularly in an appellation such as Margaux where there is such a wide range of soils and that saw temperatures rise up to a record of 41°C in the shade on July 25.

Release strategy

A change in strategy at Château Palmer is worth noting. CEO Thomas Duroux has announced that over the past ten years they have been keeping 50% of the crop back at the estate and as of September 2020 they will be putting the 10-year-old Palmer on the market, to be sold through the Place de Bordeaux.

This will be the system going forward – so half of the production is to be sold En Primeur, and the other half aged at the property and sold 10 years later. This is a hybrid model, somewhere between Latour and traditional En Primeur, but a little more simple because the estate will not decide when to release depending on vintage quality/longevity (as Latour is doing) but simply go for the 10-year point.

So, expect the 2011 to be released in September 2021 and so on. It comes as no surprise to anyone that many estates have been mysteriously releasing less and less wine on the market each En Primeur campaign, so I would expect other properties to follow their own version of this strategy over the next few years.

Yields

A relatively easy season overall, certainly compared to 2018 with its mildew issues. Average yield in Margaux was a high 49.2hl/ha, much higher than the 37hl/ha that the appellation managed in 2018 and one of the biggest in the past 20 years.

Looking at individual estates we had 47hl/ha at Margaux, 45hl/ha at Palmer and 48hl/ha Lascombes. A lower 30hl/ha at Ferrière and La Gurgue was the exception rather than the rule.

As we have seen in many estates, particularly in the Médoc, the vintage changed from a more exuberant 2018 style of wine before the September rains fell in the latter half of September (around 30mm in Margaux) to a more classic vintage after the rain. Bascaules at Margaux commented that this made the Merlots exuberant and the Cabernets far more classic, making it a notably balanced vintage overall.

This late harvest means you will find high levels of Cabernet in many wines – 90% in Château Margaux, 70% at d’Issan and Brane Cantenac. But only 53% in Palmer and still hugely successful, same score for me as Margaux, proving that old vine Merlots, as at Ferrière, were also successful.

Changes

First vintage under new owner Tristan le Lous at Cantenac Brown, and Christian Roulleau at Dauzac. Also a new owner at La Tour de Mons (Margaux powerhouse the Perrodo family), but no word yet on what that means for the wine.

And a few interesting special bottlings to look out for, not least the 100% Cabernet Sauvignon in 100% new oak at Le Createur from Château Haut Breton Larigaudière.

Top Scoring

Palmer, Margaux, Brane-Cantenac (one of the best ever), Issan, Rauzan Ségla.

Best Value

Labegorce, Le Coteau, Haut Breton Larigaudière.

See the top-rated Margaux 2019 wines

The following wines have all been scored 93 points and above

Not yet tasted: Château Durfort-Vivens, Château La Bessane, Château Chantelune, Château Boyd-Cantenac, Château Charmant, Château Pouget, Château La Galiane

Back to the main Bordeaux en primeur page

When Tristan Le Lous became the new owner of Château Cantenac Brown in December 2019, the French press picked up on one aspect in particular. Why was a wealthy Burgundian wine lover choosing to buy in Bordeaux and not closer to home?

Le Lous is better known in France for being part of one of the most successful family-owned healthcare companies in the country, URGO. Its headquarters are in Dijon, and for a while it was the single biggest employer across the Burgundy region.

Recently it has been shifting much of its work towards producing antibacterial gels to supply medical professionals across France fighting Covid-19.

Over the longer-term, the company has evolved into a global player, with sites and subsidiaries in 22 countries worldwide. The family’s wealth was recently estimated by Challenges magazines at €1 billion.

Scroll down for Jane Anson’s Château Cantenac Brown tasting notes and scores

All of this makes Le Lous’ arrival in the Médoc a big news story. His own background is in engineering and molecular genetics, and he remains in charge of legal and investments for URGO.

Interest in the Cantenac Brown deal is also high because it involves the purchase of an 1855 third growth that is one of the icons of Bordeaux.

The Tudor-style red bricked building has been compared to both an English boarding school or, a little more poetically, the 19th century red-brick universities like Manchester, Edinburgh or Royal Holloway.

Where did this deal come from?

‘Both my grandfather and father lived in Dijon,’ he told me when we caught up by phone this week. ‘Although I grew up in Paris, it was definitely Burgundy wines that I first got to know, notably a Château de Pommard 1978.

‘But my wife is from Bordeaux, and since 2004 I have been spending more and more time in the region, and have fallen in love with its architecture and its ambience that is so different from many other parts of France.

‘When I suggested to my father and brothers that we invest in a wine estate, we began to look in Bordeaux straight away,’ he said.

‘We wanted to buy a reasonably-sized property, which is almost impossible in Burgundy, and to have control over our own brand, something again that is very difficult in Burgundy unless you are lucky enough to buy a monopole vineyard.

‘And when we were looking at the universe of Bordeaux, it was natural to look at buying an 1855 châteaux if possible, as these have the strongest brand visibility in France and overseas. We were extraordinarily lucky that Cantenac Brown was available, with its location in Margaux, its spectacular building, and its team under director José Sanfins.’

This is a private investment from the family rather than URGO, and their financial muscle is going to be a useful attribute when taking over what is certain to be a money-hungry estate.

The last major structural investments in Cantenac Brown’s cellars came in the mid-1990s under the ownership of AXA Millésimes.

Investments focused more on the vineyards under the ownership of British-Syrian businessman Simon Halabi, from 2006 to the end of last year.

All of which, in my mind, makes director Sanfins’ achievements extremely impressive. There is no question that the wine quality of Cantenac Brown has increased more rapidly over the past decade.

There have been particular improvements since 2014, a trend reflected in this vertical tasting, which covered the vintages 2008 to 2018.

Fact file on Cantenac Brown

Rank in 1855 Classification: 3rd Growth

Second wine: Brio de Cantenac Brown, plus white wine Alto de Cantenac Brown

Consultant: Eric Boissenot

Plantings: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc. Planted at 8,500-10,000 vines per hectare (ha), with an average yield of 45hl/ha.

What has been happening at the estate?

Even without new winery buildings, recent years have seen a revision of the smaller processes around production.

Changes range from barrel sourcing to lower-temperature fermentation and a decision to reduce the amount of first wine – or grand vin – to around 50% of total production.

The team has also focused on being more responsive to the needs of individual vintages. You will see quite different blends depending on the years, for example.

In the vineyard, work has included extensive replanting, the purchase of several high-quality plots and ‘taking more risks’ with harvest dates, as Sanfins puts it.

There has also been a progressively more sustainable approach in the vineyards, with the use of chemical fertilisers dramatically reduced from the years when yields were high, and plant-based fertilisers used when needed.

At the same time, the estate has fostered biodiversity through insect hotels, hives and wildflower hedgerows; it even makes its own honey. Cantenac Brown now has HVE3 certification, the third tier of the ‘haute valeur environmentale‘ programme for environmental stewardship, supported by the French government.

This is not, let’s be honest, the easiest of moments to arrive at a new estate. However, Le Lous’ lockdown has taken place in Bordeaux rather than Paris, allowing him plenty of time to walk the vineyard and get to know his new property at a more leisurely pace than might otherwise have been likely.

‘In many ways, this enforced pause has allowed us to focus more clearly on the plans for the future,’ Le Lous says.

‘We are looking at a new cellar and new winery for next year, but our work will go much further than that, aimed at raising the profile of the property to the level its wines deserve.’

See Jane Anson’s Château Cantenac Brown tasting notes and scores

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See all Margaux 2017 wines re-tasted in bottle

Read Jane Anson’s full Left Bank 2017 in bottle report

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Margaux was another appellation that benefited in 2017 from its location near the river.But Margaux covers a considerably larger area than the other three big name Médoc appellations, and so you find more variation here.

As with St-Julien, the estates located further to the west were more at risk from the late spring frosts, because they didn’t get such a thermal boost from the Garonne river.

Bordeaux 2017 is not a vintage for hedonists, but there are a number of delicious medium-term drinkers in Margaux.

In style, the overall Bordeaux vintage is closer to 2011 or even 2001 than to the monumental 2010 or 2016s. But it has classicism, precision, and some wonderfully balanced, nuanced wines.

The greatest asset is that châteaux have almost invariably worked carefully with what they’ve got, and not tried to push for something more.

Look out for: Château Rauzan Ségla, Château Giscours, Château Durfort-Vivens.

See Jane Anson’s top Margaux 2017 wines re-tasted in bottle

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Tristan Le Lous was in advanced negotiations to to acquire Château Cantenac Brown on behalf of his family, according to a statement by the family this week.

Financial details have not been disclosed and the buyout has not yet been completed, but the purchase would mark one of the most high-profile deals of recent years in Bordeaux.

Cantenac Brown is a third growth in the 1855 Classification system and the sale of a classified estate in the Médoc is relatively rare.

The estate, which has 49 hectares of vines within the Margaux appellation, was bought in 2006 by businessman and property developer Simon Halabi.

It had formerly been part of the Axa-Millésimes group, which still owns Pichon Baron further north in Pauillac.

‘Cantenac Brown is one of the jewels of the Médoc,’ said Tristan Le Lous, who is an agronomist, as well as being executive director of the family-owned Urgo healthcare group in France.

‘I have a lot of ambition for this grand cru [estate],’ he said, commenting on the exceptional quality of its terroir.

‘Our challenge, with the recognised expertise of [estate director] José Sanfins, will be to bring minute precision to every stage of the production process to create, year after year, one of the best wines in Margaux.’

Le Lous said that he fell in love with Bordeaux wines thanks to his wife, who is from the region.

The family said that both it and estate director Sanfins had the same vision for respecting the environment and developing the estate’s potential.

Sanfins added, ‘Tristan Le Lous has a deep respect for the estate and its history. He also has a contemporary and daring vision for vineyard management. It’s a great opportunity for me to take part in the next chapter for this Château.’

See also: Cantenac Brown 2018 review by Jane Anson

They're much better than originally billed, they're ready for drinking and you can find them in the shops; Jane Anson reports on a re-tasting of Margaux appellation wines from 2011 and 2012 and offers advice on bottles to look for.

This has been one of the most interesting and enjoyable tastings of recent months; the entire appellation of Margaux wines over two supposed ‘off’ vintages, Bordeaux 2011 and 2012, that are both coming into their drinking window right now.

Not only that, but a lot of bottles here are not only affordable but can still be found relatively easily in the market, not just in shops but also on restaurant wine lists, because generally don’t cost a fortune and are starting to open up and prove great partners to food.

Scroll down to see Jane Anson’s top scoring wines from this tasting

At least, that’s if you have managed to avoid restaurants that take the easy option and offer younger vintages that have just been delivered even though they are too tight to be comfortably drinking.

Neither Château Margaux nor Château Palmer sent their wines to the (blind) horizontal by the way, although I am happy to see that my colleague Andrew Jefford recently gave the Palmer 2011 96 points.

Despite that, we had an extremely good turnout with almost 90 wines over the two years, including both 1st and 2nd wines of classified and non-classified properties, giving a true overview of what is the largest ‘prestigious’ appellation in the Médoc at 1,500 hectares.

There were 14 classified wines per year, everything from 2nd to 5th Growths, 14 second wines or special bottlings, a handful of Cru Bourgeois and Cru Artisans, and two 100% Merlot wines that are extremely unusual for the appellation.

Both of these vintages are often overlooked or dismissed, but they are ripe for reappraisal, at least by drinkers rather than collectors.

The past decade has seen so many big, structured and extremely ripe years – 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 of course, and 2014 to a lesser extent. Those vintages will ideally need to be cellared for a long time, which means there is a clear opening for wines that can be opened and enjoyed sooner.

Of recent years, this is where 2011 and 2012 come to the fore. I’d argue that both should be considered ahead of taking a gamble on 2013, where the quality really isn’t there on a wide enough scale for confidence.

2011 is turning into a fine vintage

Looking at the results, it confirmed what I have increasingly noticed over the past year.

The 2011 vintage is rapidly losing its awkward angles and gaining flesh as it ages, turning into a fine vintage after an early austere phase.

The 2012, in contrast, was sometimes easier to love when young. It still has many qualities, but perhaps won’t have quite the same staying power as 2011.

This is particularly true of the 2012 second wines, which were clearly sometimes sacrificed to maintain the quality level of the main estate bottling.

Vintage conditions for 2011 and 2012 in Margaux

Just to briefly recap the vintage conditions in Margaux; 2011 saw a hot and dry spring, and an early summer, then difficult flowering under a mix of heat, hail and thunderstorms.

This basically meant a raft of Atlantic Ocean-inspired conditions that eventually saw harvest dates pushed back later than expected, although still a few weeks earlier than in 2010.

Almost all grapes in Margaux were brought in during September, with a few stragglers going into October. Many estates saw exceptional ripeness, particularly in the Cabernet Sauvignon.

By contrast, 2012 was constantly veering between different conditions, making the team at Kirwan comment at the time that it was ‘not for the faint of heart’.

After a mild month of March, a cold and wet April meant late budding, followed by a warm May and again a cold June. There was plenty of heat and drought over the summer, and August was the warmest on record in Margaux since 2003.

Just as everyone was getting worried about grapes shrivelling, rain arrived on the eve of harvest – welcome in places but again complicated in its timing. Harvest in 2012 was on average two weeks later than in 2011, finishing in mid-October for many estates.

Standout wines in this tasting

Neither years are packed full of stand-out 100 point wines, but there are some stunning bottles that I don’t hesitate to recommend.

I gave three 95-point scores to wines that are utterly delicious, full of complexity and finesse, and had at least a dozen more at 93 and 94 points that I would also highly recommend – see below.

Because the years had contrasting conditions in many ways, those estates tasting great in both vintages were especially impressive – and particularly the good value ones like Châteaux Paveil de Luze, Siran and Cambon la Pelouse. Wines from all three were ready to drink across both 2011 and 2012.

Overall, looking back over these tasting notes, which were written just over one month ago, reminded me that these two vintages are full of hidden pleasures. These are wines that should be brought out today and enjoyed.

Their price tags also make them an appealing way to search out Margaux typicity without paying the prices of the biggest years.

See all Margaux 2011 wines retasted here

See all Margaux 2012 wines retasted here

Margaux appellation snapshot:

• 1500ha, covering 9% of the Médoc vineyard.
• Covering the five communes of Arsac, Cantenac, Labarde, Margaux and Soussans

Margaux 2011 vs 2012: Jane Anson’s top scoring wines from this tasting

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See Jane Anson's tasting notes for the Margaux 2016 wines - re-tasted this month in the bottle...

See all Margaux 2016 wines re-tasted in bottle

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All reviews published online exclusively for Premium subscribers

Introduction by Eleanor Douglas.

‘The issue for Margaux in 2016 is that the 2015 wines were so exceptional,’ said Jane Anson when tasting the Bordeaux 2016 wines en primeur.

The style in general for Margaux is more elegant, fresh and juicy in 2016 compared to the rich succulence of 2015, Anson said. She recommended comparing scores and prices closely for the 2015 and 2016 wines.

In the recent in-bottle tastings, Anson gave Château Margaux 2016 98 points, noting that it was ‘not as hefty as the 2010 or as staggering as the 2015, but is still a joyful expression of the estate’.

Château Palmer 2016 also received a 98, described as ‘sophisticated and well constructed’.

Top scoring Margaux 2016 wines:

See all Margaux 2016 wines re-tasted in bottle here

Read Anson’s full in-bottle report for Bordeaux 2016 wines in Médoc

This Margaux estate has really started to punch above its historical position as a fourth growth in the Bordeaux 1855 classification, helped by significant investment in the cellar, writes Jane Anson.

Here’s a good example of how difficult it can be to follow scores:

Steven Spurrier, who needs no introduction from me and has been tasting Médoc wines for Decanter for several decades before handing over for the 2016 vintage, gave the 2015 Prieuré Lichine 92 points during en primeur week.

Two years later, when tasting the 2015 after it was bottled, I gave the same wine 96 points.

This is, perhaps, way above what you might normally expect for this particular Margaux fourth-growth.

You’ll have to decide for yourself which score is closer to your own taste when you open the wine.

That’s the thing about critics – the score they award can only be an expression of their opinion, and can only be confirmed when you pull the cork.But I’m thrilled to have gone out on a limb for Prieuré-Lichine, and when I re-tasted the 2015 again for a vertical last week, I was yet again blown away by its texture, structure and sheer joyfulness.

The vertical also helped me to put this score within the wider context of the estate. I’m judging each bottle on what it tastes like when it’s in front of me, but when you look a little behind the scenes, the reasons for Prieuré Lichine’s clear improvement in recent vintages start to make sense – as do the reasons why it suffered a number of years of uneven quality.

This is the only classified château in Margaux with vineyard plots in every one of the five communes that make up the AOC. That means it has areas of vines, ranging from a few rows to larger 5ha, 10ha or 15ha parcels, in Margaux, Cantenac, Labarde, Soussans and Arsac. These different plots make up 70ha in total, which is quite clearly an awful lot of puzzle pieces to fit together.

The reason for this is the unflagging determination of former owner Alexis Lichine to restore an estate that had dwindled away to almost nothing when he bought it in the early 1950s.

He did a brilliant job, but it meant a headache for scheduling vineyard tasks and harvesting. And it wasn’t until a more scientific approach arrived with the Ballande Group as of 1999 – specifically in the form of soil studies – that these five main areas (they call them islands) were able to be redrawn into 150 separate plots, each one treated differently.

Consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt has said that his first five years were really all about understanding the requirement of these different pieces of soil.

Two other things are key to understanding the improvement in Prieuré Lichine.

Firstly a new cellar in 2013, and secondly the purchase of the 8ha Château Pontet Chappaz in 2012 that brought additional Cabernet Sauvignon from excellent gravelly terroir straight into the first wine.

New cellars, of course, are two-a-penny is the Médoc. But not every estate has to juggle that number of disparate plots when working out vineyard work from pruning to trellising, never mind harvesting.

The former cellar was equipped with large-sized tanks that were all either 120hl or 220hl in size, which inevitably meant combining ripeness levels, even grape varieties as the harvest came in to the cellar.

The new version has tulip shaped cement vats, in a range of sizes from 60hl to 120hl, meaning grapes can be harvested and vinified as the vintage conditions require. Harvesting now routinely takes four weeks, because they pick not just from one section to another but from within individual plots and rows.

‘The new cellar and the increased vineyard definition has turned what was previously a weakness for Prieuré Lichine into a strength,’ says technical director Etienne Charrier.

‘When you can track the terroirs, it adds great complexity to have this variety. In dry vintages like the summer of 2018, for example, it’s excellent to have the choice of clay and limestone pockets.’

Then there are small and not-so-small details. Canopy cover has been increased, trellising adapted to individual requirements. The yield has gone up from 32hl/h in 2010 to 42hl/h in 2015 because they have pulled back on the green harvesting, helping to free up a more juicy expression of the fruit.

The number of coopers has expanded from one to four. The blend has also changed, with Cabernet Sauvignon up to around 65% in most years from 55% in the early 2000s.

Individually, these things might be barely discernable, but together they have turned Prieuré Lichine into an estate that is worth shouting about – the definition, surely, of a 95+ wine.

See Jane’s Prieuré-Lichine tasting notes:

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How the Bordeaux 2018 harvest is shaping up

Bordeaux 2017 vintage review and full en primeur report

See Jane Anson's Margaux 2017 en primeur scores and tasting notes, exclusive to Decanter Premium members.

More appellations to follow.

Partly because of the notorious frost, 2017 is a vintage where the technical details really do count, said Jane Anson.

See the top scoring Margaux 2017 wines below

’Generally the strip of châteaux along the Garonne river was hugely lucky – look out for some lovely aromatics in Margaux,’ she said.The top scoring wine of the appellation was Château Margaux, which has ‘some of the best aromatics in the business this year.‘

Similarly, for Château Palmer, ‘the aromatics are really striking’.

Palmer has already kicked off the Bordeaux 2017 en primeur campaign, releasing its wine on 23rd April, at 20% lower than its 2016 price.

Another wine to look out for is Château Prieuré-Lichine, which is ‘the definition of a wine to buy in an off-vintage.’

See all Margaux 2017 scores and tasting notes here.

See Jane’s top scorers across the Bordeaux 2017 vintage here

The following wines have scored 91 points and above. For all Margaux 2017 wines, click on the above link.

Jane Anson examines some of the changes at Château Brane-Cantenac and tastes a decade of vintages of both the first and second wines.

Go straight to Jane Anson’s tasting notes on Brane-Cantenac and Baron de Brane spanning the past decade

Available exclusively for Decanter Premium members

It’s exactly 10 years ago, in March 2008, that I did a barrel tasting with Château Brane-Cantenac’s technical director Christophe Capdeville and owner Henri Lurton, comparing pre-fined samples of the 2006 vintage that had been aged using a variety of barrels from the cooperage houses of Seguin Moreau, Demptos, and Taransaud.

The aim was to look at the impact of different toasts, of different forest sourcing in both France and Russian oak from the Caucasus forest in the Adygué Republic, and of different lengths of seasoning from 24 to 36 months, and from either inside a drying park or outside with exposure to the natural elements, most importantly rainfall.

This was just part of a regular series of technical experiments that the estate runs.

Brane-Cantenac has worked in partnership with the Bordeaux Faculty of Oenology since the 1960s, and continually carries out research and microvinifications across a variety of vineyard, winemaking and cellar management programmes.

The estate has its own weather station linked up to the European-wide DEMETER network and for more than 10 years has used an extranet website run by Météo France with daily reports, rain radar, satellite pictures and long range forecasts that ensure fully targeted treatments (the estate is fully organic for over one third of the total area, so heading the way of Lurton’s brothers and sisters, who are known for their organic and biodynamic farming at estates like Climens and Durfort Vivens) and encourages biodiversity through hedgerows, rabbit warrens, dry meadows and other things.

Lurton himself has a Masters in biology, another in ampelography and an œnology diploma from the University of Bordeaux.

And it’s clear that his continued interest in analysis is part of the success of Brane-Cantenac over the past ten years, a decade that has really seen this Margaux Second Growth step out from the shadows.

It also meant that I was not surprised to see that for this tasting, held in late 2017, they were more than happy to compare the ageing potential of both Brane-Cantenac and their second wine Baron de Brane, side by side.

It was a fascinating vertical, tracking not only the results of the barrel experiments that have made Brane one of the best practitioners of oak ageing in my opinion, to serious vineyard changes in terms of plantings (the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon has been pushed upwards from 56% of the blend of the first wine in 2005 to regularly 70%-plus in the more recent years).

The effect on the wine is clear, with a deepening in structure and complexity as the Cabernet Sauvignon increases, a nice nod to the past owner – who gave his name to the property – Baron Hector de Brane, who was a key driver in the popularity of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape in the Médoc.

The Carmenère grape has also been introduced, a grape that is notoriously difficult in its early years and often shows unkindly during en primeur, but that Lurton believes in for its complexity and spice.

Brane is never the most showy of wines and yet it has become one of the most sought-after names in Margaux, impressing through the most beautiful layering of aromatics and textured, confident fruits, perfectly encapsulated in the 2005 and even the undervalued 2012.

The winners hands down during the tasting were the usual suspects of 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2016 (with my money on the Baron de Brane 2010 for drinking now), but once we sat down to eat afterwards, the 2008 Baron de Brane was one of the stars, as was the 2007 of the main château wine.

Proof not only that verticals have their limitations, and can sometimes hide the wines that will give most pleasure in a less charged situation, but also that these are the kind of estates that you need to go to in the more challenging vintages like 2007 and 2013.

Don’t think about cellaring them, but take advantage of the lower prices for these classified properties in the less prestigious years, and enjoy.

Oh, and you might be interested to learn that Henri Lurton, that most modest of men in Bordeaux, is also finding himself at the centre of a growing wine event thousands of miles away, in Baja California.

This region is getting a ton of interest from sommeliers, with Lurton one of its biggest names through his Bodegas Henri Lurton.

It’s somehow entirely in keeping with the man that he has chosen to invest in Mexico’s growing fine wine region – that dates back 500 years and yet is still in its infancy – rather than the more established and prestigious regions a little to the north in California.

Because Baja, surely, is where he can best continue to satisfy that itch to experiment and explore.

Château Brane-Cantenac production: 75 hectares (185 acres), producing one-third first wine and two-thirds Baron de Brane/Château Notton (also known as Le Margaux de Henri Lurton). In the Lurton family since 1925, the first wine of Brane-Cantenac comes from a single block of 45 hectares – the original vineyard of the estate, unchanged in size since the 18th century.

Top scoring Brane-Cantenac and Baron de Brane wines

See also:

• How the Médoc 2015 classified wines taste now – Jane Anson

Château Margaux will release its 2015 vintage in a limited edition bottle to commemorate Paul Pontallier, who died last year after more than two decades as estate MD and who is credited with making significant improvements to the wine.

Château Margaux 2015 will come in a black bottle with writing and a design of the estate in gold.

Margaux said that it was the first time it had commissioned a one-off design for its grand vin for a particular vintage.

It is a mark of estate owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos’ respect for Paul Pontallier, who joined Margaux in 1983 and became MD in 1990.

Bordeaux 2015 was Pontallier’s final vintage at Margaux. He died of cancer in March 2016, one week before the beginning of en primeur week for the widely praised 2015 vintage.

Pontallier and Mentzelopoulos were known to have a special bond and sense of purpose, described by Decanter consultant editor Steven Spurrier as an ‘unsurpassed’ partnership between Bordeaux estate owner and director.

Together, they have been praised with significantly modernising and improving winemaking.

Early signs suggested that a combination of a strong 2015 vintage and the homage paid to Pontallier could lead to Margaux 2015 becoming a collector’s item.

One merchant on the Liv-ex platform placed a bid to buy a case of 12 bottles of Margaux 2015 for £7,500 on Monday (13 November). The previous highest bid on the secondary market platform was £6,600, it said.

It was one of the wines of the vintage. ‘The commemorative bottle has made it more special still,’ said Justin Gibb, Liv-ex director.

Out now for Decanter Premium members:

• Bordeaux 2015 in the bottle – Part one

Coming soon: Jane Anson’s in-bottle ratings for Médoc Cru Classé 2015 wines

In 1855, at the Paris Exhibition that named the first growths, it was Margaux that came top of the tasting, with 20/20. Lafite and Latour both scored 19/20...

Location

AOC Margaux, next to the pretty St Michel church (where former owner Bernard Ginestet is buried).

Production

82 hectares of red grapes, producing around 11,000 cases of the first wine and 9,600 of the second wine.

12 hectares of white grapes producing a highly regarded white wine, Pavillon Blanc. There is also a third wine, Margaux du Chateau Margaux.

Terroir

Clay with limestone, and a topping of coarse and fine gravels. It is one of the most varied terroirs on the Margaux commune, with some plots being almost entirely gravel.

View all of Decanter’s Château Margaux tasting notes

Since 2010, a series of small stainless steel 25 hectolitre vats have been installed, able to take grapes from around ¼ of a hectare in each one, most typically young vines that need to be followed and understood.

Traditional wooden vats are also used. A research & development team are working on various research projects at any one time – current ones include tests such as bottling the wine under screw-cap.

History

The estate can trace its history back to the 12th century, when it was known as La Mothe de Margaux, and it was owned by a series of wealthy lords. Vines were not seriously planted (or assembled by one owner) until the 16th century, when Olive de Lestonnac’s father Pierre began buying local plots. It was one of the first Bordeaux chateaux to export its wines under its own name, and was regularly making an appearance at the London auctions of Christie’s in the early 18th century.

Vine cuttings were sent from Chateau Margaux (and Haut-Brion) to Pennsylvania, where they were experimenting with planting vineyards, just after the French Revolution, so not long after Thomas Jefferson’s visit.

As with all the first growths, there have been a good number of notable past owners. But perhaps worthy of a special nod is Olive de Lestonnac in the early 17th century – she was the first owner to build a physical property that brought the vines together as one ‘chateau’. We should also note here the Marquis de la Colonilla, who in 1810 commissioned the building of the current chateau building.

Obituary: Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux – 1956 to 2016

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Wine Legend: Château Margaux 1983

What makes it a wine legend?

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What makes it a wine legend?

Wine Legend: Château Margaux 1983, Bordeaux, France

Bottles produced 350,000

Composition 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc

Yield 67hl/ha

Alcohol level 12.5%

Release price 170 francs (€26 at today’s prices)

Price today £460 to £620 a bottle

A legend because…

The 1983 Margaux turned out to be a triumph from a vintage widely regarded as far from outstanding. Its quality still puzzles the producer, as the château observes: its ‘spectacular success… partly remains an enigma, which goes to show how limited our knowledge is about what makes a vintage successful’.

Looking back

During the postwar years, Château Margaux was owned by the Ginestet family, but by the 1970s a series of mediocre vintages and financial difficulties led to a drop in quality. By 1975 Pierre Ginestet had to put the estate on the market. In 1977 he found a purchaser in the Greek-born entrepreneur André Mentzelopoulos, who invested substantially, restored the handsome château and took on Professor Emile Peynaud as a consultant. The improvement in quality was swift and lasting. André Mentzelopoulos died in 1980, leaving his widow to run the estate with young daughter Corinne.

By 1983 Corinne Mentzelopoulos was essentially in sole charge, and her appointment of the young Dr Paul Pontallier as general manager and chief winemaker proved an inspired decision, lending to the first growth an instinctive winemaking flair combined with scientific rigour. 1983 was Pontallier’€s first vintage at Margaux, and this wine’€s exceptional quality was probably no coincidence.

The vintage

Although there was some poor weather during the spring, the flowering was successful and the grapes ripened through a warm, dry summer. July in particular was unusually hot, with intermittent storms. August was wetter and the constant humidity led to rot and other maladies, which required constant treatment.

Fortunately September was warmer and drier, and ripening continued steadily. The harvest took place in late September and October in excellent conditions. It is widely accepted that Margaux was the most successful Left Bank Bordeaux commune in 1983, and although there are many disappointments, both Châteaux Margaux and Palmer produced superb wines.

The terroir

The vineyards of Château Margaux have scarcely altered since the 1855 classification. Three quarters of the vines are planted on deep gravel soils that deliver exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon, while soils with more clay and limestone are generally planted to Merlot.

Both varieties can be exceptional here, but this is certainly one of the supreme terroirs for Cabernet in Bordeaux, and the wine makes the most of it.

The wine

Grapes are selected and sorted in the vineyard before fermentation in large wooden vats. The wine is aged in entirely new oak with a medium toast so as to avoid excessively oaky aromas and flavours. In short, this is a case of classic Bordeaux vinification with no resort to smoke and mirrors.

The fragrance, concentration and balance of the 1983 have been widely appreciated, but unfortunately this vintage appears to have a higher than average proportion of tainted wines – probably the consequence of faulty corks or other TCA problems.

The reaction

Although there have been tastings when Decanter’s veteran taster Michael Broadbent preferred the 1982 Margaux to the 1983 when tasted side by side, in the majority of instances it was the other way round, with the ’83 showing a more seductive bouquet and an additional degree of finesse to its more vaunted vintage neighbour.

In 2000 he noted: ‘€The unbeatable Margaux fragrance soaring out of the glass; sweet, soft and rich. It fills the mouth with flavour and seems to last forever.’€ Clive Coates MW in 2004 was ecstatic: ‘€amazingly lovely nose, marvellously concentrated, poised fruit… The fruit is very raspberry-like and still very fresh. Very long. Brilliant!’

• Subscribe to Decanter and get the latest wine legends every month…

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Many of the big names have released Bordeaux 2016 en primeur wines in the past few days, amid a growing focus on the proportion of wine that estates are keeping back in the cellar.

• Margaux, Haut-Brion, Mouton, Cheval Blanc and Léoville Barton all release Bordeaux 2016 en primeur wines

• Prices rise and focus turns to amount of wine released

• Small estates complain that they can’t get their voice heard

It is the busiest period of Bordeaux 2016 releases after a week that has seen négociants on Bordeaux’s Place de Bordeaux offering big-name releases from dozens of châteaux.

Price rises have also become a feature of the campaign, despite concerns over exchange rates and a generally uncertain political and economic climate.

Read analysis below and click on the wine names to see Decanter’s score and tasting note

• See all of Decanter’s Bordeaux 2016 ratings and tasting notes

This morning (6 June) saw Château Léoville Barton out at €63.60 ex-Bordeaux, a rise of just over 17% on its 2015 price, and Château Haut Marbuzet 2016 at €30 ex-Bordeaux, a rise of 20%.

Léoville Barton was a strong performer in 2016, scoring 96 points with Decanter, and it appeared to sell quickly with some UK merchants reporting low stocks on their websites. Farr Vintners was selling a case of 12 bottles for £750, and Berry Bros & Rudd a case of six bottles for £372, both in bond.

Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild have all released at €420 per bottle bottle ex-négociant (up around 9% in euro terms, being offered at £5,184 per case of 12 bottles on UK market).

Château Cheval Blanc also showed its hand, at €552 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, a rise of just 2.2% on the 2015 price but 50% higher than 2014. It is being offered on the UK market at £6,400 per case of 12.

Petit Mouton 2016 has a 32% rise in euro terms to €135 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, or £1,644 per case in the UK. And Pavillon Rouge 2016, Margaux’s second wine, has just been released on Tuesday 6 June at €114 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, a rise of 11.7% of 2015.

Questions asked over amount released 

Release quantities are increasingly occupying minds, amid speculation about how much production châteaux are holding back.

This could have an impact on the rationale for buying a wine that is still in barrel and will not be released in-bottle for two years.

Mouton broke a little with the pack by also offering the same volume to the market as last year, and was very well received because of it.

Haut-Brion offered also in one tranche, but with a 20% cut in volume versus 2015.

Nick Martin, of the Wine Owners trading exchange, told Decanter.com, ‘Mouton has released the same quantity as 2015 but in a more abundant year, so keeping more back as a proportion, and that’s on the back of en primeur release reductions in 2014/2015.

‘If it turns out to be in another 1986 or 2000, you’ll be quids in. If not, you’d be better off buying 2010.

But, he added, ‘The answer to that question isn’t likely for at another two years, and for UK buyers that’s plenty of time for the currency exchange to effect secondary market prices.’

He said, ‘Generally supply is clearly being even more tightly controlled this year as producers throttle back their en primeur releases. The reductions are all the more notable for the 20% increase in juice. Some names such as Calon-Ségur have been almost impossible for buyers to find.’

More recent releases: Canon 2016 a ‘target for collectors’?

Other recent releases include Château Giscours 2016 at €44 ex-Bordeaux, up 23.3% on 2015 in France, which goes 35%+ in sterling.

Château Canon 2016 is being offered at £880 per case of 12 in UK market, which at €72 per bottle ex-Bordeaux is 20% up on the 2015 price – but it was being sold significantly below the current market price for 2015.

‘The 2016 is available at around a 50% discount to its older sibling [the 2015], making it a likely target for collectors,’ said Liv-ex analysts.

Château Rauzan Ségla 2016 has been released at €60 per bottle ex-negociant, an 18.8% increase on the 2015 price and is being offered at £732 per case in UK.

Château Grand Puy Lacoste 2016 has been released at €60 per bottle ex-negociant, up 25% on the 2015 or £735 in UK.

Other names include Château Lafon Rochet 2016 at €33.6 ex-Bordeaux, a rise of 19.6% in euro terms or £408 per case of 12 in the UK. Château Cantenac Brown 2016 is at €39 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, on offer at £474.

‘So far the clear winners have been Cos d’Estournel 2016 and Beychevelle 2016,’ said Martin. Several merchants have agreed with this assessment in previous reporting by Decanter.com.

‘Both showed a crystal clear advantage to buying early,’ Martin said.

Smaller estates becoming disillusioned

Smaller producers selling en primeur have said that, as usual, the price rises are squeezing them out of the system.

One St Estèphe producer, who didn’t want to be named, told Decanter.com, ‘Negociants’ budgets are more limited than ever because banks are not lending large amounts, and it means budgets are concentrated on the big names who are asking higher and higher prices.

‘En primeur is an increasingly difficult segment to be part of for the rest of us.’

Editing and extra reporting by Chris Mercer

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• All Bordeaux 2016 wine ratings

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A London wine bar is set to be opened by the youngest daughter of Château Margaux's owner in the next few months - but it will be a standalone project separate from the estate itself.

Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos, the youngest daughter of Corinne Mentzelopoulos, owner of Château Margaux in Bordeaux, is to open a wine bar in London in the Spring of 2017.

The bar, named Clarette, is located near to the Chiltern Firehouse hotel and restaurant in Marylebone and is set in a three-story London town house.

It is the latest example of a wine bar revival in London in recent years.

Related: Top London wine bars – as chosen by Decanter experts

Clarette – a standalone project not directly connected to the Margaux First Growth – is due to open in March 2017. Petit-Mentzelopoulos has been an official brand ambassador for her family property since 2012.

Clarette will be run by Petit-Mentzelopoulos in an independent partnership with Natsuko Perromat de Marais, who has worked for the past 10 years with the Alain Ducasse group in Paris, Tokyo and London.

Thibault Pontallier, son of the late Paul Pontallier, who has been based in Hong Kong as an ambassador for Margaux since 2010 will also be moving to London to assist with the project. He will still be a Margaux ambassador.

‘We will be serving Chateau Margaux wines, among others, but in a very relaxed atmosphere’, Pontallier told Decanter.com. He confirmed that they would also serve tapas-style tasting plates, and that a private dining room would open on the upper floors of the building.

It is believed to be the first bar connected to a First Growth in London since Haut-Brion opened The Pontack’s Head on Abchurch Lane in 1666, shortly after the Great Fire of London.

That tavern remained open until at least 1746, but more recently Haut-Brion chose Paris as the site for a new bar and restaurant, The Clarence, opened in 2015 on avenue Franklin D Roosevelt.

Updated 12th January 2017: The upstairs area will be a private dining room, not a members’ club as originally stated.

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Philippe Bascaules is to succeed the late Paul Pontallier as managing director of the First Growth estate.

Philippe Bascaules appointed managing director of Château Margaux

Bascaules was the former estate director of Château Margaux who left to run Francis Ford Coppola’s Inglenook Winery in Rutherford Napa.

He will remain as Director of Winemaking for Inglenook, overseeing the 50 year vineyard plan that he has put in place alongside Francis and Eleanor Coppola when he arrived in 2011.

He will begin his new role at Château Margaux on March 1 2017.

“I am pleased that I can continue to oversee the winemaking at Inglenook and guide the changes I started there five years ago. Inglenook’s terroir is exceptional and I am very grateful to Francis Ford Coppola for continuing our collaboration,” said Bascaules.

• Decanter interview: Philippe Bascaules

“Philippe’s devotion to Inglenook has created a winery that we can pass on to our children and their children,” said Francis Ford Coppola.

“Château Margaux is Philippe’s alma mater, so it is logical and understandable to us that Philippe would be called upon to return there after the untimely passing of the wonderful Paul Pontallier.

“When Philippe was presented with the opportunity to return to Château Margaux, we were thrilled that he wished to continue working on both sides of the ocean.”

Château Margaux has not had a managing director since the death of Paul Pontallier in March 2016, although Pontallier appointed Sebastien Vergne as technical director in 2014, who will continue working alongside Bascaules.

Owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos said of the appointment, “During the 20 years he spent at the estate, we all deeply valued Philippe’s competence and wisdom. His great knowledge is an invaluable asset with which to guide and prepare the future of Château Margaux.”

“I am very honoured and I like to think that Paul Pontallier would have been happy for me to carry on his work. I am thrilled to be reunited with my former colleagues at Château Margaux and delighted to be working on the wines and vineyards of the estate” Bascaules said in the official announcement.

Bascaules was originally hired by Pontallier in 1990 and worked alongside him for 21 years. He will now be based out of Bordeaux, returning to Napa regularly.

Chateau Margaux has new technical director

First growth Chateau Margaux has a new technical director following the departure of Thomas Do Chi Nam, the estate has

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Chateau Margaux winemaker Philippe Bascaules has left to join Francis Ford Coppola's newly-renamed Inglenook Winery in California.

The Decanter interview: Philippe Bascaules

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The late Apple co-founder might have found a kindred spirit in a Bordeaux garage, writes Jane Anson in her latest column.

Its soft honeyed stone used to be hidden behind a thick bank of trees as you drove into Margaux village north of Bordeaux.

Today, Château Marojallia stands out like a siren sounding the arrival to this monied, upscale hamlet. Its graveled courtyard discreetly welcomes visitors, with neat rows of vines looking like every other established member of the Margaux family.

A garage wine revolution

Hard to remember that 17 years ago this place was the centre of a revolution; one that started in 1999, when the property exchanged hands from a 74-year old retired vigneron called Roger Rex to Philippe Porcheron, a man who had made his money in construction and was already owner of Château Bouqueyran in Moulis.

The property, next to Chateau Durfort Vivens, opposite Château Margaux, had been once owned by Bernard Ginestet – former owner of Chateau Margaux and longtime mayor of the village.

It came with no winery but with two hectares of 60-year old vines that were being rented out.

Porcheron took those back, rented out a small space in the nearby village of Arsac for the production facilities and brought in as winemaker a star name who was making all kind of waves back in 1999; Thunevin.

Not, it turned out, Jean-Luc Thunevin, but his oenologist wife Muriel. Both were stars of the garagiste movement that was in full swing at the close of the last century.

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The garage wine crew

Among the more celebrated garage wines (named because that’s where these wines were being made, like vinous versions of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs over in Los Altos) was Thunevin’s Valandraud that launched back in 1991 with 2.5ha of vines. In 1996 both Stephan Von Niepperg’s La Mondotte (4.3ha) and Jonathan Maltus’ Le Dôme (1.72ha) came along.

La Gomerie, Barde-Haut, Pavie Macquin, Gracia, Grand Murailles and Tertre Roteboeuf were counted among the same group, and everywhere on the Right Bank ambitious winemakers were dropping fruit, extending hang time, boosting new oak, extracting hard and securing their spot on the bandwagon.

On the Left Bank, Bernard Magrez launched a few micro cuvées in the garage wine spirit such as La Serenité, and Jean Guyon split Haut Condissas off from his Chateau Rollan de By to fly the flag on the other side of the river.

And then there was Marojallia. The winery space in Arsac was called a garage for the expectant press, yields were dropped to under 20 hectoliters per hectare, under half the usual crop for Margaux, and new oak was lavishly rolled out. Even more provocatively, the first vintage was priced more highly than Chateau Margaux, its direct neighbour and an 1855 First Growth. The name Marojallia was Latin for Margaux. The impudence. Jancis Robinson described it as, ‘a firebomb lobbed into the salons of traditional Bordeaux’.

Fashion moves on

Things look a little different today. The garagiste wines have had their moment. Fashions have moved on. Robert Parker has sold his Wine Advocate and retired from the Bordeaux game. Of the star consultants most associated with garage wines, Alain Reynaud and Michel Rolland have both sold off their family estates and Hubert de Boüard has handed over the running of Château Angélus to his daughter.

Bernard Magrez, who has a sixth sense when it comes to grasping which way the wind is blowing, has lowered new oak across his estates and is selling off his properties that don’t come attached to an official classification system. Hard not to feel that a page has been turned.

Château Margaux is probably quietly embarrassed at how upset it got back in 1999, when rumours tell us that it refused allocations to any merchants that took on its rival.

And yet head to the Marojallia website and you see it still describes itself as ‘Margaux’s first garage wine’. Which is why I was so fascinated to visit the property a few weeks ago and see just exactly what is going on.

‘We are still focusing on making the best wine we can. We have more than doubled our hectares of vines, and moved from 6,000 to 15,000 bottles,’ manager and cellar master Sebastien Valette tells me.

‘But sales haven’t always been easy. At first we sold almost entirely in America, then Russia, and are now trying to be more evenly spread across markets. Political events such as the Gulf War affected us strongly as a new brand without established distribution.’

The Thunevins only consulted here until 2003, when they handed over to Médoc-expert Christophe Coupez. They still distribute Marojallia but no longer exclusively, and today several merchants are enlisted to sell at what are today far more reasonable and stable prices that are well below those of Chateau Margaux (between one fifth of the final consumer price in most recent vintages).

‘We’re not technically a garage wine anymore,’ says Valette, ‘because our winery and cellar are here at the chateau in Margaux, but we are still boutique in spirit and focused on delivering our own exceptional style of wine.’

Certainly some things haven’t changed. The wine is still 100% new oak. They still push maturity, specifically looking for the gourmet quality of Cabernet Sauvignon by leaving it on the vines longer than most of their neighbours (‘when our Gonzague Lurton at Durfort Vivens is packing up his harvesting equipment, that is usually just when I am starting’ says Valette).

It means this is not always the most typical of Margaux wines, but it’s refreshing to see that Marojallia is still holding on to at least part of its original firebrand manifesto…

Wines to try

Clos Marjolaine, Margaux 2012

Second wine from younger vines up to 30 years of age. Good concentration and a gourmet nose, this is 15€ ex-chateau, great value. Velvety tannins, creamy edge, a lovely wine. Easy to drink, seriously rich and supple, on the sexy side of Margaux. 13%abv. 88 points /100

Chateau Marojallia, Margaux 2009

This is a big wine, once again we have these very silky tannins, rich chocolate, gourmet black fruits from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% merlot, around 3.8ph, 14.5%abv (both figures indicate full ripeness in a warm year). Not massively persistent for such a big year to be honest, but delivers plenty of impact. 91

Chateau Marojallia, Margaux 2010

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% merlot. Slightly higher acidity/lower ph than 2009 and more successful for it. This is tighter, darker, black fruits, black pepper, Corsican blood oranges on the nose, a beautiful fragrance that really opens up in the glass, the tannins are velvety on the attack and give grip that lasts through the palate. Aerian, elegant with the clearest Margaux typicity. 95

Chateau Marojallia, Margaux 1999

So, how has this firebomb held up? Bearing in mind that I tried the Chateau Margaux 1999 a few months ago and it was still decidedly young, this is definitely displaying tertiary aromatics. The intensity that comes from cropping the fruit at 20hl/h is still clear, and overall this is dense, rich with plenty of life ahead. A touch dry on the finish, this majors on exotic damson and fig fruit and frankly has lashings of enjoyment to offer. 91

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Paul Pontallier, who died on 28 March aged just 59 years old, had been managing director of first growth Château Margaux in Bordeaux since 1990. He would have turned 60 on 22 April.

Margaux a ‘perfect fit’

He first joined the estate in 1983 aged 27, two years after graduating as an agricultural engineer with a doctorate at oenology. Besides 18 months teaching winemaking at the Catholic University of Santiago, Margaux was to be his only full-time professional role and proved a perfect fit.

Hired by owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos – following a recommendation from his mentor Emile Peynaud – just three years after she stepped into her father’s shoes, the two shared a complicity and friendship rarely seen between owner and director. Together they worked to ensure that the transformation of Château Margaux that had begun under André Mentzelopoulos continued until it reached the exalted position it holds today.

A partnership ‘unsurpassed’ – Steven Spurrier

Decanter consultant editor Steven Spurrier described their partnership as ‘something that has never been surpassed even by that of Jean-Bernard or Jean-Philippe Delmas with Haut-Brion. It is difficult to imagine Margaux without him’.

Early years

Born in the Bordeaux region, Pontallier spent his early life on his parents’ wine estate, Château La Loge Saint-Léger in AOC Bordeaux Supérieur and went to the city’s most exclusive school, the Catholic-run Sainte-Marie-Grand-Lebrun.

He first considered a career as a doctor, and once told Decanter.com in an interview that ‘wine was so natural to me that I couldn’t imagine it being a serious career choice’.

But, he decided to follow his heart into agriculture. He gained his first degree in 1975 from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon that is today known as AgroParisTech. From there he specialised in oenology and viticulture, first in Montpellier and then at the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology in Talence, where he wrote his PhD on the effect of barrel ageing on red wines.

Joining Château Margaux

His first seven years at Château Margaux were spent alongside Philippe Barré, and he took over as managing director when Barré retired in 1990. Under his direction, Château Margaux delivered consistently magnificent vintages and confirmed its position as one of the world’s truly great châteaux.

Outside of Château Margaux, in 1984 Pontallier started the venture that would become Domaine Paul Bruno in Chile with his longtime friend Bruno Prats, and also consulted for Stellenbosch’s Plaisir de Merle. More recently he helped his son Thibault Pontallier with the creation of the Pont des Arts wine brand. But there is no doubt that he will forever be linked to Château Margaux, a place that he loved and frequently said he would never be tempted away from.

An ‘extraordinary talent’

‘The world is a sadder place today for the loss of Paul Pontallier,’ Decanter’s managing director, Sarah Kemp, said. ‘An extraordinary talent, an extraordinary man. He was the embodiment of the wines he crafted; elegant and refined. His humanity and kindness enriched many lives. He will be missed.’

Philippe Bascaules, who worked alongside Pontallier for eleven years at Château Margaux before joining Francis Ford Coppola at Inglenook in 2011, said, ‘I admired not only his humility but his passion. He used to say that doubt is the driving force of all scientific research. This was something that he felt very deeply, and that made him both very open and very human.

‘I always took great pleasure in speaking with him about wine of course, but also about history and the many other subjects that interested him so deeply’.

Pontallier leaves a wife and four children from his first marriage, Guillaume, Thibault, Alice and Antoine. The 2015 vintage was his 33^rd in Margaux.

Details of a memorial service have not yet been announced.

Watch Decanter.com video interviews with Paul Pontallier:

• Paul Pontallier on the Bordeaux 2010 harvest
• Paul Pontallier on Bordeaux 2012
• Corinne Mentzelopoulos and Paul Pontallier at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter in 2009

Fine wine buyers are far from tired of top Bordeaux if the offer is right, suggests the result of a rare Sotheby's auction of ex-cellar Chateau Margaux in New York that saw fierce bidding.

Sotheby’s said its Chateau Margaux auction held in New York on Saturday (17 October) fetched $2.77m, nearly double the firm’s pre-sale high estimate of $1.4m.

Buyers from the Americas and Asia bid fiercely for top vintages of Chateau Margaux direct from the Medoc first growth’s cellars, reinforcing opinion within the trade that New York is a resurgent force in the fine wine auction game after several years as clear second best to Hong Kong.

This latest result also offers a dose of perspective to those who decry Bordeaux as unfashionable and out of touch; albeit the auction scene is only one cog in a bigger fine wine trading market.

Chateau Margaux vintages sold during the auction dated from the early 1900s to 2010. A bottle of Margaux 1909 – recorked in 1979 – sold for $9,188, versus a pre-sale high estimate of $2,800.

Of the more recent vintages, many buyers showed interest in Bordeaux 2000. Several 12 bottle lots of Chateau Margaux 2000 were among the most sought after wines and the individual lots sold for $36,750 each against a pre-sale top estimate of $15,000.

Top lot in the auction was a vertical collection of Margaux magnums from 1978 to 2012 inclusive and all signed by the chateau’s managing director, Paul Pontallier. It fetched $67,375, including buyer’s premium, versus a pre-sale high estimate of $50,000.

The purchaser’s details were not revealed, as is standard in the wine auction world.

See full Chateau Margaux auction results here.

Sotheby’s is set to hold a ‘landmark’ auction of wines from Château Margaux in New York this autumn – the first significant sale of wines from the property’s own cellars.

In all, 239 lots worth an estimated US$1-1.4m will be offered at the auction on 17 October, including single bottles from the celebrated 1900 and 1945 vintages, as well as vertical lots marking the ownership of the Mentzelopoulos family since 1978.

Château Margaux 1900-2010 Direct from the Cellars: A Celebration of the Menzelopoulos Era also includes a special charity lot offering eight people the chance to visit the château.

They will enjoy an in-depth visit to the cellars, as well as a tasting and lunch or dinner, hosted by Corinne Mentzelopoulos and/or Margaux MD Paul Pontallier.

‘Any twinge of sadness I feel with these bottles leaving our cellars is overcome by the pleasure of knowing that they are destined to be enjoyed by Sotheby’s passionate and knowledgeable clients,’ said Mentzelopoulos.

‘This is a truly historic sale, that is only likely to happen once in a lifetime,’ said Jamie Ritchie, CEO, Sotheby’s Wine, Americas & Asia. ‘It provides a complete picture of the Mentzelopoulos era from 1978 to today, with a retrospective of the great vintages back to 1900.’

Highlights of the sale include:

• One bottle of Margaux 1900 (estimate $10,000-15,000)

• One bottle of Margaux 1945 (est $3,000-4,000)

• One bottle of Margaux 1953 (est $2,000-2,800)

• Vertical 10-bottle and -magnum lots covering the 2000s, 1990s and 1980s

• Vertical 35-bottle and -magnum lots covering the Mentzelopoulos era (1978-2012)

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Chateau Palmer in Margaux is aiming to achieve full organic and biodynamic certification by 2017 and its chief executive, Thomas Duroux, believes more Bordeaux estates will follow suit.

Thomas Duroux shows Chateau Palmer’s 2014 vintage during en primeur tasting week.

Duroux confirmed to Decanter.com during last week’s Bordeaux 2014 en primeur tastings that Chateau Palmer is working towards biodynamic certification with international body Demeter and is on-track to achieve that in 2017.

Palmer is also set to be fully certified organic, by Ecocert, in the same year. Currently, 20% of its vineyard is registered as organic.

Duroux is one of several converts to organic, and biodynamic, methods in Bordeaux. Others that have converted to biodynamic include Chateau Pontet Canet, led by Alfred Tesseron, and Chateau Climens in Barsac.

‘I am convinced that organic farming will become more widespread in Bordeaux in the coming years,’ said Duroux.

Only around 2% of vineyards across France are certified biodynamic, but Duroux believes its principles underpin a shift towards organic methods.

‘Biodynamic practices can be different from one interpretation to another and my feeling is that all organic properties will be inspired by Rudolf Steiner.’

Steiner is considered the founder of biodynamics as a philosophy, although many winemakers argue that the term merely gives conceptual structure to how vineyards and agricultural land were managed intuitively for centuries; with a holistic approach to the health of land and of people.

When asked whether Bordeaux’s rainy climate makes it harder to pursue organic and biodynamic methods in the region, Duroux said that it should not be a deterrent. ‘In Champagne, the climate is even worse. You either want to do it or not.’

He added that it was ‘still too early’ to be sure of the effect on the wines, but he said, ‘At this stage, my feeling is that the wines are more precise, closer to their origin; each bloc expresses itself in a more transparent way.’

Berenice Lurton, at Climens, told Decanter.com, ‘We have the impression that the wines are less austere when they are very young. It seems they are more expressive.’ Climens was approved as a member of biodynamic wine body Biodyvin in 2011.

‘When I was tasting barrel samples, I found it less and less easy to find the core of the wine,’ said Lurton, of the time prior to the estate’s move to biodynamics. ‘We had to do something.’

See Bordeaux 2014 en primeur coverage:

Written by Chris Mercer

First growth Chateau Margaux has a new technical director following the departure of Thomas Do Chi Nam, the estate has confirmed.

Managing director Paul Pontallier confirmed to Decanter.com that Do Chi Nam left the estate in spring 2014, and was not immediately replaced, as Pontallier himself is an oenologist and winemaker.

Do Chi Nam came to the estate in 2011 following 19 years at Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

Margaux subsequently appointed Sebastien Vergne to replace him. ‘We waited to find the right replacement,’ Pontallier said during the Bordeaux 2014 en primeur tastings last week. ‘We appointed Sebastien Vergne in the summer of last year. The 2015 season will be his first full vintage.’

Vergne is a graduate from the Ecole Nationalse Superieure d’Agronomie de Montpellier, as is Pontallier. Vergne began his career working in research for water resources and purificatation for Nestle, before retraining as an oenologist.

See Bordeaux 2014 coverage:

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux

John Kolasa, managing director of Margaux second growth Chateau Rauzan Segla since 1994, and of Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe Chateau Canon since 1996, will be officially stepping down from his post at the end of July 2015.

Kolasa was managing director of both Chateau Rauzan Segla and Chateau Canon

Kolasa announced his intention to retire in June 2014, when Nicolas Audebert was hired as co-managing director from LVMH’s Cheval des Andes in Argentina, but it was expected that he would stay until after the 2015 harvest.

The two wine properties, owned by luxury goods house Chanel, are now run totally separately from the negociant company Ulysses Cazabonne, started by Kolasa while he was working at Chateau Latour and brought over to Rauzan Segla with him. It is not yet clear if Kolasa will also step down from his role with the negociant – although Francois Dugoua is already working as managing director.

‘I have had the opportunity to work alongside John for the past year,’ Audebert told decanter.com, ‘to understand the estates and to work a full season in the vineyards and cellar. I have not travelled much over the past 12 months, and instead concentrated on understanding the team and the many small details that are essential to producing these great wines.’

There will be plenty to keep him busy. Over the past decade, Rauzan Segla has gone from 52 hectares in 2003 to 74 hectares, with the addition of new plots such as the 8 hectare Boston – the site for the estate’s increasing experimentation with organic farming. Canon has equally seen numerous investments and renovations and now stands at 34 hectares with the addition of new vineyard plots.

‘We are extremely pleased with the 2014 vintage, and its success has given everyone great confidence that we can now build on John’s achievements going forward, not making any drastic changes simply increasing the precision and finessing details,’ said Audebert. ‘I am looking forward to bringing my own perspective and ideas.’

See more Bordeaux 2014 coverage:

Written by Jane Anson