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Description
Tasting notes

Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2023 Château Margaux, which contains 15% vin de presse, is quintessential Château Margaux. It immediately blossoms in the glass with irresistible crushed violets on the nose, instantly demanding attention—you will gladly give it. Exquisitely defined and very focused with supremely well integrated oak, this is blessed with laser-like precision. The palate is silky smooth on the entry, perhaps a little feistier than expected thanks to a liberal sprinkling of black pepper. Quite structured (like the Pavillon Rouge) and gentle, you can almost overlook its grip. It finishes with a concentrated, graphite-tinged finish that lingers long in the mouth. This First Growth will require ten years in bottle to really show what it is capable of.

Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2023 Château Margaux unwinds in the glass with notes of sweet red and black fruits mingled with hints of violets, orange zest and petals, lavishly framed by spicy, toasty oak that is quite prominent out of the gates. Medium- to full-bodied, with a deep core of primary fruit built around bright acids and chalky structuring tannins, it's youthful and vibrant and will require a bit of patience. It's a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that attained 13% alcohol, with the Cabernet Sauvignon seeing somewhat shorter than usual macerations and the inverse for Merlot.
About the Producer
Chateau Margaux is located in the village of Margaux, in the Medoc appellation on the left bank of Bordeaux, and was awarded a First Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Medoc classification, alongside Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Château Haut-Brion. It is also known as Chateau Haut-Brion. Château Margaux currently covers a total of 262 hectares, including 99 hectares of vineyards. The red vineyard has an appellation of 87 hectares, of which 82 hectares are planted, while the white vineyard is planted with 12 hectares. The red varieties are mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc; the white varieties are Sauvignon Blanc and the vines are on average 45 years old. Since the end of the 1990s, the estate has refused to use pesticides in the vineyards. In addition, only organic fertilisers are used in the vineyard, and deep fertilisation is carried out at regular intervals to improve the soil structure and rejuvenate the soil. During the harvest season, the winery team selects the right time to harvest the grapes by testing and analysing all the indicators and by tasting the grapes themselves. Once the grapes have reached their ideal state of ripeness, they are harvested by a team of over 200 trained harvesters. Once in the winery, the grapes undergo a rigorous selection process before being de-stemmed. Both oak barrels and stainless steel tanks are used to ferment the red grapes, while the white grapes are fermented entirely in oak barrels. After the alcoholic fermentation, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation. The red wines are then left to mature in oak barrels for 18-24 months and the whites for 6-8 months. The main wine of the estate, Château Margaux's red wine, is rich and complex, with an elegant and powerful ballet on the tongue, rich and smooth tannins, good balance and a long, fresh finish with excellent ageing potential. It successfully conquered Napoleon Bonaparte, the founder of the First French Empire, and won the hearts of Thomas Jefferson, the founding father of the United States, and Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" of England. In the world of wine criticism, Château Margaux's red wines have also been recognised, with four perfect scores from Robert Parker and many more from other critics with 95 points or more. In recent years, the quality of Château Margaux's red wines has been steady and has maintained a high level of interest in the market.