CHATEAU MARGAUX 1ere Grand Cru Classe, Margaux 2019 Bottle
Red Still Wine | France | Bordeaux | Margaux | 75cl
£795.00
ABV: 13.5%
Size: 75cl
Closure Type: Cork
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-Region: Margaux
Wine Style: Full Bodied
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Description
Château Margaux 2019 is an exceptional wine that has received outstanding acclaim, including 100 points from The Wine Advocate and James Suckling, and 99 points from Vinous. This vintage displays a captivating bouquet of blackberries, raspberries, rose petals, and violets, alongside hints of pencil shavings and vine smoke. On the palate, it is full-bodied and layered, showcasing a vibrant core of fruit framed by ripe, powdery tannins and lively acidity. The finish is long and mouthwatering, exhibiting impressive complexity and elegance. Decanter awarded it 98 points for its creamy mid-palate and perfect balance, while Jancis Robinson noted its engaging character. This wine promises to age beautifully, making it ideal for enjoyment from 2029 to 2055.
*****
THE WINE ADVOCATE 100 points !!!
Drink Date: 2029 - 2069
Is the 2019 Château Margaux the wine of the vintage? A strong case in its favor could certainly be made. Soaring from the glass with aromas of blackberries, raspberries, rose petals, violets, pencil shavings and vine smoke, it's full-bodied, layered and sensual, with a strikingly vibrant core of fruit that's framed by ripe, powdery tannins and bright acids, concluding with a penetrating, mouthwateringly saline finish of almost interminable duration. Complex, elegant and utterly compelling, this is a brilliant Bordeaux that anyone with the requisite disposable income is going to want to own. - Reviewed by: William Kelley
JAMES SUCKLING 100 points !!!
Amazing aromas of crushed stones and wet soil with fresh mushrooms, then going on to violets and other flowers. Dark fruit, too. Full-bodied, yet agile and fine, with a linear flow of tannins that run through the center of palate. The finesse of the tannins is exceptional, like raw silk and changing all the time. Cool and energetic, yet reserved. Zen-like. 37% of the production and 90% cabernet sauvignon, 7% merlot, 2% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. So well balanced that you can drink it now, but this is one to leave for a decade and more. Ethereal.
VINOUS 99 points
Drinking Window 2029 - 2069
From: 2019 Bordeaux from Bottle: The Two Towers (Feb 2022)
The 2019 Château Margaux possesses off the charts richness to go along with plush contours and mind-blowing balance. All the elements are so wonderfully woven together. It's as if all the Château Margaux signatures are dialed up to eleven, but without losing any of the classic Margaux character. The purity of the red-toned fruit is just breathtaking. The Merlot was picked early, but then rain during harvest delayed the ripening of the Cabernets, which turned out to be a huge advantage.
Estate Manager Philippe Bascaules and his team turned out two spectacular wines in 2019. Bascaules describes 2019 as an easy vintage. Flowering was normal and set was good. Yields came in at a healthy 47 hectoliters per hectare, more than 2017 or 2018, the summer heat spikes notwithstanding. Bascaules opted to pick the Merlot early and gave those lots very gentle extractions at low temperatures, whereas the Cabernet Sauvignon vinifications were a much more typical 20-22 days at 28-30 degrees Celsius. In tasting, the 2019s have more tannins than any other vintage, with the exception of 2018, and yet the wines don't show that at all. The bottled wines are every bit as impressive as the barrel samples. - By Antonio Galloni on February 2022
DECANTER 98 points
Drinking Window: 2029 - 2050
This expands sideways, vertically and downwards, with a creamy mid palate and a rose petal, peony, raspberry and cassis collision on the nose. This is chewy in its tannic structure, full on and yet delicate and sappy. Fresh, elegant, perfumed and concentrated - clearly will age for decades. This is close in character to the 2009 or 2015,.... - Jane Anson
JANCIS ROBINSON 18 points
Tasted blind. A rather weak rim to the crimson. Light nose. Lots of sweet palate entry but without quite the drama or concentration of some. Angostura-bitters element to the flavour. Lots of tannin underneath. Not quite as thrilling as some. And pretty angular at present. (JR)
A Deeper Dive;
Château Margaux
Château Margaux, a First Growth property, has been owned by the Mentzelopoulos family since 1978. It has since consistently produced some of the finest wines in the Médoc.
One of the grandest, most imposing buildings amongst the Médoc châteaux, Ch. Margaux in its current form was built in the early 19th century, although viticulture had been practised on the estate for several centuries before. A chequered period of ownership in the 19th and early 20th century meant that the quality of some vintages was patchy. But the change which restored the property to its rightful status came in 1977 when it was bought by André Mentzenopoulos, Greek by birth but who had lived in France since 1958 and had made a fortune through supermarket retailing. André immediately instigated much-needed investment in vineyard and cellar. His untimely death in 1980 saw his daughter, Corinne, take up the reins. Corinne’s shrewdest move was the recruitment of talented young winemaker Paul Pontallier to oversee the production.
Paul would lead the estate for 33 vintages. He sadly passed away in 2016. Today, the estate is overseen by director Philippe Bascaules and technical director Sebastien Vergne, working with consultant Eric Boissenot.
The estate has 82 hectares under vine, with Cabernet Sauvignon inevitably dominant (75%) with 20% Merlot making up most of the rest, along with a smattering of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Unusually in Margaux, there is a white wine made here, Pavillon Blanc, from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, while the two red wines are, of course, Ch. Margaux itself and Pavillon Rouge. Typically, about 30,000 cases of red wine are made, with the Grand Vin usually accounting for just over 40% of the total. Production of the white wine amounts to less than 3,000 cases.
Margaux wines are renowned for their perfumed elegance, but this should not be construed as meaning that these are light-bodied. Far from it, as the best have an enviable structure, layers of complexity, and formidable length.
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