CHÂTEAU MARGAUX 2012

Château Margaux 2012

“The 2012 Château Margaux is showing much differently from bottle than it did from cask. Seemingly much fuller and richer, it has a dense ruby/purple color, representing a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Merlot, as well as only 33% of their harvest. It possesses hints of spring flowers intermixed with blueberries, blackberries and cassis fruit, moderate tannin, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a long, structured finish. This 2012 was charming, up-front and precociously styled from barrel, but in bottle it is more masculine, dense and rich. This wine needs a good 5-7 years of cellaring, and should keep well for 25 or more years. This is a great effort from Château Margaux, and should handsomely repay those who buy it. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2040. (RP/4/2015)” – 95/100, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

VARIETIES: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
REGION: France / Bordeaux / Médoc / Margaux
AGEING: Aged in 100% new oak for 18-24 months, depending on the quality and character of the Bordeaux vintage
GUARDING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now or will cellar well up to 20 years
SERVE: Serve at 16 – 18ºC
CRITICS SCORES: 95/RP, 95/WE, 95/WS, 94/JS, 18/JR
VIVINO: Average 4.6 ★★★★✰

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1ᵉr Grand Cru Classé – 1855, Margaux Appellation | Range | Château Margaux 2012

Grand Vin du Château Margaux

Since the 17th Century, the first wine of Château Margaux has been recognised as being one of the greatest wines in the entire world.

It owes its unique qualities to the genius of its terroir as well as to the passionate work of a succession of generations. It’s a remarkable wine that comes from a combination of characteristics that are only rarely found: finesse, elegance, complexity, density, intensity, length and freshness. Although its tannic concentration may be exceptional, it’s rare to detect astringency.

The great vintages are distinguished by their formidable ability to move us. The lesser vintages give pleasure to wise enthusiasts. They offer the advantage of evolving very rapidly and, reveal, after a few years, instead of power, this subtlety that is the prerogative of great terroirs.

Château Margaux has an extraordinary ability to evolve. Over the years, it has developed a finesse, an aromatic complexity and a remarkable presence on the palate.

The draconian selection – a little less than 34% of the harvest in the first wine – can for the most part be explained by the heterogeneity of the 2012 vintage, which is mainly due to the hydric stress experienced by young vines and sensitive terroirs. How disappointing not to have been able to add this fabulous plot of young 13-year-old Cabernets, which had done so well in 2010 and 2011, to the first wine! But how wonderful to see our greatest plots of mature vines reach such heights of concentration and elegance! The Cabernet Sauvignons (87% of the blend) are remarkable: powerful, dense, full-bodied and refined. The two usual batches of Merlot (10%) as well as the small batch of Cabernet Franc (2%) that usually join them didn’t fail but aren’t better than in 2011. As for our only old plot of Petit Verdot, it produced a superb wine, very different from the younger ones. Our best press wines, which are the fruit of a stringent selection, bring to this year’s blend both a density and remarkable flesh, without depriving it of its finesse. It is sometimes forgotten that they are the concentrate of the free-run wines’ qualities and flaws, and that rigorous work is all that is needed to exploit their amazing potential. Château Margaux 2012 is “almost” a great vintage, ultimately not that far removed from the 2010. It has more power, and the same purity, balance and charm, perhaps a little less depth? In any case it’s a good step beyond the 2011. (October 2018)