CHÂTEAU MARGAUX 2014

Château Margaux 2014

“The 2014 Château Margaux represents 36% of the year’s total production and is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Affording the glass five to ten minutes to open, the aromatics are very similar to those expressed out of barrel, those dark cherries and violets, tightly wound at first but unfurling beautifully and seemingly with each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin and it appears to have fomented a little more finesse during its élevage. There is wonderful mineral tension and dash of spiciness on the persistent finish. There remains some tightness here, the implication that this is a Château Margaux determined to give long-term pleasure. Therefore, do not be afraid to give it a decade in the cellar. (NM/3/2017)” – 94/100, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

VARIETIES: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% 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: 97/JS, 97/WE, 95/RP, 95/WS, 94/V
VIVINO: Average 4.6 ★★★★✰

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1ᵉr Grand Cru Classé – 1855, Margaux Appellation | Range | Château Margaux 2014

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.

What a relief after the difficult moments we had in 2013! This succession of very different vintages makes Bordeaux a unique place where experience can be learned from, without having the temptation to repeat it! Besides, in 2014, the cellar designed by Norman Foster opened our eyes to new possibilities and showed where other experiments are going to sustain the progress for the coming years. A new chapter has just begun, and we have had the joy of opening it in the euphoria of a calm and easy harvest! In 2014 we went back to almost normal quantities, certainly superior to those of 2013 but not yet to the level that we would like to reach in view of the state of the vineyard; big efforts probably need to be made in order to improve the yield on a few top quality plots. As usual, when conditions are not those of a great vintage, the gap widens between the best terroirs and the others that weren’t able, in spite of a great September, to catch up completely on the time lost in August. Only our emblematic plot of Merlot, « l’Eglise », was able to be included in the first wine, which represents only 5% of the Merlot in the blend… but it is superb and counts among the best successes of these last ten years. All the great Cabernet Sauvignons are in the right place – that is to say, the best! They provide 90% of the first wine. 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot complete this blend, all in all classic these last few years. Château Margaux 2014 contains 36% of the harvest, the hard core of the great quality. It is probably illusory to imagine going above this, and perhaps dangerous to go below because each constituent, at this stage, is necessary to the overall balance. It’s a powerful wine, fleshy, whose silky tannins almost make one forget the great concentration and fine acidity. It will not rank among the greatest vintages of this century -2000, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2010- but can certainly claim a place just below. (October 2018)