Chateau Margaux, Margaux, 1er Grand Cru Classe 2020

Chateau Margaux Margaux 1er Grand Cru Classe 2020

Critic tasting notes: (2020 vintage)

"The purity of the fruit in the nose is striking. From there you move to notes of allspice, tobacco, roses, truffle, smoke, roasted plums, cherries and currants. Incredibly sensuous, silky and fresh, the fruit literally coats your palate with layers of velvet and silk textured berries. Intensely concentrated, weightless and effortless to drink, the wine seamlessly glides across your senses and holds with you for at least 60 seconds. This is a prodigious vintage of Chateau Margaux. The product of an early vintage, picking took place September 10 to September, 30. Yields were 36 hectoliters per hectare, with the Grand Vin produced from only 36% of the crop. The wine blends 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% ABV, 3.68 Ph." - Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider (99/100)

"This is a big wine, smoky and rich. With a higher proportion of Petit Verdot than in the past, it offers complexity and bold black fruits. The wine is structured while always ripe and generous. Drink this magnificent wine from 2028." - Wine Enthusiast (98/100)

"Dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, deep core, delicate rim brightening. Sweet cherry fruit, hints of rose petals, fine ripe plum fruit, hints of vanilla and orange zest, some nougat, very inviting and seductive nose. Juicy, elegant, delicate cassis, fresh cherries, very purist, silky, fine tannins, fresh and lively, full of charm and harmony, lingers long, a delicate wine with very good length. (2025-2060)." - Falstaff (98/100)

"The 2020 Château Margaux is a brilliant young wine, unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with hints of rose petals, iris, burning embers and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with terrific tension, beautifully refined tannins and a long, penetration finish, this is a vibrant, dynamic Margaux that stands out as the most classically proportioned wine of the 2018, 2019 and 2020 trio.

Philippe Bascaules—who served as directeur de l'exploitation under Paul Pontaillier between 1990 and 2011—took the reins at Château Margaux in early 2017, and he and his team have crafted another brilliant wine in the 2020 vintage. Meticulously maintained vineyards, situated on the appellation's finest terroirs, are farmed intelligently, without deleafing or green harvesting—something other producers increasingly emulate as they pull back from the excesses of the early 2000s. Cabernet Sauvignon is on the increase, both in terms of plantings and as a percentage of the blend (it represents 90% of the grand vin in 2019), which works perfectly with Margaux's soils and the estate's elegant but concentrated style. Winemaking is very traditional, with classical macerations and an 18-month élevage in new oak (most barrels are produced in-house) punctuated by six rackings and one egg-white fining. An in-house bottling line is being acquired to bring even greater control and flexibility. Natural cork is the order of the day for the reds, of course, but whites now see Diam 30 to ensure consistent evolution, and all are bottled in Margaux's new proprietary extra-dark glass bottle." - Robert Parker The Wine Advocate, Reviewed by: William Kelley (97/100)

"Gorgeous aromas of dark plums and violets. Orange peel, too. Some crushed stone. Bark. Stems. Iron shavings. Full-bodied, but very tight and compacted. The tannins are all here making it very structured, yet they are polished and melted together. Needs years to show all of its greatness. Incredible polish and structure. More structured than the 2019. Try after 2030 and beyond." - James Suckling

Producer tasting notes: (2020 vintage)

"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." - Chateau Margaux

Classification

1er Grand Cru Classé

Drinking Window

2028 - 2070

Vintage Notes

As in the preceding vintages, 2020 saw average temperatures that were among the highest ever recorded due to a series of heatwaves and an exceptionally dry summer. Several factors contributed to making this a superb wine: homogenous flowering, summer conditions that favoured small berries and therefore concentrated wines, and excellent harvesting conditions. Only the yield was not as we had hoped. The fertility of the grape varieties was lower than in previous years, with 1.6 bunches per shoot, compared to 2 in 2019. The average yield on the estate was therefore 36 hl/ha.

Ageing

22 month