Château Margaux 2015

Château Margaux 2015: a unique packaging for an already legendary vintage

The estate
With origins dating back to the 12th century, the Château Margaux is one of those Grand Crus that have built the legend of the great wines of Bordeaux around the world. The château was awarded the title of Premier Grand Cru Classé in 1855 and was the only one of the four châteaux presented to have obtained a score of twenty out of twenty. With the acquisition of the estate in 1977 by André Mentzelopoulos, Château Margaux writes a new page in its history. Elevating the Grand Vin of Château Margaux to the highest level, he reintroduced the Second Wine of the château, Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, initiated in 1908. Following in her father's footsteps due to his premature death, Corinne Mentzelopoulos took up the family banner with energy and passion to maintain the rank of Château Margaux, which has become a Bordeaux masterpiece, so recognizable by its neo-Palladian style. Vintage after vintage, the estate's wines are among the greatest wines in the world.

The vineyard
The vineyard of Château Margaux owes its uniqueness to its rare and unique terroir, located on a gravel mound. The grape variety of the estate favors the flagship black grape of the area, the cabernet sauvignon, not forgetting the merlot, the petit verdot and the cabernet franc. The clay-limestone soils of the estate give birth to legendary wines, with a sleek and sensual style, so representative of the Margaux appellation.

The wine
For the first time in its history, the Premier Grand Cru Classé de Margaux marks a vintage with unique packaging. The reasons for the creation of this highly elegant label are diverse. It is primarily a tribute to Paul Pontallier, who passed away too early in March 2016, the 2015 vintage is the last one made under his direction. This particular edition is also the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the château's architecture and the inauguration of the new cellars designed by Lord Norman Foster. Finally, it is simply one of the greatest vintages in the history of the estate. 35% of the total harvest was retained for the first wine.

The vintage
The climatic conditions of 2015 are in fact characteristic of the very great vintages like 2005, 2009 and 2010. The red grape harvest at Château Margaux took place from September 18 to October 6. The small size of the grape berries and their thicker skin suggested a very high tannic concentration. This wine is part of a very particular context. 2015 is a historic year, in the literal sense, at Château Margaux as the estate was celebrating both the bicentenary of the construction of the estate buildings in 1815, and inaugurating the new premises built or remodeled by Norman Foster. It is easy to imagine how much the Margaux teams dreamed that 2015 would be a great vintage!

Blend
Cabernet sauvignon (87 %), merlot (8 %), cabernet franc (3 %) and petit verdot (2 %).

Characteristics and tasting advice for Château Margaux 2015

Tasting

Attractive in concentration, finesse, vigor and power, this vintage can evoke both the strength of 2005, the flesh of 2009, the subtlety of 2010.