| Red Wine | Cabernet Sauvignon | Margaux | Bordeaux | |||
| Type | Varietal | Appellation | Region |
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Cellar Notes |
Date printed: 09/10/10 |
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Price on 09/10/10: $799.00 |
Bottle Shop of Spring Lake Notes
This stunning first growth vineyard is planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, and the average age of the vines is about 40 years. It has enjoyed a stellar reputation in modern times, with Robert Parker calling it "a brilliantly consistent wine of stunning grace, richness and complexity." The extremely talented Paul Pontallier oversees the estate and the winemaking, and travels the world not only promoting Chateau Margaux, but Bordeaux in general.
Winemaker's Notes
After the extreme weather conditions in the summer, we might well have expected a warm, alcohol-rich nose with very ripe fruit to the fore, black fruit, even baked fruit. However, what we actually have, literally jumping out of the glass, are red berry fruit aromas, freshness and purity. We can even find, as in 96 and 2000, a mingling of floral and slightly spicy notes, coming through delightfully in this very complex cocktail, in which the new oak has already been totally integrated, as if it had been “digested” by the body of the wine. And what body ! We knew, of course, that all the wines were extremely concentrated. It has to be said that when you add, so to speak, a very low yield to the hot weather conditions in the summer, plus the blending, in which there was an excellent press wine, the result is a wine which possesses a density which has been unparalleled in recent vintages. This density gives the wine not just power and strength, but depth and length too ; and above all, a tannic structure which is so tightly-knit that its texture has taken on a silky feel. A lot has been said, this year, about acidity and the mysteries of it. It is true that grapes have rarely been picked at such low levels of acidity as in 2003. And yet, through the combination of the acids being produced during the fermentation process, a lesser tartaric acid precipitation and a low malic acid content, we have ended up today with a total acidity which is exactly the average of the last 20 vintages. This vintage, with its extreme weather conditions (as we thought), has in fact given birth to a great classic claret !
Wine Advocate Am I being too stingy with the 2003 Chateau Margaux? A wine of extraordinary complexity and intensity, it reveals a deep purple color, a style not unlike the 1990 Margaux (possibly even more concentrated), a velvety texture, and notes of spring flowers interwoven with camphor, melted licorice, creme de cassis, and pain grille. Not a blockbuster, it offers extraordinary intensity as well as a surreal delicacy/lightness. There is riveting freshness to this offering, which tips the scales at a lofty (for this estate) 13.5% alcohol, as well as an alluring sweetness and accessibility. It probably will tighten up over the next few years. Nevertheless, it is a profound Chateau Margaux that brings to mind a hypothetical blend of the 1982 and 1990. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2035. Score: 99. —Robert Parker, April 2006.Wine Spectator Ultraconcentrated, with layers and layers of fruit and superfine tannins. Plenty of fruit, mineral and meat character. Full-bodied yet refined and classy, it coats your palate with gorgeous fruit and ripe tannins. Truly superb. One of the wines of the vintage. Best after 2012. 10,830 cases made. Score: 98. —James Suckling, March 31, 2006.
Wine Enthusiast This may be from the exceptional vintage of 2003, but Château Margaux remains true to form. First and foremost, it is a refined, elegant wine, with complex layers of flavors. But, yes, the hot summer is there the dense, dry tannins, but somehow they seem to float through the wine rather than sitting heavily in the middle. Acidity and freshness come to finish, giving the wine a delicious lift. Score: 96. —Roger Voss, May 01, 2006.
About Château Margaux
The very highest quality has never been the outcome of mere chance. To achieve it in a great wine calls for a generous soil, a favourable climate and the dedicated, impassioned attention of the hand of man. Château Margaux enjoys a uniquely favoured situation, where a particular kind of perfection asserts itself with exemplary forcefulness, both in the estate as well as in all its surroundings. This perfection is the outcome both of natural advantages and of the care lavished on the property by a line of owners with an abiding concern for the reputation of the estate. For many centuries these families have succeeded each other - from the Lestonnacs, the true founding dynasty, to the Mentzelopoulos family today - striving still further to enhance that reputation. All have defended the image and quality linked to the name "Margaux". A special tribute is due here to the late André Mentzelopoulos, who from 1978 succeeded in giving a renewed impetus to Château Margaux. A cru of such renown cannot be allowed to suffer even the slightest decline in standards. There is a constant need for vision - to watch over, to improve, to look ahead and to innovate. Here splendour is born of the continuous, joint efforts of the very finest craftsmen. Outdoors, the vineyard-workers. In the cellars, the many skills involved in winemaking. For more than five hundred years, season after season, generations of vineyard-workers, grapeharvesters, cellar-workers, coopers and many other craftsmen have all played a part in making Château Margaux what it is today: a wine with an incomparable personality, reflected in the elegant Palladian building which adorns its label. Nowhere else has so ideal a marriage been made between a wine of such distinction and its magnificent setting.