Margaux

Margaux is capricious. It can be the trickiest of left bank appellations – sometimes you will never see beyond its façade which, albeit attractive, does not reveal the hidden depths beneath. Caught at the right time, however and it is (in this writer’s opinion) the finest Bordeaux can offer. A sea of violets and other floral delights, decadent blue fruits, chocolates – a swirling cornucopia of flavour and depth. 2022 Margaux, has given us plenty of opportunities to experience this pleasure in the near future.

It’s expected that both Château Margaux and Palmer will make great wines, they always do, but 2022 helped accentuate this. Palmer sailed against the prevailing wind and chose to heavily extract – a move which was almost unanimously avoided across Bordeaux due to the high ratio of skins to juice (some vats were as much as 2/3rds skin to 1/3rd juice – it’s usually the other way around). The astounding elegance which they have managed to fashion from this process makes me question everything I know about wine making.

Brane-Cantenac have found their magic. This wine belongs to a distinguished few of those we tasted at Primeur, with qualities which surpassed structural promise and delivered genuine pleasure and nuance. The entire team left in a state of total enthusiasm.

Rauzan-Ségla deserves a mention here too; although it is no surprise that their wine was one of the very best – it was also lovely to return to the ritual at the Château in which they allow you to taste from several different barrels. In a suspicious world, where there is sometimes fear that we are being fed only the best barrel at En Primeur, this lends further authenticity to their frankly fantastic wine making.

Bargains also abound in Margaux. Look to the more affordable end of the spectrum for something really fun. Labégorce was properly powerful, Cantemerle (we know, not quite Margaux, but near enough) continuing their streak of good form. The extra heat has really pushed some petit Château to the next level.

Please note that we can source wines in any format if offered by the Château. Just indicate which size you would like in your wishlist order form or email us with a specific request. Bottling charges do apply so please see our Terms for more details.