![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Palmer-bottle.jpg\")
Luckily, we walked away believing that 2021 is one of those right moments (mostly). The first Margaux which will took me to places was 2008 Alter ego de Palmer. A notoriously cool, classic vintage, but my word did it suit the wine and the appellation in general. 2021 pushed the most flattering characteristics as I see them to the fore \u2013 they\u2019re not wines where you desire masses of power or a really fleshy palate. I\u2019ll be buying some, and I have to say this just in case you don\u2019t read any further \u2013 Brane Cantenac was absolutely phenomenal. There were a lot of lovely wines in Margaux, but if your budget can only stretch to one, join me in buying a case.<\/p>\n
![\"Plamer](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Palmer-cellar.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau d’Issan<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chateau-d-issan.jpg\")
We kicked off our tour de Margaux at another property I\u2019m hugely emphatic about at the moment, Ch\u00e2teau d\u2019Issan. History fans will probably already know that it was served at Eleanor of Aquitaine\u2019s and Henry\u2019s the 2nd\u2019s wedding and the gatehouse to the Ch\u00e2teau (which is surrounded by a rather cool moat) looks positively Medieval. It is, however, the very modern history of the Ch\u00e2teau which makes it so exciting. We\u2019re never really ones to get behind these big buy outs, but when it results in such immense leaps in quality, it would be silly to ignore them. In 2013, property Magnate Jacky Lorenzetti bought a 50% stake in d\u2019Issan (augmenting his ownership of Pedesclaux and Lilian Ladouys, two wines which we also thought were magnificent quality this year) and we can only assume has since been funnelling money into it. For the 2020 vintage, they were able to buy a parcel of land which borders the vineyards of Ch\u00e2teau Margaux and the quality has generally really been on the rise. With a few years in cellar, it will be beautifully perfumed, supple, and drinkable. The estate in general is a real one to watch.<\/p>\n
![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Issan-chateau.jpg\")
Swapping the wood panelled drawing room of d\u2019Issan for the cathedral-esque barrel cellar of Ch\u00e2teau Palmer, we were taken through the wines by the always entertaining Chris Myers. Refreshing and brutal honesty is always Chris\u2019 approach \u2013 he knew they\u2019d made a great wine, he was also painfully aware of how little there was of it. The two most noteworthy things to come out of the tasting were that Alter Ego was a rather unusual 60% Cabernet Sauvignon this year, having lost a lot of Merlot to frost (this made is very serious and a bit more stern than I\u2019m used to, but no bad thing if you\u2019re willing to be patient) and that rather alarmingly, due to the frost in 2022, they were already down 25-50%. Scary stuff indeed when you consider how in demand the wine already is.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Margaux<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Margaux.jpg\")
Up the road to Ch\u00e2teau Margaux. Again, I don\u2019t really need to talk about the quality here, the declared critics have already cited this as one of the top left bank wines of the vintage. What you might be interested to know (I love a stat), is that chemically speaking, 2021 Margaux was quantifiably the same as 2019, except for the alcohol. PH, tannin, IPT (a way of reading the polyphenol content of a wine, being the things which more or less create flavour) were all in alignment. Thus begging the question as to whether or not this could be a potential 100 point, zipped up in lower alcohol clothing.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Rauzan-S\u00e9gla<\/strong><\/h4>\nOur next stop was Rauzan-S\u00e9gla. I love Rauzan, but upon first tasting was slightly underwhelmed by the 2021, so it was lucky we stopped for another go (the first had been at a negociant walk around after they\u2019d give us lunch \u2013 a hangover from the last piece of cheese was throwing my palate off). It\u2019s difficult to come up with a relevant comparison for 2021 Rauzan \u2013 it wasn\u2019t the most impactfully perfumed of Margaux, but it had an impressive amount of density and sensuality, something you expect from the estate, that however was combined with the same really fine bone structure that they\u2019d given Ch\u00e2teau Canon this year. I hope I don\u2019t get anything thrown at me for saying this, but it was a wonderfully feminine iteration, an almost reverential beauty which deserved delicate treatment.![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Rauzan-Segla.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Brane-Cantenac<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"Chateau](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Brane-cantenac.jpg\")
Here comes the effusion. We\u2019ve always liked Brane-Cantenac. They make such great wine and make so little fuss about it \u2013 they even treated us to a sample of the 2011 and 2001. Good luck getting either of these on the secondary market. I think it\u2019s often perceived that when a wine doesn\u2019t have many back vintages up for sale that it\u2019s sort of not that good and not \u2018investment grade\u2019 because the quality isn\u2019t there. The reality is, you\u2019d be an idiot to sell it \u2013 as I expect almost all Brane-Cantenac drinkers know. They\u2019re just far too good.<\/p>\n
The position of their Cabernet on Brane plateau, an exceptional sight geared toward early ripening, has done wonders in 2021. The perfume needs to be smelt to be believed and the palate has every element you\u2019d want in a great Margaux. Age it if you can, it\u2019ll only get better, but I fear it may be too good off the bat to refuse.<\/p>\n
We kicked off our tour de Margaux at another property I\u2019m hugely emphatic about at the moment, Ch\u00e2teau d\u2019Issan. History fans will probably already know that it was served at Eleanor of Aquitaine\u2019s and Henry\u2019s the 2nd\u2019s wedding and the gatehouse to the Ch\u00e2teau (which is surrounded by a rather cool moat) looks positively Medieval. It is, however, the very modern history of the Ch\u00e2teau which makes it so exciting. We\u2019re never really ones to get behind these big buy outs, but when it results in such immense leaps in quality, it would be silly to ignore them. In 2013, property Magnate Jacky Lorenzetti bought a 50% stake in d\u2019Issan (augmenting his ownership of Pedesclaux and Lilian Ladouys, two wines which we also thought were magnificent quality this year) and we can only assume has since been funnelling money into it. For the 2020 vintage, they were able to buy a parcel of land which borders the vineyards of Ch\u00e2teau Margaux and the quality has generally really been on the rise. With a few years in cellar, it will be beautifully perfumed, supple, and drinkable. The estate in general is a real one to watch.<\/p>\nSwapping the wood panelled drawing room of d\u2019Issan for the cathedral-esque barrel cellar of Ch\u00e2teau Palmer, we were taken through the wines by the always entertaining Chris Myers. Refreshing and brutal honesty is always Chris\u2019 approach \u2013 he knew they\u2019d made a great wine, he was also painfully aware of how little there was of it. The two most noteworthy things to come out of the tasting were that Alter Ego was a rather unusual 60% Cabernet Sauvignon this year, having lost a lot of Merlot to frost (this made is very serious and a bit more stern than I\u2019m used to, but no bad thing if you\u2019re willing to be patient) and that rather alarmingly, due to the frost in 2022, they were already down 25-50%. Scary stuff indeed when you consider how in demand the wine already is.<\/p>\nUp the road to Ch\u00e2teau Margaux. Again, I don\u2019t really need to talk about the quality here, the declared critics have already cited this as one of the top left bank wines of the vintage. What you might be interested to know (I love a stat), is that chemically speaking, 2021 Margaux was quantifiably the same as 2019, except for the alcohol. PH, tannin, IPT (a way of reading the polyphenol content of a wine, being the things which more or less create flavour) were all in alignment. Thus begging the question as to whether or not this could be a potential 100 point, zipped up in lower alcohol clothing.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Rauzan-S\u00e9gla<\/strong><\/h4>\nOur next stop was Rauzan-S\u00e9gla. I love Rauzan, but upon first tasting was slightly underwhelmed by the 2021, so it was lucky we stopped for another go (the first had been at a negociant walk around after they\u2019d give us lunch \u2013 a hangover from the last piece of cheese was throwing my palate off). It\u2019s difficult to come up with a relevant comparison for 2021 Rauzan \u2013 it wasn\u2019t the most impactfully perfumed of Margaux, but it had an impressive amount of density and sensuality, something you expect from the estate, that however was combined with the same really fine bone structure that they\u2019d given Ch\u00e2teau Canon this year. I hope I don\u2019t get anything thrown at me for saying this, but it was a wonderfully feminine iteration, an almost reverential beauty which deserved delicate treatment.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Brane-Cantenac<\/strong><\/h4>\nHere comes the effusion. We\u2019ve always liked Brane-Cantenac. They make such great wine and make so little fuss about it \u2013 they even treated us to a sample of the 2011 and 2001. Good luck getting either of these on the secondary market. I think it\u2019s often perceived that when a wine doesn\u2019t have many back vintages up for sale that it\u2019s sort of not that good and not \u2018investment grade\u2019 because the quality isn\u2019t there. The reality is, you\u2019d be an idiot to sell it \u2013 as I expect almost all Brane-Cantenac drinkers know. They\u2019re just far too good.<\/p>\n
The position of their Cabernet on Brane plateau, an exceptional sight geared toward early ripening, has done wonders in 2021. The perfume needs to be smelt to be believed and the palate has every element you\u2019d want in a great Margaux. Age it if you can, it\u2019ll only get better, but I fear it may be too good off the bat to refuse.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nHere comes the effusion. We\u2019ve always liked Brane-Cantenac. They make such great wine and make so little fuss about it \u2013 they even treated us to a sample of the 2011 and 2001. Good luck getting either of these on the secondary market. I think it\u2019s often perceived that when a wine doesn\u2019t have many back vintages up for sale that it\u2019s sort of not that good and not \u2018investment grade\u2019 because the quality isn\u2019t there. The reality is, you\u2019d be an idiot to sell it \u2013 as I expect almost all Brane-Cantenac drinkers know. They\u2019re just far too good.<\/p>\n
The position of their Cabernet on Brane plateau, an exceptional sight geared toward early ripening, has done wonders in 2021. The perfume needs to be smelt to be believed and the palate has every element you\u2019d want in a great Margaux. Age it if you can, it\u2019ll only get better, but I fear it may be too good off the bat to refuse.<\/p>\n
![\"2021](\"https:\/\/blog-2207a.kxcdn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/CTA-Bordeaux-EP-browse.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"