CHÂTEAU MARQUIS DE TERME

2017 4ème Cru Classé Margaux

EN PRIMEUR

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Lovely old school claret. Rich fruit and oak on the nose. On the palate, the wine opens up with cassis, forest fruits, violet, gravel dust and well pronounced oak. It is not muscular but has the concentration and depth to give the wine a lovely mouth-feel. Bright acidity. Tiny drying tannins. Eye catching. Rating: 91 L&S (May 2018)

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The 2017 Marquis de Terme has a clean, conservative, slightly tertiary bouquet with touches of black truffle and smoke. It just needs a little more energy. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition, quite focused and poised, albeit missing the depth of the previous two vintages. I noticed a lick of dark mocha appearing towards the finish that just blurs its definition. It is quite an easy-drinking Marquis de Termes to enjoy over the next 10 to 12 years. Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)

Very dark. Intense blackcurrant-pastille aroma with some vanilla sweetness. A little chalky on the palate, rather delicate but fresh and balanced. The tannins light and dry. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)

The medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Marquis de Terme offers delicate raspberry tart and blackberry pie notions with hints of potpourri, baking spices and dusty soil. Medium-bodied with a velvety texture and just enough red and black fruits in the mouth, it finishes on an earthy note. Rating: 88-90 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)

This is almost caramel on the nose, with a clear damson sweetness in the mouth along with dark cassis notes that add some welcome acidity. It shows good cohesiveness and is rich, dark and concentrated. The oak is used liberally but effectively. It may close down fairly tightly for the next six to eight years, but there is good potential here. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 91 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2018)

Lots of cassis, toasted spice and dried flower notes all emerge from the 2017 Château Marquis de Terme. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and balanced on the palate, this inky purple-colored Margaux has impressive density and depth as well as a broad, expansive texture. Count me impressed. It’s going to drink nicely for 10-15 years. Rating: 90-93 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2018)

Solid Margaux for the vintage with currant and berry character. Medium to full body and a juicy finish. Mineral and dark-chocolate undertones. Rating: 90-91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)

Enticing, offering ripe plum and raspberry fruit that has melded nicely with light incense and black tea hints. Stylish through the finish, with fine acidity letting this hang prettily. Rating: 90-93 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2018)

The picking of the Merlot began on September 19th, followed by the Petit Verdot on October 3rd, while the Cabernet Sauvignon came in later here, starting on October 3rd but not finishing until the 13th, one of the latest finishes in the appellation. The fruit was sorted by TriBaie machine. This has a rather fresh and dusty nose, showing a surprising depth of black cherry fruit. This translates onto the palate where the fruit is wrapped up in a minerally and gravelly jacket, adding a fresh poise to the wine, with attractive acidity and a grip of ripe tannins, and some toasted oak. The finish is ripe, rich in tannic form, correct and it has a little length too. For a frosted vintage, this shows rather decent quality. Tasted twice. Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)

Château Marquis de Terme was once part of an enormous estate that took in Rauzan-Segla, Rauzan-Gassies and Desmirail too, but by the time François de Peguilham Marquis de Terme came to own it in 1762 the estate had broken up into the four constituents we know today. The Marquis gave his name to the estate, an aristocratic name that survived the Revolution. Along the way, Thomas Jefferson came to visit and praised the wines in his diary. At the 1855 classification, Marquis de Terme was awarded 4th Growth status. Marquis de Terme was purchased, in 1935, by the Sénéclauze family who own it today. Château Marquis de Terme sits in the village of Margaux, with Durfort-Vivens next door and the two Rauzans immediately to its south. Of the 39.5ha of vineyard, 60% are Cabernet Sauvignon all planted on fairly typical Médoc gravel soil, whilst the more clay parts of the estate are given over to Merlot, with a small planting of Petit Verdot. Vines average around 35 years old. Ever with an eye to the future, Marquis de Terme have been experimenting with organic viticulture; and they age a small proportion of their wine in concrete “eggs” to achieve the benefits of wood ageing without the wood.