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  • Country ranking ?

    1 006
  • Producer ranking ?

    48
  • Decanting time

    1h30min
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Butterflied leg of lamb

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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The Story

Since the 17th Century, the first wine of Château Margaux has been recognised as being one of the greatest wines in the entire world. It owes its unique qualities to the genius of its terroir as well as to the passionate work of a succession of generations. It’s a remarkable wine that comes from a combination of characteristics that are only rarely found: finesse, elegance, complexity, density, intensity, length and freshness. Although its tannic concentration may be exceptional, it’s rare to detect astringency.  

The great vintages are distinguished by their formidable ability to move us. The lesser vintages give pleasure to wise enthusiasts. They offer the advantage of evolving very rapidly and, reveal, after a few years, instead of power, this subtlety that is the prerogative of great terroirs.  Château Margaux has an extraordinary ability to evolve. Over the years, it has developed a finesse, an aromatic complexity and a remarkable presence on the palate.

 

Château Margaux has sought to achieve excellence in its wines for over 400 years now through painstaking and necessarily long studies of its terroir, through a constant desire to learn and innovate, by remaining sensitive to demanding markets, and above all through a passionate commitment that has been shared by the families that have succeeded each other at the estate. At the end of the 17th century, it became part of the nascent elite “First Growths” – long before being established officially by the Classification of 1855. Since then, Château Margaux has known fame and fortune, seeing by experience how ephemeral both are.

The estate has 200 acres under vine. Each plot and each variety are treated differently from pruning throughout the growing season. Chateau Margaux’ goal is to nurture and maintain vines for as long as possible, as they believe vines need to reach 20 years of age to produce great wine. The estate is constantly trying to understand through experimentation how to improve soil health and fruit quality. Today, no insecticides are used, there is an important balance of healthy insects to counter pests, and any number of experiments with ploughing, organic farming, and biodynamic applications are ongoing. A final key point to note, Margaux has for the last 30+ years had among the lowest yields in the Medoc.

The wine was aged for 15 months, in 10% new oak and 90% second use barrels. Because of the particularities of the vintage, Cabernet Sauvignon made up an extremely high 88% of the blend, with Merlot only 12% of the blend. Importantly, the wine is held in bottle until ready to drink, which may not mean that vintages are released sequentially.

 

 

 

 

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Wine Information

This vintage is an example of something rare in those times: a successful late-ripening year. Unfortunately, coming so soon after the extraordinary 1961, this very fine wine was a little overshadowed. Château Margaux 1962 is, after 1961 and perhaps before 1966, one of the best vintages of the 1960s, though it is true that the decade included many lesser vintages. It is a fleshy wine, well balanced, rich and mature; very pleasant to drink today. The magnums have kept a distinct freshness compared with the bottles. (September 2002)

Weather
1962 was a late-ripening year which nevertheless benefited from excellent ripening conditions for the grapes. (The picking began 3rd October)




Château Margaux

It was 1977, and young, 24-year-old Corinne Mentzelopoulos was very impressed as she stepped out to the bright white stairway of the palace that was built in the 19th century. They had just finished lunch that had taken place in a dark, ramshackle dining room. She could not yet foresee that as a result of the handshake between the two gentlemen on the stairs, her life would soon change. Her father, André Mentzelopoulos, became the first Greek winegrower in Bordeaux, as he bought the Château Margaux from Pierre Ginestet for 75 million francs. The historic estate had changed hands once again.
The estate has been occupied since at least the 12th century, but it was only with the arrival of the Lestonnac family in the 16th century that wine production became of particular importance, and in the 1570s Pierre de Lestonnac cleared many of the grain fields to make way for grapes. By 1700 the estate covered its present area of 265 hectares, and the 78 hectares devoted to vines has remained essentially unchanged since then.
Château Margaux has sought to achieve excellence in its wines for over 400 years now through painstaking and necessarily long studies of its terroir, through a constant desire to learn and innovate, by remaining sensitive to demanding markets, and above all through a passionate commitment that has been shared by the families that have succeeded each other at the estate.
At the end of the 17th century, it became part of the nascent elite “First Growths” – long before being established officially by the Classification of 1855. Since then, Château Margaux has known fame and fortune, seeing by experience how ephemeral both are…
Today Corinne Mentzelopoulos, supported by her team led by Paul Pontallier, and following in her father André Mentzelopoulos' footsteps, devotes her time and energy to radiating her enthusiasm for this wine, whose name is synonymous with greatness, balance and harmony.
Pontallier drew most of his learning and production philosophy from Peynaud. Respect for the unique terroir of Margaux and applying this philosophy to wine in every unique year without the label of the wine maker represents Peynaud’s view that Pontallier has kept on honourably since Peynaud stepped aside from wine production in 1990.
The active and close co-operation between Pontallier and Mentzelopoulos has produced magnificent vintages: 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2003, and 2005. It remains to be seen how well the new generation can continue Corinne’s success in the history of the estate. It is certain that she is not stepping aside for a long time, but when she looks 50 years to the future, she says:
– Who knows what the world will be like then? I just hope my children are still around and are here managing the estate. But can things get much better for Margaux, when it already is in the minds of all wine lovers of the world? Should I keep my fingers crossed?

Soil: gravelly, clay-limestone
Production area: 82ha
Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (at least 75%), Merlot (between 10 and 15%) and finally Petit Verdot (around 5%) and a little Cabernet Franc
Average age of vines: 36 years
Harvest method: hand picked
Winemaking: The wine is fermented in oak vats
Ageing: over 18-24 months in new French oak barrels


Château Margaux
33460 Margaux
Tél. : +33 (0) 5 57 88 83 83
Fax. : +33 (0) 5 57 88 31 32
www.chateau-margaux.com

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Vintage 1962

Bordeaux Vintage Report by Tb / If 1962 was also a fabulous year, it fell irrevocably in the shadow of 1961. The cold winter, with its biting frosts, allowed the vines to get a well-deserved rest after their hard work in 1961. The growing season started three weeks late. When the vines finally sprouted in mid-June, the weather improved. Toward fall, the weather warmed measurably, with the resulting drought ultimately having a negative impact on the vines. The few bountiful September harvests arrived just in time to save the grapes from vine wilting. The harvest, which resulted in the largest harvest of the 1950s and 1960s, did not begin until October 1. Few people believed that the vintage would be as good as it became. An excellent vintage for dry whites, reds and Sauternes. As for Sauternes, the year 1962 is clearly better than that of 1961. The best reds were Cheval Blanc, Pétrus and Mouton-Rothschild. A common characteristic of the best wines from 1962 today is their serene and balanced appearance. Only a few show real body and complexity, but they work well especially as dinner wines, also because of their excellent availability and affordability. Even the best wines should not be decanted for more than an hour.

 

 

 

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Average Bottle Price

2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000
304€ +5.2% 289€ -4.0% 301€ -18.0% 367€ +73.9% 211€ +88.4% 112€ +27.3% 88€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Medium, Brick red and Bright

ending

Medium, Extensive and Gentle

flavors

Voluptuous, Blackcurrant, Vegetal, Cherry, Plum and Cedar

nose

Intense, Complex, Seductive and Generous

recommend

Yes

taste

Low in Acidity, Low alcohol content, Low tannin, Complex, Developing, Medium-bodied, Elegant, Rich, Full and Medium-Dry

Verdict

Sophisticated and Well-rounded

Written Notes

This vintage is an example of something rare in those times: a successful late-ripening year. Unfortunately, coming so soon after the extraordinary 1961, this very fine wine was a little overshadowed. Château Margaux 1962 is, after 1961 and perhaps before 1966, one of the best vintages of the 1960s, though it is true that the decade included many lesser vintages. It is a fleshy wine, well balanced, rich and mature; very pleasant to drink today. The magnums have kept a distinct freshness compared with the bottles.

A wonderful wine with the true Margaux-character. The colour in a bright ruby red with slightly brick red hue. The nose is very elegant with a lot of finesse, the true Château Margaux perfume, aroma reminiscent of roasted chestnuts, balmy spices, elegant fruit. On the palate perfectly balanced with persistent finish, a wonderful bottle close to perfection and better than the vintage would have suggested. Silky tannins, hints of sweetness and excellent length without being really powerful.

  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Margaux, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Value For Money

Poor

Investment potential

Below Average

Fake factory

None

Glass time

1h
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