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Château Margaux 1996

Château Margaux, Bordeaux, France

Château Margaux
Bordeaux France
  • 99
    Points
  • The 301 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 17 Pros of
    17 recommend
    this wine
969 99
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    257

  • Producer ranking ?

    15

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    Now-2025

  • Food Pairing

    Rack 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 tan...

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Wine Information

This complicated year taught us many lessons, as it differed completely from the usual, very probably too simple, pattern of the great vintages. It may well be that the heavy rain which came at the end of September was, in fact, a help to the ripening of the Cabernet Sauvignon, as it very probably was the case in 1995, rather than the opposite as we feared. Whatever the explanation, this vintage ended up producing a wine which will go down in ...

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Vintage 1996

1996 presents itself as a “classic” Bordeaux year, although – as Jancis Robinson MW wrote – not in the “lean” sense; Although Farr Vintners director Tom Hudson told the drinks industry it may have been a "very good" rather than "really great" year as it was not uniformly excellent across the region .

As a reminder, 1996 was a particularly promising vintage for Médoc wines. The Berry Bros & Rudd website boasts: “This is one of the great post...

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Average Bottle Price

2024 2020 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005
810€ +17.4% 690€ +23.2% 560€ +9.4% 512€ -5.7% 543€ -6.7% 582€ -19.5% 723€ +4.9% 689€ +209.0% 223€

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.

Latest Pro-tasting notes

24 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Full, Brownish and Pale

ending

Long, Lingering and Spicy

flavors

Coffee, Blackcurrant, Cedar, Voluptuous, Toasty and Tobacco

nose

Intense, Refined, Complex and Seductive

recommend

Yes

taste

Well-structured, Balanced, Concentrated, Mature, Full-bodied, One-dimensional, Firm, Rich, Ripe and Silky tannins

Verdict

Impressive and Fine

Written Notes

Our last pair was Margaux, beginning with the 1996 Margaux. The Margaux nose was super sexy, jumping out of the glass with its candied edge, almost like a root beer float without the root beer. Make that an ice cream soda, that’s what it was, black ‘n white with a little egg cream. The nose was toasty, spicy and spiny, full of coffee, nut and leather aromas, with enough t ‘n a for an S & M dungeon. The palate was thick and long with great acidity, and flavor and aromas of beef bouillon complicated matters in this complex wine (97)

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  • 97p

 This could hit triple digits in a few years. It continues filing out, gaining in complexity, richness, and texturally, additional layers of silk and velvet on the palate are the order of the day. This stunning wine is showing beautifully today, and while pricey, it is the best deal for a mature vintage of Chateau Margaux in the market today. Drink from 2023-2055.

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  • 99p

The 1996 Chateau Margaux, which was bottled in September, 1998, is undoubtedly one of the great classics produced under the Mentzelopoulos regime. In many respects, it is the quintessential Chateau Margaux, as well as the paradigm for this estate, combining measured power, extraordinary elegance, and admirable complexity. I tasted the wine on three separate occasions in January, and in short, its a beauty! The color is opaque purple. The wine offers extraordinarily pure notes of blackberries, cassis, pain grille, and flowers, gorgeous sweetness, a seamless personality, and full body, with nothing out of place. The final blend (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) contains a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It tastes complete and long, although backward. My instincts suggest this wine will shut down, but at present it is open-knit, tasting like a recently bottled wine. The fruit is exceptionally sweet and pure, and there are layers of flavor in the mouth. I do believe this wine will develop an extraordinary perfume, and possess a high level of richness. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040.
Robert Parker

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  • 96p

The colour is paler at the rim with more obvious aging, more stewed notes here, just a little funky on the nose, may not be the best bottle. Plenty of spice too. The palate is very good though, lots of texture and spice again, the sweetness of the black fruit coming through, purity lots of fine grain tannin holding it up, it is lovely on the the finish too, very long. This is a fine Margaux but I think it was outshone by the 2000 and I have had better bottles of this amazing wine. 96/100

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  • 96p
Ruby, seductive nose as always, layers, intense of violets, lillies, cassis and leather, stunning refinement. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, gorgeous texture, flirting, seductive, gorgeous length.
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  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Margaux, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Below Average

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h

Inside Information

Wine Advocate #110
Apr 1997		 Robert M. Parker, Jr. (99) Drink: 2004 - 2035 $548-$1582
Chateau Margaux, along with Leoville-Las Cases in St.-Julien, was among the handful of properties that did not finish their Cabernet Sauvignon harvest until October 12. Whether that was a factor or not, both of these estates undoubtedly produced compellingly great wines in 1996. At Chateau Margaux, the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked between October 1 and October 12. The final blend produced a wine with nearly 13% natural alcohol, and relatively low acidity. I have tasted some extraordinary Margauxs over the last 18 years, but I have never tasted a Chateau Margaux as rich and Cabernet-dominated as the 1996. Certainly the 1986 came close to this level of quality at the same stage of development, but the 1996, which is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 10% Merlot, contains 10% less Merlot than the 1986. Unequivocally, the 1996 Margaux is a candidate for perfection. The Mentzelopoulos family has made a number of spectacular wines since they took over this estate in 1977, but the 1996 is so extraordinary that it may prove to be more prodigious than the legendary wines they fashioned in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1990. Paul Pontallier and Corinne Mentzelopoulos confirmed that they had never before picked Cabernet Sauvignon with such high sugars. The 1996 Margaux boasts an opaque black/blue/purple color that resembles ink. The nose offers extraordinarily sweet, jammy, blackcurrant fruit that has totally absorbed the effects of four months in 100% new oak barrels. I noticed this phenomenon with most of the top 1996s, and I consider it to be indicative of just how rich in extract the finest wines of this vintage are. I cannot recall a young vintage absorbing and masking the new oak as well as the finest 1996s have done. The wine hits the palate with extraordinary purity, richness, and equilibrium. Every component in this seamless, velvety as well as voluptuously-textured wine is stunning. As I was slushing the wine around on my palate, chills suddenly ran down my back as I realized I was in the presence of one of the greatest young wines I had ever tasted. Given the high Cabernet Sauvignon content, I expected the tannins to be more obvious, but this wine is so rich that the high tannin level is buried beneath the wine's extraordinary levels of glycerin, extract, and fruit. It is difficult to imagine when this wine might reach full maturity. I suspect it will exhibit more tannin in 1-2 years than it does at present, but the wine possesses such amazing sweetness and richness, that I suspect it will be approachable when young. It will not hit its peak for 15 or more years. It will be a fascinating wine to follow over the next 3-4 decades. Kudos to Corinne Mentzeloupolos and her mother, as well as their talented administrator, Paul Pontallier. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2035.
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