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  • Country ranking ?

    1 288
  • Producer ranking ?

    73
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    Now-2045
  • Food Pairing

    Beef

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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

2002/ The Merlot yields, especially those from old vines, were seriously affected by the onset of coulure and particularly millerandage. We might have thought that a relatively low production would have enabled the grapes to reach better ripeness levels; however, the fine weather arrived too late for the Merlot, whose ripeness was too far behind to catch up. The quality of the Merlot was, on the whole, disappointing.

On the other hand, the Cabernets and the Petit Verdot took full advantage of this Indian summer, which so often produces very good, even great vintages in Bordeaux. Their quality was, on the whole, remarkable.

Our final blend, therefore, includes very little Merlot (it may even be the lowest ever proportion in history at Château Margaux). So it is essentially a wine made up of fine, pure, rich, tight-knit and tender Cabernet Sauvignon. It may lack some complexity and depth in order to be considered a great vintage. Very fine September weather can certainly make up most of the lost ground, but it cannot totally replace the ripeness that is attained during a glorious August. After the bottling, Château Margaux 2002 had acquired even more finesse, without losing any of that classic tight-knit tannic structure which bodes so well for excellent ageing. (2011)


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 2002

BORDEAUX: 2002 A wonderful vintage of pure, rich, elegant reds and soft, rounded whites.

An early start to flowering was followed by a variable summer with a bit of everything, from cold to hot to hot and back again. A long period of dry weather was beginning to be a problem when the rain of early September arrived, replenishing the vines. When the wind turned to the north, the grapes were dried and the harvest could begin on September 16 under a clear blue sky. 2002 is rightly a popular vintage among Burgundy aficionados. What's not to love about the pure fine fruits of the forest and the strawberry aromas in the best red wines and the fresh mineral tones of great whites? Wines to enjoy or keep for another ten years or more.

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

It was served during harvest lunch at Château Margaux. Terrfic effort for the vintage with well-know elegance and finesse, round, very feminin, pure elegance and very fine intensity. Very, very enjoyable already now, but can keep for 10-15 more years.

  • 93p
Pale garnet with violet high-lights. The nose reveals classic claret, cool black fruit, cassis, cedar, fresh herbs and pencil shavings. The emphasis on herbaceous characters indicates the cooler year. This is very much confirmed on the palate, with distinct green notes of unripe stalks, black-currant, floral and vegetative notes. Very austere and lean in its build, finishing with a rather dry wood feel.
  • 92p
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Information

Origin

Margaux, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

18

Inside Information

Wine Advocate #146
Apr 2003
Robert M. Parker, Jr. 100 Drink: 2012 - 2050 $829-$3000 (350)
Bottled in late November, 2002, the 2000 has turned out to be a colossal example of Chateau Margaux that is tasting even better from bottle than it was from cask. Only 40% of the crop made it into this 2000 Margaux, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. Stylistically, it is somewhat of a hybrid between the succulent, opulent, fleshy 1990, and the more delineated, structured, cooler climate-tasting 1996. The 2000 possesses a saturated ruby/purple color to the rim as well as an extraordinarily promising nose of creme de cassis intermixed with white flowers, licorice, and hints of espresso and toasty oak. There is great intensity, compelling purity, a multi-layered, full-bodied palate, and a finish that goes on for nearly 70+ seconds. Bottled naturally, with no filtration, it is a monumental example of the elegance and power that symbolize this extraordinary vineyard. A tour de force in winemaking, many of my colleagues predicted, far earlier than me, that it would be the "wine of the vintage." It is certainly one of the wines of the vintage, but there is plenty of competition, even at this lofty level of quality. Absolutely awesome! Anticipated maturity: 2012-2050.
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