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Château Margaux 2018

Château Margaux, Bordeaux, France

Château Margaux
Bordeaux France
  • 100
    Points
  • The 96 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 20 Pros of
    20 recommend
    this wine
969 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    78

  • Producer ranking ?

    6

  • Decanting time

    4h

  • When to drink

    from 2030

  • Food Pairing

    Beef

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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97-100 THE WINEADVOCATE: "The 2018 Château Margaux is made of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The grand vin represents 36% of the crop this year. The wine has a pH of 3.8 and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it comes prancing out of the glass with energetic Morello cherries, black raspberries and blackberry pie scents plus nuances of fragrant soil, candied violets, lavender, sandalwood, unsmoke...

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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

The warmest year since the beginning of the 20th century, temperatures in 2018 were 3.24°F above the national average. In Margaux, the year began with a relatively mild winter with below-normal temperatures and occasional frosts in February which had no impact on our vines. The rest of the year was hot, sometimes very hot, compared with seasonal averages, marked by record-breaking temperatures in the last ten days of June and the first ten day...

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Vintage 2018

2018 Bordeaux Vintage Report and recommendations

by Andrew Caillard MW

2018 is an exceptional year. The Bordeaux whites and sauternes are very good, but from an Australian perspective the excitement is all in the red wines. All sub regions produced examples of really good wines, but some performed better than others. Generally the very top estates made exemplary wines illustrating that the human factor and wealth can have a major impact ...

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Average Bottle Price

2024 2022
710€ +7.6% 660€

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

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Written Notes

Margaux 1. Growth - 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Impressed greatly with an incredibly scented nose, elegance, sophisticated and refined touch, astonishing complexity, and length. Simply a proper "iron fist in the velvet glove"! Amazing stuff. 99-100p (98-100p).

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  • 100p

Wow. This takes off on the palate the moment you taste it. Aromas and flavors of redcurrants, flowers, cherries and hints of hazelnuts. Full-bodied, tight and compact, but the linear tannins, running down the center of the wine, draw the wine through the finish. Superb.
Barrel Sample: 99-100

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  • 100p

One of the wines of the vintage on the Left Bank is the 2018 Château Margaux, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot. A thrilling, sensational Margaux that reminds me of the 2015 at this stage, it reveals a saturated purple/blue color as well as heavenly notes of black raspberries, blueberries, cassis, spring flowers, high-class smoke tobacco, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and seamless, it builds incrementally on the palate and carries masses of fine tannins, no hard edges, and awesome purity of fruit. Given its purity, depth of fruit, and texture, it’s going to be approachable with just short-term cellaring, but I suspect it won’t start to hit prime time for at least a decade. Barrel Sample: 98-100

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  • 100p

Château Margaux 2018 is remarkably concentrated. A small grape size and relatively low yields largely explain the exceptionally high tannin indices. The wine’s power is not, however, overwhelming and helps to considerably lengthen the aromas and structure of the finish.
Fairly early in the wine-making process, we understood this tannic potential and moderated our extraction programs including for our Merlot plots, which are usually less dense than our fine Cabernet Sauvignon wines. The latter still form the heart of Château Margaux, accounting for 90% of the blend. They limit the alcohol content to 14° in these weather conditions. This wine’s blend is completed by 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Château Margaux represents 36% of the harvest.

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Much more flesh the middle of the mouth than the 2016 and 2017, obvious class, great longevity, a great vintage that will rival 2015.

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  • 97p

Ruby. Scented, floral, blueberries, elegant, detailed, nuanced, lovely scent, dark fruits, layered, such finesse to it. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, anise, dark fruity, spices, liquorice, nuanced and detailed, superb balance, refined, long indeed. A graceful yet dense and powerful Margaux. 99-100

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  • 100p

Deep colour. Intense dark plum, cassis, red currant liquorice aromas and flavours, fine plentiful looseknit chalky graphite tannins, underlying new vanilla oak and lovely integrated acidity. Elegantly styled wine with understated power, density and complexity. Very enjoyable wine.

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  • 97p

Dark purple red with violet hue and almost black core. Excellent nose initially slightly closed but opening up well displaying lush fruit, subtle oak, discreet spiciness, vanilla in the background. On the palate excellent structure with silky tannins, sweet fruit, elegant hints of mild spices, multi-layered with great depth and tension, a wine with great length and freshness in impressing precision. 

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  • 99p
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Information

Origin

Margaux, Bordeaux

Inside Information

Without doubt an incredible Margaux, although whether it will equal the 2015 remains to be seen. It's less serious than the 2016 but every bit as good, floating above the palate, performing that acrobatic trick that only happens in the really great years. It's silky yet intense and powerful, with sweet, fleshy and succulent raspberry cut through with fresh rosemary and sage that add texture and grip. The menthol side of the Cabernet is already coming through, which suggests the fruit was just perfectly ripe - these are aromatics that you don't get in true heatwave years like 2003. The flavours stretch out, gently gripping and keeping you involved in what is unfurling. 

Harvested between 17 September and 13 October, with an average yield of 31hl/ha due to both mildew and the concentration of the berries that occured at the end of ripening. The impact was uneven, depending on the vineyard blocks, so yields actually varied between 15 and 50hl/ha. The best plots were the least affected, which means that unusually there is more production in the grand vin and in Pavillon, with less in the third and fourth wines. Final numbers are 36% of production here, 30% in Pavillon Rouge. 

83IPT. 100% new oak. 12% press wine. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Drinking Window 2028 - 2045

Score: 98Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2019

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