Château Margaux

Château Margaux - The embodiment of aristocratic elegance in Bordeaux

In the heart of the Médoc, surrounded by gentle vineyards, lies Château Margaux - not only an architectural jewel in the neoclassical style, but also one of the most famous wine addresses in the world. As one of the four Premier Grands Crus Classés of 1855, this wine epitomises grace, refinement and timeless class like no other. For centuries, the name Margaux has stood for the perfect symbiosis of powerful structure and beguiling fragrance, a wine that has captivated kings, poets and wine connoisseurs alike.

A terroir of divine favour

The secret of Château Margaux lies in its unique terroir. 80 hectares of vines rest on deep gravel soils created by glacial deposits. These permeable layers store heat and ensure an optimal water supply for the vines - crucial conditions for the exceptional ripeness of the grapes. The mild microclimate, favoured by the proximity to the Gironde, gives the wines the unmistakable suppleness that characterises the Margaux style.

The grape varieties - an orchestra of harmony

The Grand Vin cuvée is based on a masterful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (around 90%), enriched by Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. This harmony of grape varieties gives the wine its characteristic profile: the fragrant intensity and silky tannins of the Cabernet Sauvignon, the round fullness of the Merlot and the savoury spiciness of the additions.

The rare Château Margaux Blanc, one of the few great dry white wines of the Médoc, deserves special mention. Made from a parcel of old Sauvignon Blanc vines, it captivates with exotic flavours of white peach, acacia blossom and a mineral salinity.

The signature of the centuries

The history of the estate dates back to the 12th century, but it achieved its real fame in the 18th century under the aegis of the Marquis de La Colonilla. The current castle, built in 1810 by Louis Combes in the style of an ancient temple, became a symbol of the combination of architectural and viniferous perfection.

After difficult phases in the 20th century, the château experienced a renaissance under the management of the Mentzelopoulos family (since 1977). The legendary director Corinne Mentzelopoulos and her oenologist Paul Pontallier led Margaux back to the top of the world - with technical innovation while at the same time preserving its traditional elegance.

The wine - poetry in a glass

A great vintage of Château Margaux reveals itself as a sensual spectacle: layers of violets, blackcurrants, cedar wood and a subtle earthy note unfold on the nose. On the palate, it impresses with its silky texture, perfectly balanced acidity and velvety tannins. The length of the finish - often lasting several minutes - leaves an indelible impression of absolute harmony.

Vintages such as 1900, 1953, 1982, 1990, 2000 and 2015are considered icons of their decades. The 2015, for example, one of the last under Pontallier's aegis, combines powerful density with floating lightness in a dreamlike way - a characteristic of the house.

Cult and continuity

What distinguishes Château Margaux from other Premier Crus is this unique combination of fragrant delicacy and structural precision. While Latour and Lafite impress with their power, Margaux impresses with its aristocratic finesse. Even in less spectacular vintages, the wine always retains its unmistakable identity.

Today, director Aurélien Valance continues this philosophy: the strictest selection (only around 40% of the harvest is vinified as Grand Vin), gentle vinification and long ageing in new barriques. The result is wines for the ages - the 2005, for example, will not reach its peak until around 2050.

A legacy of beauty

Château Margaux stands for the conviction that true luxury lies in subtlety. Its wines do not seduce with their striking power, but with their infinite wealth of nuances - like a perfectly composed piece of music whose melody continues to resonate long after the last sip.

Anyone who has ever opened a bottle of this legendary wine will understand why Thomas Jefferson praised Margaux as "the most sensual of all Bordeaux" and why the poet Baudelaire immortalised "the essence of the South" in it. Wine is not simply made here - history is written here, glass by glass.

In the long line of legendary vintages from Château Margaux, the 1900 stands out like an apparition - a wine that, even after 124 years, is still considered one of the most perfect Bordeaux of all time. Produced in an era when winemaking was still left entirely to intuition and craftsmanship, this wine epitomises the pure soul of the Margaux terroir. Wine connoisseurs speak with awe of its "unearthly grace", critics such as Michael Broadbent called it simply "perfect".

The year 1900 provided the Médoc with ideal conditions: A warm, sunny summer with rain falling at just the right time allowed grapes of exceptional ripeness and concentration to flourish. The grapes were harvested under perfect conditions - by hand, as was natural at the time. What emerged in the barrels of Château Margaux at that time was to exceed all dimensions of the possible.

The 1900 Margaux reveals itself today in a colour that oscillates between deep ruby and amber mahogany - astonishingly fresh for its age. Its aroma is a concert of sublimity: dried rose petals, black cherries, truffles, cedar wood and a barely tangible mineral note reminiscent of the fine gravel of the Margaux soil. With every sip, a symphony of ripe plums, violets, tobacco and a hint of dark chocolate unfolds - carried by tannins that still spin a silky web despite their age.

What makes this wine truly immortal is its paradoxical combination of seemingly contradictory qualities: powerful and yet light as a feather, complex and yet with crystalline clarity, ancient and yet with youthful vitality. The British wine writer Hugh Johnson described it as a "liquid Bordeaux pantheon", while the American collector Robert Drouhin testified: "No other wine in the world breathes such aristocratic nonchalance."

The few remaining bottles - estimated at less than two dozen worldwide - have become museum pieces. At the auction of Rodenstock's collection in 2006, one bottle fetched over 25,000 dollars. But its true value lies beyond the material: The 1900 Margaux is a living monument to the art of winemaking, proof that great wines not only stand the test of time, but can transcend it