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Ch Margaux is one of the last Chateaux to employ their own coopers to make some of the barrels used in the grand vin. This is typical of the estate's attention to detail under the ownership of Corinne Mentzelopoulos and the direction of Paul Pontallier.This is a stunning 2004. It is a wine all about finesse. Perfectly balanced with lots of very pure dark fruit (thanks perhaps to the unusually high 18% Merlot). Paul Pontallier compares it with the 1996, an exceptional Margaux. Jancis Robinson writes: "This was the only 2004 sample I actually ran out of because I was so keen to taste it. Wonderfully complete". Drink 2013-2035
Ch Margaux is one of the last Chateaux to employ their own coopers to make some of the barrels used in the grand vin. This is typical of the estate's attention to detail under the ownership of Corinne Mentzelopoulos and the direction of Paul Pontallier.This is a stunning 2004. It is a wine all about finesse. Perfectly balanced with lots of very pure dark fruit (thanks perhaps to the unusually high 18% Merlot). Paul Pontallier compares it with the 1996, an exceptional Margaux. Jancis Robinson writes: "This was the only 2004 sample I actually ran out of because I was so keen to taste it. Wonderfully complete". Drink 2013-2035
The 2004 Chateau Margaux has always been a promising wine and here, served blind against the First Growths, it finally proved that patience is necessary when it comes to such wines. It has an exquisite bouquet with brilliant delineation, scents of redcurrant, raspberry coulis, cold stone (almost flint-like) with pencil-lead and cedar lending it a Pauillac-like sense of aristocratic flair. The palate is extremely well balanced with a supple opening, nigh perfect acidity with a surprisingly citric undercurrent that lends so much freshness and tension. While it does not have the weight and power of say, 2000, 2005 or 2009, it cruises along with utmost harmony and you become smitten by its charms - something that is perhaps in short supply among the First Growths in this vintage. This is excellent. Tasted September 2016. Drink 2020-2050. 94/100
The supple-textured 2004 Chateau Margaux is reminiscent of the 2001 or 1999. It exhibits a superb blue/purple color to the rim as well as sweet aromas of flowers, blueberries, creme de cassis, licorice, and smoke, superb fruit intensity, medium body, classic elegance, and silky, sweet tannin in the long finish. This beauty can be drunk now or cellared for two decades or more. Drink 2007-2027
Always the consummate professional, Paul Pontallier is pleased with the 2004 Margaux, considering it to be a revelation after the final blend was made. The articulate Pontallier called it “neo-classic” to suggest the sweetness of the tannins and a style that he finds similar to 1996. Only 40% of the crop was included in the final blend (78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot), and it has a very high index of polyphenols (tannins). The harvest was completed between October 1 - 19. The 2004 is a streamlined, graceful example of Chateau Margaux with a deep plum/ruby/purple color and attractive black currant fruit intermixed with notions of white flowers, oak, and cherries. Rigidly constructed, with a lovely, medium-bodied texture, and tremendous purity, it will undoubtedly close down and need some time in the bottle. This beauty should be at its finest between 2010-2025. By the way, the brilliant 2004 is the finest Pavillon Blanc (100% Sauvignon Blanc) since the 2001. Drink 2010-2025 The 2004 Chateau Margaux, which has put on weight since I tasted it a year ago, is a superb example of why in certain cool, late ripening vintages, the en primeur tastings are easily 4-6 weeks too soon. At the January, 2006 tasting, the wine exhibited a gorgeous nose of licorice, white flowers, black currant liqueur, and subtle new oak. This aromatic, medium to full-bodied, superbly concentrated Margaux reminds me of a lighter version of the 1996. Precise, extremely well-delineated, beautifully pure, and, as the French would say, tres Margaux, it should be at its apogee between 2009-2028.
Very deep crimson. Very concentrated, very fine nose, very Margaux. Fresh, lively, dancing yet dense with lovely lift. Lightly mineral, bone dry finish. Very solid and very long term. Again, like Pavillon, quite fresh despite the late harvest. Paul Pontallier, always one of the more loquacious first growth representatives, describes the wine as both dense and aérienne which does not quite translate as ‘aerial' . This was the only 2004 sample I actually ran out of because I wasso keen to taste it. Wonderfully complete. Drink 2015-2040
Plump, silky and seductive are the words often used to describe wines from Margaux. Because of their style, they tend to be user friendly and more approachable when young. This is in part due to its terroir which is comprised of the thinnest soil as well as the highest proportion of chunky gravel in all of the Médoc. It drains well but also is it more susceptible to vintage variation. Margaux wines tend to have the highest proportions of Merlot within the core of the Médoc further adding to their ample roundness and openness. Margaux is home to the largest number of classified growths including its namesake first growth, Château Margaux, as well as third growths, Palmer and d'Issan.
