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The first of our châteaux tastings for the 2024 vintage and what a way to start! Philippe Bascaules delayed the harvest and picking the bulk of the Cabernet Sauvignon (93%) until October. The rewards of his decision are very apparent, allowing the pedigree of the estate to be on full show. Wild hedgerow fruits, with a smattering of Valrhona cocoa scent. A very polished wine, the palate opens with gracious elegance, followed by a step change to a sensation of pithy firmness underneath providing serious intent for the future. Whilst it might require a little patience in its youth, the longer-term potential is extremely exciting.
Representing 46% of the total crop (a little higher than recent years due to higher yields in the best Cabernet blocks), the 2024 Château Margaux contains slightly less Merlot (5%). It has a sophisticated bouquet in the context of the growing season, with black fruit, pressed violet and hints of pencil box that almost lend a Pauillac-like allure. Very fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and modest depth. This is clearly a leaner Château Margaux compared to, say, the 2020 or 2022, but it is razor-sharp with superb tension and mineralité. Unapologetically classic in style with modest length, this noble First Growth will benefit from four to five years in bottle.
The 2024 Château Margaux is quite soft and delicate. It shows fine delineation in its aromatics and on the palate, but it's distinctly on the lighter side, even for Château Margaux. The mid-palate and finish are a touch compact, while there is a bit of edginess in the tannins that needs time to resolve. Bright acids and the lack of fruit pliancy expose the tannins at this stage. Élevage will be everything. Château Margaux is a bit of a question mark.
The 2024 Château Margaux has turned out beautifully, unfurling in the glass with notes of cassis, violets, cigar box and iris. Medium to full-bodied, deep and vibrant, with excellent density and concentration for the vintage, it's lively and layered, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. This is a serious, youthfully tightly wound blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc that attained 12.8% alcohol.
Really impressive depth, concentration and perfume this year, with fine tannins. Lots of violets, red flowers, black cherries and currants. Full-bodied and seriously structured, with impeccable freshness and a very long finish. Dense and powerful for the vintage, with tension, vibrations, good concentration and a tannin framework. 93% cabernet sauvignon, 5% merlot, 1% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.
There is a beautiful level of concentration and finesse here, coupled with balletic poise, and the tannins are gossamer-smooth, pristinely clean, and invigorating. If you love refined, silky, concentrated wines with little bulk or overt muscle, this wine will be at the top of the tree in this vintage. For my part, I awarded this wine a 19+ in my notes until the very last moment of my tasting. Revisiting for one last sip, I bumped this wine up one-half of a point because the freshness on the finish and the astoundingly pure tannins make this a rare and magical wine with a true medium-weight chassis and thrilling refinement.
Fragrant but more complex and subtle than Pavillon Rouge. Smooth texture with plenty of tension and abundant, forceful but refined tannins. Long and explosive on the finish. Super-elegant and delicious to boot. (JL)
The first of our châteaux tastings for the 2024 vintage and what a way to start! Philippe Bascaules delayed the harvest and picking the bulk of the Cabernet Sauvignon (93%) until October. The rewards of his decision are very apparent, allowing the pedigree of the estate to be on full show. Wild hedgerow fruits, with a smattering of Valrhona cocoa scent. A very polished wine, the palate opens with gracious elegance, followed by a step change to a sensation of pithy firmness underneath providing serious intent for the future. Whilst it might require a little patience in its youth, the longer-term potential is extremely exciting.
Such a floral wine, aromatics that really take hold and grip on through the palate, raspberry, black cherry, edges of rosebud, chalk, white tea, crayon, chalk, iris, has real precision, and a slow-burn unspooling of flavours, salted cracker salinity on the finish. 46% of the overall production is in Château Margaux, 30hl/ha yield after sorting through the year as needed. Harvest September 23 to October 8. Philippe Bascaules director, 3.62ph. Excellent quality, one of the wines of the vintage, with a slightly earlier starting date for drinking than usual, eight years following harvest.
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.
