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Tasting Notes
The 1986 Château Margaux remains somewhat firm and forbidding as it closes in on its 40th birthday. Offering up aromas of cassis, cigar box and toasty new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and structured, with a sweet core of fruit that's framed, and almost overwhelmed, by an abundance of chalky tannin. I actually preferred this wine a decade ago, when its sheer abundance of fruit did a better job of balancing out its structuring elements.
Critic Scores
Average Score
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Better on the nose than on the palate with its austere, rustic edge to its tannins, there is a wealth of ripe fruit, but the finish is a bit rough around the edges. This is best for tasters longing for days gone by. Give it air, and, or time.
The 1986 Chateau Margaux is one of the dark horses of the vintage. It has an exquisite bouquet that is now fully mature, with a mixture of red and black fruit, violets, pastilles and hints of cold stone. It blossoms in the glass, gaining intensity all the time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a more robust Margaux as you would expect given the vintage, clearly with firm backbone, more straight-laced than the 1985 or 1989. Yet there is wonderful delineation and focus here. If you seek strictness and classicism in a wine, then this is the place to come, plus there is superb mineralité and tension on the ferrous finish. Perhaps a little overlooked in recent years, the 1986 Margaux comes highly recommended for those who love the property. This is a wine finally coming of age.
This has matured fully but still clings to a slightly rugged feel, with a briar patch note framing the core of dried currant, blackberry and bitter cherry fruit. Twinges of alder, plum skin and cedar fill in the finish, which shows a decidedly grippy edge of smoldering charcoal. Impressive for depth and power, though this very tannic Margaux may never yield fully to the inherent elegance of its terroir. It can certainly handle more cellaring. -- Non-blind Château Margaux vertical
About the producer
Ch. Margaux is one of Bordeaux’s most historic and famous estates. The only classified First Growth in Margaux, it epitomises the appellation’s elegance, while producing wines with fantastic ageing potential.