1999 Margaux

It has been far too long since I last popped a cork on this treat. It takes no effort to find the blackberries, flowers, cigar box, 5 spice, smoke, licorice, and currants on the nose. With 45 minutes in the decanter, the wine is fully open on the nose and on the silky, fresh, elegant blend of black and red fruits with their spice-filled character. The wine is vibrant and refined with a nice shot of dark chocolate that comes in on the backend of the endnote.

The 1999 Chateau Margaux is another overlooked vintage that transcends the growing season. This example, which is from an ex-château magnum, is delightful. It offers a slightly more fruit-driven, heartier bouquet than you would presuppose from a supposed mediocre season. Black fruit is laced with graphite and clove and blossoms with aeration while maintaining superb delineation. The palate is still youthful with seamlessly integrated oak, fine tannins and gorgeous black fruit tinged with tobacco and smoke. This First Growth has an effortless and unexpectedly sumptuous quality, and it will continue to drink well for another 20 or 25 years. Tasted at Trinity restaurant in December 2018.

The 1999 Château Margaux is an immensely charming wine that's drinking beautifully today from both bottle and, in this case, magnum. Bursting with aromas of blackcurrants, blackberries and violets framed by subtle hints of cigar box, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and sensual, with an enveloping core of fruit, ripe and melting tannins and a long, penetrating finish. Analogies with the immensely charming 1985 vintage are very persuasive, as the 1999 is quite reminiscent of how the 1985 tasted fifteen years ago.