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Tasting Notes
One of the wines of the vintage, the 2008 Château Margaux is a beauty and has everything you could want from a wine. A huge nose of cassis, Asian spices, dried flowers, and incense all soar from the glass, and on the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and pure, with ripe tannins and a great finish. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot made from an incredibly strict selection (only 36% of the production made it into the top wine), this elegant, regal, incredibly classic Chateau Margaux is thrilling today, but will drink well for another 20-30 years.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Sweet, rather oaky and simple. Loose texture. Could be Lafite but it does not have much conviction. Hint of seaweed. Not that intense.
The 2008 Château Margaux has an attractive bouquet of mulberry, red plum, briary, a hint of rose petal rather than its signature note of violets. It gains intensity with aeration, but to my surprise it feels quite forward for a 10-year old First Growth. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite Pauillac in style thanks to that graphite seam that surfaces towards the finish. It is a precise, classic Château Margaux that really delivers its intensity in the final quarter. I came away with the impression that it just does not quite slip from fourth to fifth gear. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit's annual 10-Year On tasting.)
This is absolutely ready to drink now, showing some lovely perfume that runs through the extremely well balanced palate. It's one of the few that was hard to spit out because the juice grabs you right from the first attack, but it's not in any way a blockbuster. Enjoy this with simple food, don't crowd the flavours, as this is delicacy personified. A great second wine for lovers of gentle elegance, this tiptoes along nicely.
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.