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Tasting notes
Cropped low because of hail and drought at just 29hl/ha and from just 38% of the total crop the 2011 Ch Margaux is a thing of beauty. Pungent aromas of old vine Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc), incredible purity and deliniation of aromas: currants, leafy blackcurrants, violets which remains pungent even when holding the glass 30cms from your nose! Silky and very streamlined the concentration is breathtaking and framed with very fine polished tannin. It remains in the mouth for minuted afterwards...but the nose! Just at the back is a block of dense, dry tannin which perhaps is the only critisism for what is a lovely wine buoyed with bright juicy acids.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeannie Cho Lee MW
FINE+RARE
More reviews and scores
The 2011 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. It was quite a warm vintage and the earliest harvest since 1893, starting on the 5th of September, with very small, concentrated berries. "Like a young version of the 1995, it needed time for the tannins to soften," commented winemaker Philippe Bascaules. It has a deep garnet color and shoots out of the glass with notes of plum preserves, blackcurrant pastilles, and boysenberry preserves, leading to hints of black tea, star anise, clove oil, and cardamom, with a touch of menthol. The medium-bodied palate is packed with layers of evocative black and red berry preserves, supported by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy.
Tasted blind. Mid garnet. Very nicely integrated and appealing on the nose. Pretty even if not that intense. Great balance. Not a blockbuster but with far more charm than one associates with this vintage. Sweet biscuits on the nose.
The 2011 Château Margaux has a more open-knit bouquet with brambly red fruit than its peers with notes of sage, leather and tobacco, perhaps a little more animally than its peers? The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins on the entry, plenty of tobacco-stained black fruit, pencil box and white pepper, fanning out with confidence on the finish that has just a little dryness. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.
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.