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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
FINE+RARE
Decanter
More reviews and scores
Floral cassis fruit, lovely florality and perfect texture, beautifully harmony of expression above concentrated natural tannins. Drink 2017-2035. Decanter.com
This is succulent, with an almost jammy cassis, plum and black currant profile, though that's quickly harnessed by riveting acidity on the finish, which lets additional floral, bay leaf, tobacco and perfume notes play out. There's very impressive range here already. Tasted non-blind. James Molesworth, WineSpectator.com
Representing 38% of the crop, the Grand Vin is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Harvest began 5th September with the earlier ripening Merlot and finished around the 20th. It has a very strict bouquet, very linear, a no-frills aromatic profile that delivers straight to the senses minerality, with touches of graphite and cedar from the intense Cabernet. The palate is medium-bodied with a more understated entry. The Cabernet is very pure right from the outset with blackberry, graphite, a saline tincture and a touch of black olive. It has a fine framework of taut tannins, beautifully composed as usual, with a finish that unlike 2009 or 2010, is very precise and linear, finishing off dry and abruptly. There is not a great long tail on the finish, but that would not suit this style of Margaux, one that is more masculine in style. Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com
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.