Critic Notes
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. A very impressive offering that is still tightly coiled but quite clearly shows its potential. Very fragrant on the nose with marked minerality alongside spice and delicate floral notes. Fresh on the palate with tightly packed tannins and good concentration. Fine, elegant, very well-integrated, and superbly long. One of our wines of the vintage. FINE+RARE
Score: 18.5-/20FINE+RARE
Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Château Margaux has a taut, linear, pencil lead-infused bouquet with pure blackberry and boysenberry scents, an undercurrent of tobacco that surfaces after five minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, a life-affirming sense of balance with well-integrated new oak towards the finish. I concur with 1 that his has become more structured and masculine in bottle, yet there is pedigree here from start to finish, a sense of effortlessness that is seductive. This is a top-class wine from the late Paul Pontallier and his team. Tasted January 2016. Oct 2016, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2022-2050
Score: 96-/100Neal MartinDrinking Window: 2022-2050
The 2012 Château Margaux is showing much differently from bottle than it did from cask. Seemingly much fuller and richer, it has a dense ruby/purple color, representing a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Merlot, as well as only 33% of their harvest. It possesses hints of spring flowers intermixed with blueberries, blackberries and cassis fruit, moderate tannin, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a long, structured finish. This 2012 was charming, up-front and precociously styled from barrel, but in bottle it is more masculine, dense and rich. This wine needs a good 5-7 years of cellaring, and should keep well for 25 or more years. This is a great effort from Château Margaux, and should handsomely repay those who buy it. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2040.| eRobertParker.com.April, 2015
Score: 95-/100Robert Parker
Shows a tight nose, but manages to convey pure, fresh notes of red fruit and violet. Almost sleek, with fine-grained tannins carrying the red currant paste and iron accents. The plum skin-tinged finish sings, displaying remarkable integration already. A very impressive showing today. Tasted non-blind. WineSpectator.com—J.M.
Score: 93-96/100Wine Spectator
This is tannic and rich on the finish. Lacks a bit on the center palate, but full and very pretty fruit. Long finish. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, 9% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
Score: 93-94/100James Suckling
