Wine Advisor
Chateau Margaux 1997
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The best of the First Growth ‘97s. A limpid, garnet/ruby core with ruby rim. The nose is exquisite with great delineation and purity with much more vigour that the other Firsts. Mint, blackberries, violets and blueberries all leap from the glass, oblivious to the fact that they stem from a poor vintage. The palate has a slightly voluptuous feel to it, rounded black fruits, raspberry, cassis, tobacco, graphite and a touch of Asian spice towads the finish. Sheer class. A superb success for Paul Pontallier in a difficult vintage. Drink now-2025. Tasted September 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1997 Chateau Margaux is an immensely charming, open-knit, beautifully made wine offering soft, lush blackberry/cassis fruit intermixed with toasty oak. The wine exhibits excellent concentration, a seductive personality, and an easy-going, round, expansive finish. It should be drinkable after bottling in June, and last for 15 or more years. I would not be surprised to see this wine's rating rise; I just wish it were less expensive. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2015.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Margaux, which made an outstanding wine in 1995, and a prodigiously monumental wine in 1996, turned out an alluring, soft, delicious 1997 that will offer immediate appeal. The harvest occurred between September 15 and October 2. Fifty percent of the crop made it into the grand vin, which is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. While the administrator, Paul Pontallier, informed me that the 1997 has the same amount of tannin as the 1985, the wines' texture and styles, while not totally different, are dissimilar. The wine exhibits a dense purple color, followed by an open-knit, charming nose of creme de cassis, pain grille, and minerals. In the mouth, the wine reveals beautifully ripe fruit, low acid, a suave, silky texture, remarkable suppleness and complexity for such a young wine, and a round, generous, moderately long finish. This wine will be drinkable when released, but keep for 15-20 years. Think of it as a sweeter, fruitier version of the 1985.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A perfumed floral nose: all violets and cassis. Balanced with wonderful poise. Very elegant with a lot of finesse. More enjoyable than Latour 1997. Stylish with good length; silky and accessible. Tasted February 2000.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Undoubtedly a success for the vintage, this immensely charming, dark ruby/purple-colored wine exhibits floral, black currant, and smoky, toasty oak aromas. There is admirable richness, excellent ripeness, not a great deal of density, or superb concentration, but plenty of finesse, suppleness, and character. It can be drunk young, or cellared for 12-15 years.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Medium red-ruby. Confectionary aromas of raspberry, cocoa powder, mocha and sexy oak; more evolved than either the '99 or '98, even considering its extra year of age. Fat, sweet and harmonious; offers lovely balance but just misses out on the density and depth of a great year. Finishes with firm but very suave tannins; this must be one of the longest '97s.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Moderately saturated fresh ruby color. Compelling, perfumed aromas of boysenberry, black raspberry, violet, white pepper and smoky oak. Silky, suave and seamless; absolutely seductive wine with impeccable balance. This has softened up nicely during its second year in barrel without becoming dry. Dense and deep for a '97. Long, subtle aftertaste features sweet tannins. Today in Bordeaux too many people tend to overextract, to make big wines at any cost, notes Pontallier, who clearly took a different approach in '97.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Dark red-ruby color. Floral, pure aromas of dark berries. Penetrating and sweet, with precise, intense berry flavors and firm underlying backbone. Here the fruit has real sweetness and depth. Finishes with very fine, ripe tannins and lingering berry flavor. Classy and suave.
About the Producer
Chateau Margaux is located in the village of Margaux, in the Medoc appellation on the left bank of Bordeaux, and was awarded a First Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Medoc classification, alongside Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Château Haut-Brion. It is also known as Chateau Haut-Brion. Château Margaux currently covers a total of 262 hectares, including 99 hectares of vineyards. The red vineyard has an appellation of 87 hectares, of which 82 hectares are planted, while the white vineyard is planted with 12 hectares. The red varieties are mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc; the white varieties are Sauvignon Blanc and the vines are on average 45 years old. Since the end of the 1990s, the estate has refused to use pesticides in the vineyards. In addition, only organic fertilisers are used in the vineyard, and deep fertilisation is carried out at regular intervals to improve the soil structure and rejuvenate the soil. During the harvest season, the winery team selects the right time to harvest the grapes by testing and analysing all the indicators and by tasting the grapes themselves. Once the grapes have reached their ideal state of ripeness, they are harvested by a team of over 200 trained harvesters. Once in the winery, the grapes undergo a rigorous selection process before being de-stemmed. Both oak barrels and stainless steel tanks are used to ferment the red grapes, while the white grapes are fermented entirely in oak barrels. After the alcoholic fermentation, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation. The red wines are then left to mature in oak barrels for 18-24 months and the whites for 6-8 months. The main wine of the estate, Château Margaux's red wine, is rich and complex, with an elegant and powerful ballet on the tongue, rich and smooth tannins, good balance and a long, fresh finish with excellent ageing potential. It successfully conquered Napoleon Bonaparte, the founder of the First French Empire, and won the hearts of Thomas Jefferson, the founding father of the United States, and Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" of England. In the world of wine criticism, Château Margaux's red wines have also been recognised, with four perfect scores from Robert Parker and many more from other critics with 95 points or more. In recent years, the quality of Château Margaux's red wines has been steady and has maintained a high level of interest in the market.
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