Wine Advisor
Chateau Margaux 2010
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Chateau Margaux 2010 is more open and generous than its peers with sumptuous red and black fruit: dark cherries, juniper berries, dried herbs and undergrowth. The palate is medium-bodied with ravishing black fruit laced with blueberry and cassis. It is imbued with superb acidity and tension, very good weight with a long sweet, sensual finish that belies the tannins underneath. This is a deceptively serious wine. Tasted January 2014.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Paul Pontallier was rattling off some interesting statistics about Chateau Margaux. The 2000 (a great, great wine) was 13.1% natural alcohol, the 2005 13.1%, the 2009 13.2%, and the 2010, the highest ever measured, 13.5%. That is still nearly one degree less than the Pauillac first-growth of Chateau Latour at 14.4%. This blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc (representing only 38% of the total production) has the classic, quintessential Margaux character of spring flowers, almost cool-climate precision, medium body, and a seamless integration of tannin, wood and alcohol. The blue and black fruit characteristics are present, and the wine restrained. The most measured and polished of all the first growths I tasted, it is also less concentrated than any of the other first growths, but the elegance is classic. The harvest finished on October 15, which was not their latest by any means. This is one of the few first growths of 2010 where the tannins are remarkably delicate and sweet, and the softness of this wine will provide magical drinking at a relatively early age, yet its balance and concentration will carry it for 20 or more years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 1.5% Petit Verdot and 1.5% Cabernet Franc with a pH 3.65 (it was 3.75 in 2009.) The Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the nose more than any other vintage of Chateau Margaux that I have tasted out of barrel, lending it a Pauillac-like personality. Blackberry, graphite and a soupcon of liquorice. The tannins are exceptionally fine, real backbone here and a sense of ambition that I think neither the 2008 nor even the 2009 demonstrated. The clarity on the finish is truly outstanding and it seems to mellow and gain more sensuality with further aeration. Tasted March 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Grand Vin is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 1.5% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Bottled in late July, Paul Pontallier reminded me that the Grand Vin takes around six months before it settles down. Still, allowing several minutes aeration, it has a very intense bouquet of dark cherries, boysenberry, crushed stone and a hint of bay leaf that is beautifully defined, but as Paul mentioned, will need a months to blossom. The palate has a beguiling sense of symmetry: spine-tingling poise and tension. This is a magisterial Chateau Margaux with seamlessly integrated oak, pure dark berry fruit and an almost breathless, Burgundy-like purity on the satin textured finish. Utterly seductive, this is an incredible wine that will age for decades. Tasted November 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2010 is a brilliant Chateau Margaux, as one might expect in this vintage. The percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the final blend hit 90%, the balance Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and only 38% of the crop made it into the Chateau Margaux. Paul Pontallier, the administrator, told me that this wine has even higher levels of tannin than some other extraordinary vintages such as 2005, 2000, 1996, etc. Deep purple, pure and intense, with floral notes, tremendous opulence and palate presence, this is a wine of considerable nobility. With loads of blueberry, black currant and violet-infused fruit and a heady alcohol level above 13.5% (although that looks modest compared to several other first growths, particularly Chateau Latour and Chateau Haut-Brion), its beautifully sweet texture, ripe tannin, abundant depth and profound finish all make for another near-perfect wine that should age effortlessly for 30-40 years.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Château Margaux features notions of minted blackcurrants, new leather and Black Forest cake with nuances of sautéed herbs, tar, underbrush and wild fungi plus a waft of cedar. Full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the taut, muscular fruit, finishing long and earthy.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(90% cabernet sauvignon, 7% merlot, 1.5% cabernet franc and 1.5% petit verdot; 71IPT; from a yield of 39 hectoliters per hectare; 13.5% alcohol; a roughly 38% selection) Good, full, dark ruby-red. Aromatic nose offers red fruits, sweet spices, dried bay leaf, soy sauce and an intense saline note. Large-scaled and powerful, with a distinctly salty, scorched earth quality to the cassis, herbal, inky and meaty flavors. The mounting tannins are dry and tough at present and will need extended aging to resolve. This broad-shouldered wine boasts plenty of power and freshness but seems a little disjointed presently. Though it spreads out impressively on the back end, I find that it lacks the finesse and balance of the greatest vintages of Chateau Margaux.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 Château Margaux has a fleshy, almost animally bouquet with roasted chestnuts and ash infusing the red fruit, a touch of wild mint and garrigues in the background. This feels more forward than its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip, a fine bead of acidity, fresh and fleshy with a smorgasbord of herbal red fruit on the finish. Very good delineation and superb length, but is it going to be as long-term as its peers? Odd showing vis-à-vis other encounters and I have certainly tasted better bottles. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 Château Margaux performed far better at this horizontal than at Farr's blind tasting a few days later. It has a beguiling bouquet, highly perfumed with crushed violets infusing the blackberry and crushed strawberry scented, hints of pencil box and cedar emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. There is a wonderful sense of symmetry here with a silky elegant finish that is amazingly persistent. It is one of the best wines that Paul Pontallier ever made. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 Château Margaux is refulgent in colour with little ageing on the rim. The bouquet is stunning: brilliant definition, very mineral driven at first, becoming more floral with aeration. Blackberry, hints of graphite, iris more than violet here. The palate is really the complete package, combining the power and finesse that this First Growth delivers like few others when it is in top flight. There is a sense of symmetry here, everything perfectly balanced, tensile and brimming with energy. For sure, it is a long-term proposition and you might interpret that the finish is severe. Rather, it’s just too young to be approached and it will require a decade in bottle before it is anywhere close to ready. What a monumental Margaux this is turning out to be, perhaps even better than I thought. Tasted at the château.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Saturated ruby-red. Deep aromas of blackberry, licorice and bitter chocolate, complicated by nuances of loam and coffee extract. Dense, thick and sweet, but with harmonious acidity giving shape and lift to the pungent cassis, spice and tobacco flavors. Youthfully chewy wine with terrific underlying structure and a very long, sappy finish featuring broad tannins and a hint of licorice. This has improved considerably since the Primeurs, but I still think the 2009 Margaux is the superior wine.
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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