Chateau Margaux is a red wine from the legendary Margaux appellation. This First Classified Growth of 1855 benefits from vines planted on an outcrop of gravel, which is characteristic of the appellation. The 2012 vintage is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. In total, 34% of the harvest was used for this great wine.
These excellent wines have a great density and a splendid fleshy character with incredible finesse. At tasting, Chateau Margaux 2012 is a powerful wine that is pure, balanced and charming.
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 Robert Parker 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.