Day one: Chateau Margaux

[Comte Flaneur]

We attended a Chateau Margaux 'Masterclass' hosted by Paul Pontallier and Alexandre Mentzelopoulus. He is charming, charismatic and knowledgeable. A shrewd businessman to boot, he imparted not just a few pearls if wisdom, but boy is he long winded. Poor Alex hardly got a word in edgeways because Monsieur Pontallier was waxing lyrical virtually the whole time, in the process subjecting us to an astonishing litany of platitudes remarkable even by French-philosopher standards. "Together we can dare to challenge ze future. "

We had two vintages of Pavillon Blanc, two Pavillon Rouge and six vintages of the Grand Vin, including the 09 and 10' which Paul regards as his finest yet. After 30 minutes of verbal incontinence we finally got started.

Pavillon Blanc 2011

Tropical notes with basil and other herbs. Fresh and lifted with a satisfying finish, and a touch of heat. PP reckons this is the best ever vintage. I would give it 91 points.

Pavillon Blanc 2003

From a hot year this was a revelation. Not at all hot and bothered. Cheesiness gave way to exotic fruits and a wonderfully lush and full finish. Bit like a Viognier. 93

The Pavillon Blanc is not a second wine and only 15k bottles are produced compared to 130 k for the Grand Vin and its second wine Pavillon Rouge. These wines benefit from being drunk not too cold.

Pavillon Rouge 2010

Notes of tobacco and ash, minerally and gravelly. Elevated tannins, needs time. 89

Pavillon Rouge 2009

Hints of cassis but otherwise not showing much. But more accessible than the '10. 89

Neither of these were interesting compared to what was about to come.

Chateau Margaux 2010

A quantum leap in quality. From the first sniff you know this is something special. It moves you. You know straight away that you are in the presence of greatness. You can almost feel the earth moving beneath you. An extraordinary wine with a nose of violets, ash, charcoal, and perfectly ripe berries. But the best is yet to come. The mouth feel is so polished and silky, and the wine is so harmonious, but there is so much power there; yet the tannins are so fine. It is a wine with extraordinary breadth and depth, which fills every nook and cranny of your mouth. The finish lasts for two minutes and there is no noticeable heat. A moving experience and an extraordinary wine. The balance and finesse of this wine is astonishing. To say it is an iron fist in a velvet glove would be to do it an injustice. The greatest young wine I have ever tasted, taking away the mantle from a wine we tasted later which is now in its late adolescence. I think scoring this would be redundant. Lets just say three digits.

Chateau Margaux 2009

This had a rounder more opulent personality than the 2010. More expressive notes of ash, menthol, vanilla, berries and white flowers. The palate was opulent and scintillating, lush, mouth filling and very long. It is a fabulous wine, but at the margin it lacked the extraordinary balance, subtlety and equilibrium of the 2010. The vanilla oak was more noticeable and there was a touch of heat on the back palate, similar to Pontet Canet, a wine of similar calibre. No question this is an extraordinary wine, which Pontallier rated as his best ever at the time, but the 2010 is another step up. 98

Chateau Margaux 2008

Still young and not far evolved, This had notes of white pepper in addition to the flowers but also a more assertive note of graphite. The tannins are quite elevated, and the finish cannot compete with the 09 and 10. Still it is a 'classic' style of Margaux. 93

Chateau Margaux 2006

This had a much more evolved colour, and was much more accessible. If you were a Palm Beach trust fund babe or basically so effing rich that you couldn't give a monkeys you could happily order this and enjoy this in a restaurant. I was really enjoying quaffing this until Monsieur Pontallier pointed out that it had a little bit of a harsh note on the back palate. He was right but you wouldn't notice that if you we're eating a ribeye. I still think it is a very nice wine; but it is clearly not a great Margaux. 92

Chateau Margaux 2001

I backed this dark horse and I was right. This is Chateau Margaux at its best. It is soft, silky and seductive, yet as fresh as a daisy. It is easy to drink now but will be even better in 20 years for those with the patience to wait. It is delicious, seductive and charming. It is smooth and gorgeous. It has no hard edges. It is a faultless wine you instantly fall in love with. 97

Chateau Margaux 1996

My favourite wine from this estate. My confidence was shaken a little by an indifferent showing in 2011 in New York but my confidence is now restored. It has barnyard initially but otherwise it is quintessentially Margaux. It has complex leafy, tobacco and cigar box notes in addition to the berry fruit, which are just to die for. It has extraordinary complexity and breadth and depth on the palate. This is a quintessential and complete Chateau Margaux, now, at age 17, in its late adolescence. Clearly the best is yet to come. But it is already extraordinary. 100.

The 1996 vintage was the first that reduced the merlot content from around 20% to around 10%. The Cabernet grown at the estate is far superior to the merlot, so that the latter is now relegated to a bit part player.

Going back to taste the Pavilions after the Grand Vin was a huge step down. There really is a gulf in quality between the two.

All in all an enthralling two hours. Highlights were the 10, 01 and 96.

Dale Williams disclaimer: My scores make no claims for accuracy, consistency or fairness.

[Nicklasss]

Very nice notes. thank for tasting the time to share.

It is not like I sampled a lot of Château Margaux, but every time I had it, I never contester in anyway it's First Growth status. But I have only tasted the 1982, 1983, 1985 and 2001.

All these vintages have been very nice extraordinary AOC Margaux wines.

If this is Day One, what will be Day Two, Three...?

Nic

[jal]

I was never crazy about either the Pavillon or the Bahans. As second wines go, Carruades and les Forts are much much beter (also much pricier). What is Mouton's second wine? If it's d'Armailhac or Clerc Milon, they are both mediocre.

Ian, I'm having another bottle of the 1996 Margaux again in a couple of weeks with the same guy who brought it the first time. We'll see if it improved over the last two years.

[sdr]

Thanks for the amusing notes, Ian.

I give PP extra points for speaking so long and so well in his second language.

Pavillon Blanc is an acquired taste (which I have acquired). It can veer toward the floral side or the grassy side, depending on the vintage. It's clearly different than the top blancs of Pessac-Leognan and arguably never reaches their heights.

My favorite vintages of Chateau Margaux, back to 1953, is the '53 for incredible elegance (many years ago), the '83 (for elegance now, but starting to slip) and tie score for 1982/1990 for power and concentration. The 2000 is in there somewhere, but I haven't tasted it for years.

Stuart

[Comte Flaneur]

Nic - there is a Big 0 coming upon Saturday so I decided to start early.The party will go on until June 6th.The idea of turning 30 is seriously depressing me...tonight we drank a Noel Verset Cornas 1990. This week we will be doing some Latour. On Saturday, it doesn't bear thinking about.
Stuart - In my experience you can divide vintages of Chateau Margaux into three categories: (1) The so-so vintages where Chateau Margaux produces average wines or underachieves. This would include wines like the 2008, 2006, 2002, 1998, 1989, 1988,1985 and most things in the 20 or so years before before 1978. (2) Vintages generally regarded as being average,in which Chateau Margaux really excels.This would include vintages like 2004,2001,1999,1997, 1994,1981,1979 and 1978 and (3) the great vintages for both Margaux and everyone else - 2010, 2009, 2005, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1986, 1983, 1982 .The ones to look out for would be in the second category. Pre-1978 I recently had the 1947 which wasn't bad but I have never tasted any of the great pre-Mentzelopoulus era wines,like the 1899,1900, 1949,1953,1959 and 1961.
Jacques - I have fond memories of that dinner with you and Pierre on March 1 2011.It was the day I came out of one month's rehab.None of the wine really showed their absolute best IMHO.I have had better bottles of Mouton 86,and the Haut Brion 98 still had very elevated tannins and Margaux 96 was slightly gawky I thought on the night. I own all of these and have 100% confidence in them. Look forward to your notes.
Ian

[DavidG]

Cripes Ian you're still just a kid compared to some of us old farts here. Lessons can be learned from cellaring and drinking older wines that are applicable to maintaining one's youth and vigor over the decades. Key among them is preserving the integrity of one's cork. Moderation is paramount: neither let it stay wet and get moldy, nor let it dry out and crumble.

Happy Birthday!

PS - great tasting and wonderful notes!

[jal]

Happy Birthday Ian, is there a portrait of you getting old somewhere? You make us old farts look really bad

[Comte Flaneur]

Thanks chaps...David there was a deliberate typo regarding the number that went before the zero and I was being tongue in cheek/economical with the truth. The truth is sense of humor failure inducing.

[Jay Winton]

Great notes and thanks young man. When I'm drinking an older wine, the fill is what counts to me. Of course, I want a decent cork but if the fill is appropriate for the age, I don't worry too much about the cork.

[sdr]

Stuart - In my experience you can divide vintages of Chateau Margaux into three categories: (1) The so-so vintages where Chateau Margaux produces average wines or underachieves. This would include wines like the 2008, 2006, 2002, 1998, 1989, 1988,1985 and most things in the 20 or so years before before 1978. (2) Vintages generally regarded as being average,in which Chateau Margaux really excels.This would include vintages like 2004,2001,1999,1997, 1994,1981,1979 and 1978 and (3) the great vintages for both Margaux and everyone else - 2010, 2009, 2005, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1986, 1983, 1982 .The ones to look out for would be in the second category. Pre-1978 I recently had the 1947 which wasn't bad but I have never tasted any of the great pre-Mentzelopoulus era wines,like the 1899,1900, 1949,1953,1959 and 1961.

Not exactly recent, but:

4/24/2009
1959 Chateau Margaux - 97 Points
Absolutely stunning, almost shocking, in its liveliness and incredible brown sugar/molasses flavor. This is what you hope to find in a 50 year old wine, but rarely do. The medium garnet color with no hint of rust or brown let you know this bottle had been perfectly preserved, which of course it was, since it was recently ex-chateau. Long legs in the glass, lots of glycerine, perhaps relatively high in alcohol, yet no sense of heat. Deep into its secondary phase, it's not about the "fruit" any more; rather there's an endless panoply of flavors in cedar, wet bark, black dirt and sugar range. Fabulous texture, thick as light cream. It glides gently down the back of the throat seemingly without any effort to swallow it. What a thrill. (A second bottle was very good, but not nearly as etherial.)

10/16/2010
1961 Chateau Margaux - 91 Points
This bottle, from an Acker auction, was in superb condition. Level barely below the neck, excellent medium ruby color, orange rim. The cork was very firm and difficult to extract and very moist. This vintage is now a fading beauty. The ethereal floral bouquet is barely discernible but worth the effort to find. Medium body, smooth but no longer silky. Even with a perfect bottle the finish is drying out. I believe this wine peaked about 20 years ago. A fond farewell to my last bottle.

Stuart

[Comte Flaneur]

Stuart thanks vm for your notes. I have been following your notes variously, particularly more recently, and you are clearly a very discerning taster but also a tough marker!

You realise that this 100 pt system is a bit of a malarkey when you rate a 1996 Margaux 100 ( probably equivalent to an SDR 95) then you taste some thing like a RC that renders that whole framework redundant.