This complicated year taught us many lessons, as it differed completely from the usual, very probably too simple, pattern of the great vintages. It may well be that the heavy rain which came at the end of September was, in fact, a help to the ripening of the Cabernet Sauvignon, as it very probably was the case in 1995, rather than the opposite as we feared. Whatever the explanation, this vintage ended up producing a wine which will go down in history for its classicism and purity. The Cabernet Sauvignon has seldom achieved such a perfection of style and such good balance. What is even rarer perhaps, is to find in a young wine, only just after its blending, the ability to impress and move us at once through the purity of its fruit, the density of its structure and the harmony of its shape. It is a dream of a Margaux. Today the Château Margaux 1996 has lost none of that grace. Of course, it should not be drunk now, but the temptation is great. We dare to recommend, all the same, keeping it for at least twelve to fifteen years in order to give it the time to transform this grace into real drinking pleasure.
What the critics say...
Robert Parker: 99 points(01/04/1999)
The 1996 Chateau Margaux, which was bottled in September, 1998, is undoubtedly one of the great classics produced under the Mentzelopoulos regime. In many respects, it is the quintessential Chateau Margaux, as well as the paradigm for this estate, combining measured power, extraordinary elegance, and admirable complexity. I tasted the wine on three separate occasions in January, and in short, it s a beauty! The color is opaque purple. The wine offers extraordinarily pure notes of blackberries, cassis, pain grille, and flowers, gorgeous sweetness, a seamless personality, and full body, with nothing out of place. The final blend (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) contains a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It tastes complete and long, although backward. My instincts suggest this wine will shut down, but at present it is open-knit, tasting like a recently bottled wine. The fruit is exceptionally sweet and pure, and there are layers of flavor in the mouth. I do believe this wine will develop an extraordinary perfume, and possess a high level of richness. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040.
Pairing: Aged Cheese, Game Animals, Grilled Red Meats, Legume, Roasts, Stews.
It is difficult to sum up in a few lines the long and splendid history of the estate. It could perhaps be entitled 'There was once an estate called Château Margaux'. It was already known in the 12th century and at that time had the name 'La Mothe de Margaux' but there were not yet any vines.... In 1152, Eleanor, the heir to the Duchy of Aquitaine, married Henry Plantagenet, the future King Henry II of England; and so Aquitaine was to belong to England until 1453 (the illustration here shows the surrender of the town of Bordeaux to the .... French !, in October 1453, at the end of the Hundred Years War). This was a real blessing for the wines of Bordeaux, which then found their way straight onto the English market. Richard the Lionheart, the son of Eleanor and Henry II, adopted claret as his everyday drinking. The successive owners of La Mothe de Margaux were of course important people belonging to the nobility, but it was only when the Lestonnac family took over, that the estate started to resemble what it is today. Pierre de Lestonnac succeeded in 10 years, from 1572 to 1582, in completely restructuring the property and in so doing anticipated the future development of the Médoc which was to start abandoning the cultivation of cereal crops in favour of vines. By the end of the 17th century, Château Margaux covered 265 hectares (654 acres), a surface area which it never abandoned thereafter, a third of which was devoted to vine-growing, as is the case today. The English and Dutch drank claret, a wine which was still quite pale and did not age very well. Château Margaux became a high place in the art of making wine, and the hierarchy between the different Bordeaux growths began to appear. Château Margaux had been born. So, how best to sum up Château Margaux at the beginning of this 21st century ? What is its place in the world ? What are the preoccupations and ambitions of the men (and women) who seek ever more perfect results ? Whilst the recent boom in Bordeaux wine and the rise to prominence of many wine regions in different countries have brought Margaux closer to the realities of competition, they have also enabled it to underline its unique positioning as a First Great Classified Growth, benefiting from a terroir that has been worked and shaped throughout the centuries. But this does not mean we are resting on our laurels. It would be tedious to list all the investments, great and small, that have been made at the estate over the last 25 years. There is no question either, of revolutionizing the way we work, when old managers and owners have produced, in spite of their relative technical ignorance, such wonderful wines as 1900 and 1961 ! It is more a question of being worthy of the heritage of Château Margaux, whilst constantly bringing what we do into question so as to improve, to perfect what still can be made more perfect, in keeping with this unique heritage, which is Château Margaux. The strengthening of the estate management team in 1990 with the arrival of Philippe Bascaules, an agricultural engineeer, like Paul Pontallier, and the creation in 2000 of a post for research and development, are moves in this direction : to be worthy of the history of Château Margaux whilst progressing in the minutest details, so as never to disappoint wine enthusiasts anywhere in the world. You who have come onto our website to read these pages, or you who have some bottles of Château Margaux in your cellar : we want you to know that you give us our stimulation.
