After the extreme weather conditions in the summer, we might well have expected a warm, alcohol-rich nose with very ripe fruit to the fore, black fruit, even baked fruit. However, what we actually have, literally jumping out of the glass, are red berry fruit aromas, freshness and purity. We can even find, as in 96 and 2000, a mingling of floral and slightly spicy notes, coming through delightfully in this very complex cocktail, in which the new oak has already been totally integrated, as if it had been “digested” by the body of the wine.
And what body! We knew, of course, that all the wines were extremely concentrated. It has to be said that when you add, so to speak, a very low yield to the hot weather conditions in the summer, plus the blending, in which there was an excellent press wine, the result is a wine which possesses a density which has been unparalleled in recent vintages. This density gives the wine not just power and strength, but depth and length too; and above all, a tannic structure which is so tightly-knit that its texture has taken on a silky feel.
A lot has been said, this year, about acidity and the mysteries of it. It is true that grapes have rarely been picked at such low levels of acidity as in 2003. And yet, through the combination of the acids being produced during the fermentation process, a lesser tartaric acid precipitation and a low malic acid content, we have ended up today with a total acidity which is exactly the average of the last 20 vintages. This vintage, with its extreme weather conditions (as we thought), has in fact given birth to a great classic claret!
What the critics say...
Robert Parker: 99 points(01/04/2006)
Am I being too stingy with the 2003 Chateau Margaux? A wine of extraordinary complexity and intensity, it reveals a deep purple color, a style not unlike the 1990 Margaux (possibly even more concentrated), a velvety texture, and notes of spring flowers interwoven with camphor, melted licorice, creme de cassis, and pain grille. Not a blockbuster, it offers extraordinary intensity as well as a surreal delicacy/lightness. There is riveting freshness to this offering, which tips the scales at a lofty (for this estate) 13.5% alcohol, as well as an alluring sweetness and accessibility. It probably will tighten up over the next few years. Nevertheless, it is a profound Chateau Margaux that brings to mind a hypothetical blend of the 1982 and 1990. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2035.
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.
