Twee cijfers: 94% en 28%. 94% is het imposante percentage aan Cabernet Sauvignon in het assemblage van Château Margaux 2016. Verwacht dus de nodige grandeur van deze meest illustere Margaux. 28% is helaas de proportie van de oogst die gebruikt wordt voor de Grand Vin. Er zal geen Château Margaux zijn voor iedereen…
Voor de rest zijn de scores duidelijk. Het is dan ook een verbluffende Château Margaux in een klassieke stijl, voorzien van een wonderbaarlijke zuiverheid en bekroond met een onwezenlijke lengte. “Il y a de la race!” Primeurreservatie is ontontbeerlijk want we benaderen de kwaliteit van 2010 en 2015, maar blijven ruim onder de prijs bij primeuraankoop.
Voor Antonio Galloni vertoont Château Margaux met een perfecte score van 97-100 “super persistence, understated power and total refinement”, terwijl Neal Martin betoverd is door deze “spellbinding… brilliant wine that is going to age with style and grace”. “In a word: crystalline”.
IN DE PERS
98 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Januari 2019)
The 2016 Château Margaux represents 28% of the entire production this year. It has an alluring, gorgeous bouquet that blossoms with aeration to reveal black cherries, veins of blue fruit, crushed violet petals and a suggestion of vanilla. The poised, mineral-driven palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin and just the right amount of salinity. The 2015 Château Margaux is ahead by a nose, but this will be a formidable first growth with a five-decade life span. Drink 2026-2070.
97-99 Neal Martin – The Wine Advocate Issue #230 - robertparker.com (April 2017)
The 2016 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, plus 1% of Petit Verdot, representing 28% of the total production. This is the highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon apart from 2013, which was due to the poor Merlot. It was cropped around 50 hectoliters per hectare depending on the grape variety, for example it could be up to 65 hectoliters per hectare in some sectors. Lucid in color, it has a detailed and precise bouquet with mineral-rich blackberry, raspberry coulis and limestone scents. It feels very perfumed, though not powerful like many Grand Vins in 2016. The palate is a different creature to the aromatics. Here is the intensity of the vintage with shimmering black fruit laced with spice, a killer line of acidity and an irresistible crescendo on the finish. Then, graphite lingering on the aftertaste, a nod to Pauillac perhaps. The aftertaste is so long you could probably write a letter to your friend enthusing about this wine before the aftertaste fades. Doubtless it is destined to be compared to the magnificent 2015 Château Margaux and to be truthful, there's a hair's breadth between them. In a word: crystalline. Drink: 2026-2070.
99 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Januari 2019)
A gorgeous, captivating bouquet gives the 2016 Margaux an irresistible allure. Weightless and yet wonderfully persistent, in the way only the château's wines can be, the 2016 Grand Vin is a wine of exceptional breeding and pedigree. So many wines in this vintage are obvious, but Margaux is a wine that takes time to discover, like a great book or piece of music. Shades of tobacco, cedar, mint, licorice and bright, red-toned fruit reveal themselves over time. And yet it is a sense of total harmony and seductiveness that elevates Margaux into the stratosphere in 2016. Drink 2026-2066.
97-100 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (April 2017)
The 2016 Margaux is magnificent in the best tradition of the Château Margaux style, which always speaks more to finesse than power. Above all else, the 2016 is a wine of superb persistence, understated power and total refinement. There is wonderful depth and intensity to the ripe red and purplish-hued fruits, accompanied by mint, rose petal and sweet spice overtones that develop in the glass. The 2016 finishes with great aromatic lift and freshness. It has been absolutely compelling on the two occasions I have tasted it so far.
99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - robertparker.com (December 2018)
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Château Margaux (blended of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot) sashays out of the glass with glamorous red currants, candied violets, kirsch and crushed blackcurrants scents followed by notions of tilled black soil, forest floor, cast iron pan and cigar box with subtle wafts of lavender and oolong tea. Medium-bodied, mineral laced accents hover over the palate with an ethereal sensation of weightlessness, yet it is super intense with layers of red and black flavors supported by a firm texture of silt-fine tannins, finishing wonderfully fragrant and incredibly long.
99 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Februari 2019)
98-99 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Maart 2017)
A purity of fruit marks this Margaux with lots of currant and berry character. Full body, bright acidity and round tannins. It’s a larger and more expanded style of Margaux. A wine with a heart and body. Strong.
98 Jane Anson – decanter.com (November 2018)
96 Jane Anson – decanter.com (April 2017)
It's unusual to have this intensity, freshness and integration of tannins at such a young age, but that is the beauty of 2016 in the best cases. This has an elegant structure with a touch of austerity through the mid-palate, alongside cool crushed tobacco, black fruits, juicy minerality and some salinity on the finish, all held in by silky tannins. There is not the big body and intensity of the majestic 2015 Margaux, which was easily one of the wines of the vintage, but the aromatics are more expressive in 2016 and there is a subtle complexity that builds over the palate. The blend here is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon (one of the highest ever), 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, with yields fairly high at 52hl/ha for the grand vin. It represents 28% of the overall production, compared to 35% last year. The grand vin has this wonderful essence of Margaux feel, and will reward patience - no doubt it will take on some extra weight over time and deepen into a stunning wine, among the great classics of this property. A fresh 3.6ph alongside a tannin count of 73IPT. Philippe Bascaules returned from Napa just before the primeurs; his first full vintage will be the 2017. 96-97 points. Drink: 2027-2050.
96 Jeannie Cho Lee – jeanniecholee.com (April 2017)
No. 10 in Top 10 Left Bank Bordeaux. This is a fresh, pure, lovely Margaux with firm, velvety tannins. A gorgeous array of floral, fresh red berry flavors layered with firm, silky tannins. There is a lightness in this medium bodied Margaux with only 13% alcohol – a pure, precise, linear vintage. The wine is a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon – 94% in the blend. The grand vin this year makes up only 28% of the total crop.
17,5/20 Jancis Robinson – jancisrobinson.com (April 2017)
94% Cabernet Sauvignon, and a little bit of Petit Verdot. pH 3.6 (cf pH 3.65 in 2015). Sweet rich start and then very fresh. Seems a little bit marked by oak at the moment. Sinewy. Hint of chocolate - just like Palmer! Slightly drying tannins. Sandpaper on the end. Drink: 2027-2045.
96 Tim Atkin – timatkin.com (April 2017)
Paul Pontallier may have passed away, but his legacy at Margaux lives on in wines such as this superb Grand Vin. Freshness, elegance, fine tannins and crunchy red fruit flavours are framed by new oak, velvety tannins and the vivacity that’s a feature of the vintage. Effortless class and precision. 2024-36.
96-98 Jeff Leve – thewinecellarinsider.com (April 2017)
97-99 Roger Voss – wineenthusiast.com (April 2017)
This Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine is packed with firm tannins and a dark, dense structure. It is seriously concentrated and powerful in its impression. Magnificent fruit contrasts with the structure to suggest a wine ready for long-term aging.
19-19,5/20 Revue des Vins de France (April 2017)
19,5/20 René Gabriel – WeinWisser (April 2017)
99-100 of 19,5-20/20 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.com (April 2017)
18/20 Jacques Dupont – Le Point (April 2017)
18-19/20 Gault & Millau (April 2017)
Château MargauxChâteau Margaux is het meest aristocratisch wijndomein van Bordeaux en één van de oorspronkelijke Premiers Grands Crus Classés en 1855.
Ondanks een prachtig wijnjaar 1953, haalde Margaux gedurende meerdere decennia niet het kwaliteitsniveau en de reputatie die het opgebouwd had in zijn eerste “âge d’or” op het einde van de de XIXde Eeuw. Pas toen de André Mentzelopoulos eigenaar werd in 1977, en na de aanstelling van Paul Pontallier als directeur in 1983, keerde het lot. Sindsdien is Margaux misschien wel de meest regelmatige Premier. De wijnen maken indruk zonder evenwel het DNA van finesse en elegantie te verdringen. Ze zijn briljant, gratievol, rijkelijk en complex. Zeker in de jaren 1980 was er geen betere Bordeaux dan Château Margaux. In de wijnjaren 1900, 1990 en 2000 werden perfecte parkerscores behaald. Margaux is één van de mooiste bouwwerken van Bordeaux. Het dateert van het begin van de XIXde Eeuw. Twee honderd jaar later leidt de wereldbefaamde architect Sit Norman Foster een ingrijpende maar respectvolle renovatie.
Pavillon Rouge is de tweede wijn. Daarnaast maakt Château Margaux ook een droge witte wijn, Pavillon Blanc de Château Margaux, een 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Vroeger werd deze droge witte wijn gemaakt in het aparte Château Abel-Laurent enkele honderden meters verderop. Voortaan zal hij gemaakt worden op Château Margaux. De kans bestaat dat Pavillon Blanc binnenkort Château Margaux Blanc wordt... | 
