Château Margaux (2020)

The Margaux estate dates from the 16th century. During the 18th century the wine of Château Margaux turned up at auction in London. The revolution saw the owner of the property guillotined and the estate sold at auction. In the early 19th century the property was owned by a Basque called Colonilla and it was he that built the chateau we see today. The modern history of Château Margaux begins in 1977 and its purchase by André Mentzelopoulos. The new owner had made his fortune trading in the Far East and Pakistan, then through grocery shops in France. He had the wherewithal to invest heavily in his new vineyards, forming the springboard for the great successes he was never to see, dying as he did in 1980. It was his daughter Corinne who ushered in the modern story of the estate and its gold-standard global reputation.

The 2020 Château Margaux was one of the highlights of the barrel samples originally sent to my home during the lockdown, a wine that I afforded 24 hours to open. Visiting the château to taste the wine in bottle, alas, I cannot loiter around an entire day! But it has a compelling bouquet with blackberry, crushed stone, pressed violet and a light petrichor scent - perhaps stricter than I recall from barrel. The palate has wonderful balanced, filigree tannins, creamy in texture with enormous depth and gentle grip. There is mesmerizing symmetry in this First Growth with a precise and very sustained slightly peppery finish. It's a Château Margaux from the top drawer.  (Neal Martin, December 2022, Score:98)

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