Description
Château Margaux is a French winery that has roots dating back to about 1400. While at one time the residence sitting on its property housed England’s royalty, it has never stayed with any one owner very long. In the 1500s, owner Pierre de Lestonnac expanded the estate and turned grain fields into grape fields, planting grapevines throughout the estate. For many generations, the estate passed down through the family, often to the female descendants of Monsieur Lestonnac. During this time, the Lestonnac family made important alliances via marriage, including a mid-1600s alliance with the Pontac family, who owned another first growth wine estate, Château Haut-Brion. Many experts feel this alliance was the reason Château Margaux received its first growth status in the 1855 classification.
Tasting Notes
Tasted at Bordeaux Index’s annual 10-Year On tasting in London.The 2006 Château Margaux has a sense of airiness and wonderful definition on the nose: wild strawberry, redcurrant, cedar and crushed roses soaring from the glass, but it never strives for the opulence of say the 2006 Château Palmer. The palate is very well balanced with fine and quite firm tannin in the mouth. This seems to be approaching its plateau after a decade. While not a powerful or ostentatious Château Margaux, it epitomizes understatement and refinement in a similar vein to Lafite-Rothschild. It is only after the wine has been swallowed that you appreciate its qualities and you feel urged to go back for another sip. [94 Points, Neal Martin – May 2016, robertparker.com]
