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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.7 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 16 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by _water.into.wine_ on 4/2/2019 & rated 94 points: No formal note. But an excellent wine. Part of their late release and recroked series. Fantastic condition and so much life for a 40 year old wine. There is some fruit remaining and lots of nice secondary aromas. Excellent value. Drank to celebrate Shreyas and Christina promotions. (1329 views) | | | Tasted by Prinsen on 5/12/2017 & rated 93 points: Tobacco, leather, coffee. Smooth, silky, long lasting taste. Very good wine (1898 views) | | | Tasted by pifcho on 3/31/2015 flawed bottle: Argh - when I picked up the bottle I noticed the cork was already in the bottle. The wine was quite maderized but somehow drinkable. I chose to pour it down the drain. (2911 views) | | | Tasted by Prinsen on 2/2/2013 & rated 92 points: Very good nose of old Margaux when it is best, farmyard, leather. Not many tanins left, well structured but not as complex as Brane Cantenac in same year. (4109 views) | | | Tasted by Prinsen on 9/15/2012 & rated 92 points: Tasted together with Brane Cantenac 1978 and 1998. The smell was a little bit more simple and less complex than the Brane Cantenac 78, but still very good with notes of leather, cigarbox, earth. The taste is very smooth, not many tanins left and you do not doubt that it is an old Margaux. Very worth drinking for the next couple of years (4527 views) | | | Tasted by Julius Squeezer on 8/24/2012 & rated 91 points: Medium garnet in color with yellowing and bricking towards the rim. This is very much alive. Wet leaves, forest floor, sweet tobacco, raspberry, red cherry, vanilla, and white flowers on the nose. There is a lot of sweetly perfumed classic Margaux aromatics. Secondary and tertiary notes dominate but there is still a lot of fruit left here. Roasted meat, cherry, raspberry on the palate compliment the high acidity here with enough fruit to make it work. Very representative of a good older Margaux. (4167 views) | | | Tasted by Prinsen on 7/31/2012 & rated 93 points: This is an amazing wine, classic Margaux, not the same complexity as 1978 Brane Cantenac but almost as good. The wine wakes up after an hour and last for at least 5 hours (3290 views) | | | Tasted by Prinsen on 4/29/2012 & rated 92 points: Opens after half an hour, long lasting smell and taste, smooth with not many tannins left, typical old margaux, very good wine (2473 views) | | | Tasted by David Paris (dbp) on 3/12/2009 & rated 90 points: Decanted 5 hours this time. MUCH smoother aromas of forest floor, swampy water, pine cone sap, mint, eucalyptus. Bright sour cherry and raspberry in the mouth, high acidity, transitioning to lots of bubble gum flavor along with slight mustiness. Bubble gum covered in dirt on the finish, with again nice tannins present. Nice lingering acidity with cherry flavor. This is a much better bottle than the last and it's probably more than just the increased decant time. This even got better going on an additional two hours open... decant 8 hours next time? (1957 views) | | | Tasted by kwalitsch on 3/12/2009 & rated 90 points: Brown in color and much more alive then the other older wine that I have had. The nose is open and full of raspberry, dirty sock and oak. On the palate it is like chewing old wet redwood with raspberries while accompanied with Shitaki mushrooms and peppercorn. (2129 views) | | | Tasted by David Paris (dbp) on 1/26/2009 & rated 87 points: Brought to my sister's on her 31st birthday. Wine just arrived 10 days ago, so there's likely still some shipping shock. Decanted upon arrival and drank over two hours. Color is quite bright red all throughout, no bricking around the edge with a full glass, but once the glass goes down it does appear slightly rusty. Very musty aromas that have me worried. Just the slightest bit of fruit showing through. My sister says it smells like frog poop. Actually really bright raspberry on the mid palate that is very nice. This is followed up by beef jerky. Only when it's fully warmed up in my mouth is it slightly funky. Definitely still big, impressive tannins remain here along with bright acidity. The flavors on the finish are primarily tobacco with a hint of broccoli. The fruit is subtle but based on its current development, I think the tannins will hold this for 10+ additional years. Not sure if the fruit will last that long, though. This was definitely improving throughout the night, and for the next bottle I'll likely decant it for 4+ hours before drinking the first glass. (1898 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 5/1/2008 & rated 92 points: Old Cab and Dead Cow Offline (Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Palo Alto, California): Mature blackfruit and leather nose; good, mature, blackfruit, leather and tobacco palate; medium finish (2486 views) |
| By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (5/1/2008)
(Château Durfort-Vivens) Mature blackfruit and leather nose; good, mature, blackfruit, leather and tobacco palate; medium finish 92 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Durfort-Vivens Producer website - Read more about Chateau Durfort VivensRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.Margaux Read more about Margaux and its wines As with a large part of the Bordeaux vineyards, vines first appeared in Margaux during the Gallo-Roman period.
In 1705 a text mentions Château Margaux . But we have to wait for the end of the eighteenth century and the coming of the earliest techniques in aging for the concept of wines of high quality to develop. The confirmation of this was the famous 1855 classification which recognized 21 Crus Classés in the Margaux appellation. One hundred years later, the Viticultural Federation and the Margaux appellation of controlled origin were born. The appellation, which stretches out over five communes, is actually unique in the Médoc in that it is the only one to contain all the range of wines, as rich as they are vast, from First Great Cru Classé to the Fifths, not forgetting its famous Crus Bourgeois and its Crus Artisans.
In Margaux there is a predominance of Garonne gravel on a central plateau of about 4 miles in length and one and a quarter wide. To the east-south-east, it overlooks the low lying land by the estuary. Its east side is marked by gentle, dry valleys and a succession of ridges.The layer of gravel in Margaux was spread out by a former Garonne in the early Quaternary. Rather large in size, it is mingled with shingle of average dimension and represents the finest ensemble of Günz gravel in the Haut-Médoc. It is on this ancient layer on a Tertiary terrace of limestone or clayey marl that the best Médoc crus lie. All the conditions for successful wine are present : a large amount of gravel and pebbles, poor soil which cannot retain water and deep rooted vines.
It is customary to say that Margaux wines are the "most feminine" in the Médoc, thus stressing their delicacy, suppleness and their fruity, elegant aromas. This does not affect their great propensity for aging; just the opposite, for the relatively thin terroir imparts tannins which give them long life. The other characteristic of these wines which combine an elegant vitality, subtlety and consistency, is their diversity and personality. Over and above the flavour which is their "common denominator", they present an exceptional palette of bouquets, fruity flavours which show up differently from one château to another.
Production conditions (Decree dated August 10 1954)
In order to have the right to the Margaux appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Margaux, Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labarde, "excluding the land which by the nature of its soil or because of its situation, is unfit to produce wine of this appellation".
- satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare).
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot
Soil: Gravel and silt plateau on a layer of limestone or silt on clay
Surface Area: 1,530 ha |
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