Chateau Margaux Masterclass with Paul Pontalier

Paul Pontalier, accompanied by Alexandra Petit-Metzelopoulos, presented a flight of this ever famous chateau. Stargazing time.

For us the takeaway from this tasting is that Ch Margaux is an elegant, powerful yet subtle, structured wine. Their use of oak is exactly to the point to be a silent supporter of the wine and even the youthful 2010 had just the lightest touch of oak. Purity of fruit needs nothing more.

Interesting to see the 2009 & 2010 vintages side by side (both in the Pavillon but also the grand vin). They are the 89 vs 90 all over again with 2009 being the 1990 jucier, riper one while the 2010 is like 1989 more subtle and elegant.

A couple of quotes of the man himself:

"2010 & 2009 are the best wines we have ever made in Margaux"
"The grand vin is now made only with the perfect plots and it is at the right level of production"
"2011 is the best ever pavillon blanc, both because of weather but also of the techniques used in the vineyard and selection"

• 2011 Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  Light colour, glossy youthfull. Ripe fruit, oaky notes (oak needs more time to integrate here) , lemony feel, light floral. Young wine nose and the oak is a bit too much on the forefront. On the palate it is so young, fresh, good acidity and weight with mineral strokes. Light glycerin texture. Powerful with length. Too young at this stage and the experience we rate at 92 but this could well be in the top 90s in the future once it matures.
  This wine now uses 1/3 of the crop and about 1000 cases are made annually.

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• 2003 Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  Honey yellow in colour. Caramel notes on the nose, toffee, light ripe fruit. On th epalate it is akin to a rhone white and is a totally different to the 2011 we had before this. Spice, rich fruit, elegant and long. Like rhone whtes, white rioja, this would not be to everyone liking. It is to ours! 93 drink now

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• 2010 Château Margaux Pavillon Rouge 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Youthfull dark red with purple notes in colour. A bit shy on the nose. Young, spicy, black fruits, light floral, light touch of oak. Fresh nose. On the palate front it is rich, ripe fruit, good weight of fruit across. Subtle wine. Very young yet very enjoyable at this stage with lovely balance. 93 at this stage but sky is the limit. Side by Side with the 2009.

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• 2009 Château Margaux Pavillon Rouge 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Dark dense red colour. A bit more open than the 2010 we had side by side. light floral, spice, light oak, lots of ripe fruit and very youthful. Beautiful nose. On the palate it continues along the same path, rich and juicy, with lots of ripe fruit, opulent with good tannin. Approachable and delicious now in its youth and with lots of length. Very Very good wine 94 now and who knows how much higher this goes as it evolves.

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• 2010 Château Margaux 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Dark red in colour. A touch restrained on the nose especially vs the opulent 09 and even vs the 2010 pavillon rouge. A pure cabernet sauvignon nose in a way, this is afterall 90% Cab Sauv. Light oaky notes and the nose on this wine is buttoned down and not talking much. It is a 2010 afterall. Young, firm evident but subtle tannins, and in no any way a harsh or austere wine. Ripe fruit, fresh and so harmonious. This is one to age for a long time and star gazing aside very difficult to age. Maybe a 93-94 range now but this could well be a perfect wine in the future.
  
  For Paul Pontalier this is the most amazing young wine he has ever tried and this wine is the essence of Ch Margaux ("the velvet fist") .

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• 2009 Château Margaux 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Dark, dense clossy in colour. The nose starts wih lovely rich fruit, opulent yet reserved, lightest touch of oak, floral. Young nose but still mesmerising. Rich on the palate, juicy, firm tannin. The texture of this wine is one to remember!Ripe, opulent harmonious in its stregth. This is definitely a great young wine with a lot of future. Paul Pontalier prefered the 2010 on the day but for us the 2009 is the one. 95 now but a this much like the 2010 could be a perfect wine in the future. 95

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• 2008 Château Margaux 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Good red colour but lighter and shows more age thana 5yr old, especially coming after the 2010 & 2009. The nose is open, with notes of dark fruits, leather, mint, floral and spice to start and developed a light caramel feel towards the end. Good fruit on the palate, pure and elegant. Very young of course and has a bit of harsh tannin but htis is more classical in style vs the opulent 09 and 10. Good structure and fruit. Soft and subtle wine. very nice. 94-95 and with a lot of future. To be honest on the day we liked it as much as the 2010 and 2009.

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• 2006 Château Margaux 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Dark in colour wth no signs of aging. Restrained, buttoned down and young on the nose. Light floral, fruit and no evidence of oak. A bit of a deviation from the subtle and elegant Margauxs we tried on the day and had quite a few harh edges and needs a lot of aging. The underperformer of the flight. A bit dry at times and even Paul Pontalier had his doubts about it. Not sure its worth the price tag to be honest. 92 from us and hopefully time will be friend of this wine.

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• 2001 Château Margaux 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  It takes one quick smell of this wine to fall in love with it. Classical bordeaux friends this is one for us (like so many of the 2001s). Nose is just turning secondary with leather, cedar and tobacco notes along with the fruit. Light earthy too. On the palate it is soft yet powerfull, with depth and richness of fruit. Soft yet fresh this is a mesmerizing wine, a wine of meditation to take away the old saying. Lots of life ahead of it but it is simply magical now. Nicol 96-7 / Andreas 97-98

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• 1996 Château Margaux 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Colour shows a bit its age. The nose in a way remided us of the 2008, with minty, floral elements, herbs. Beautiful nose. The herby notes continue on the palate. Blind we could even think this was an 80s wine in a way as the style is very classic and has more than a few secondary notes to it. We could go on and on here but this is a magical wine. Nicol 97 / Andreas 95
  
  Paul Pontalier said this wine was the first to push the grand vin to 90% cab sauv (96 was not such a great year for merlot) and for him th enose of this wine is the essence of marguax.

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