2015 Château Margaux

Community Tasting Notes (20) Avg Score: 97.7 points

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  5/9/2024 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points

  Far behind Lafite for me.

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  3/6/2024 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points

  Margaux Extravaganza: Margaux vs. Palmer vs. Brane over two decades (1996/2009/2015). Given the pedigree of the vintages, particularly for Chateau Margaux, expectations were quite high, but especially the last two vintages didn't live up to past performances (I've previously rated Ch. Margaux up to 100pts, Ch. Margaux 2015 up to 99pts, and Palmer 2009 98pts) at first. There were some overripe aromas that were too prominent and an uncharacteristic imbalance. Of course, Ch. Margaux and Palmer showed remarkable complexity and precision, but the balance was a bit off. Still, these are some good to great wines, especially on day 2 and with more air they got better and better. Ultimately, Ch. Margaux 2015 (96pts) was the winner with its unique aromatic profile, slightly outperforming the 1996 and 2009 vintages, both at 95pts. Brane and Palmer were a notch or two below, with the Palmer 2015 particularly affected by premature oxidation. I don't doubt the potential of these wines, given the many fine examples I had last year, but I wouldn't open them today.
  
  TN: My WOTN (the group went for the 1996 Margaux). Very layered, hyper precise, both, on the nose and palate. Waves of floral aromas, sweet, candy-like red berries, fresher, purer fruit from red to dark, crushed rocks, hints of chocolate, lots of herbal aromas. A never-ending stream of new flavors. Highest quality tannins, very fine and elegant, airy texture and feel with good acidity backbone. Although this wine isn’t on par with prior bottles, it has perfection written allover it. Like many 2015s, however, it is currently in a more difficult phase, where the harmony isn’t as perfect as it was before.

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  1/29/2024 - d.f.c Likes this wine: 98 Points

  Superb! An incrediblely smooth yet well balanced wine. Complex taste and long finish. Tasted cassis, jam, berries etc.

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  12/16/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 96 Points

  Part of a Margaux appellation mini-vertical and horizontal comparing Margaux, Palmer, Brane Cantenac 1996, 2009 and 2015. The 1996 were double-decanted prior to the tasting while some of the 2015 spent time in the decanter. Unsurprisingly, Margaux came in first in all 3 vintages, Palmer in the middle and Brane last, expect in 2015 where I think we might have hit a bad bottle for Palmer. 1996 is coming along beautifully and appears to be in its prime drinking window while 2009 took a steep step down from its 10-years state a few years ago. For now, the 2015 appear to manage the concentration better (although Palmer was disappointing).
  
  Tasting note:
  The nose already shows impressive depth. Concentrated fruit of cherry, blueberry, red currant and wild berries. Earth, some bacon, maybe even a peppery touch. Additional layers of smoke, coffee and dark chocolate form a varied mosaic of flavors. Sumptuous texture, more powerful than light and elegant, but in a harmonious way.

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  12/16/2023 - J_H Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Margaux battle: 1996 vs. 2009 vs. 2015: Overall conclusions of the Tasting: Brane vs. Palmer vs. Margaux '96/'09/'15
  1) Margaux has a very nice stilistic and somehow a flowery character and was allways on spot today. I mean the prices of this 1996/2009/2015 are all high but you get a lot in reverse!
  2) 2009 vs 2015: They seem to be quite similar, mostly ripe fruit is standing out. Probably 2015 has a bit more acidity and freshness from the fruit side. It's possible that both of them can be great with more age - I have more hope for 2015s.
  3) Palmer seems to be much more volatile from a performance standpoint than the two other Margaux wine.
  4) Wine of the night was definitely 1996 Margaux. It was just outstanding!
  
  Tasting Note:
  - This nose is ready to go, almost blue and dark fruits with hints of flowery aromatics, Vanilla and slightly oaky flavours, which are really good integrated. You don´t have to much fruit power punch, seems round and ripe but not over-extracted here.
  - On the palate we have same aromas with a bit more vanille and really great mouth feeling, smooth tannins and everything seems to beround. The acidity is absolutely there, tannins are a slightly drying at the moment. For sure too young to drink now but the potential is amazing.
  - Compared to the 2009 we have a bit more freshness but they don't seem to be so different. 1996 was for me just far ahead because of its lightness and elegance it showed. Probably this Margaux 2015 will get to a level of the 1996 beacuse the complexity will be there in 20 years and you will still have a great fruit core.
  - 95 Punkte

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