Tag: margaux

Historic Bordeaux From the Iconic 1982 Vintage

Today’s Story: Château Margaux

Château Margaux is an incredibly historic wine estate located in the Margaux appellation of Bordeaux’s Left Bank. It is also one of the original four properties ranked as a First Growth (Premier Cru) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 (with Château Mouton Rothschild being added as the fifth First Growth in 1973). Château Margaux traces its roots back to the 12th century with a name of La Mothe de Margaux, though there weren’t any vines planted on the property at that time. Throughout the property’s first several centuries, it was reserved for Lords and royalty. Margaux as we know it today, however, started to take shape in the late 16th century when Pierre de Lestonnac spent the years 1572 to 1582 completely restructuring the property to wine production. By the end of the 17th century, Château Margaux consisted of 265 hectares (655 acres) with about one-third of that area planted to vine. It remains largely in this same format to this day.

The 18th century brought great growth to both Château Margaux and the world of wine as we know it from a quality perspective. At this time, most of the wine made in Bordeaux was low quality and somewhat watery which didn’t bode well for aging ability. At Margaux, Berlon became the first to vinify red and white grapes separately while vine stocks were mixed throughout the vineyards. He also decided to delay harvest time from dawn to later in the day so dew would dry up and not dilute the juice. Thanks to the improved quality, Margaux’s 1771 vintage became the first “claret” to be sold through Christie’s and, during Thomas Jefferson’s trip to Bordeaux in 1787, became noted as one of the top four properties by the statesman.

The fortune of the 18th century died down unfortunately, thanks to the French Revolution that saw Elie du Barry (owner of Château Margaux at the time) sent to the guillotine. The estate was auctioned to the revolutionaries and its new owner, citizen Miqueau, let the property fall into a horribly dilapidated state. In 1801, Bertrand Douat, Marquis de la Colonilla, purchased Château Margaux and set about building a new mansion in 1810. This was the château that still stands today and adorns the Margaux labels, though Douat died before ever living at the property. His children had very little interest in the property, ultimately selling it to a wealthy banker named Alexandre Aguado in 1830. Margaux trudged onward until the financial troubles and phylloxera of the late 19th century, with the estate sold to Count Pillet-Will in 1879. The estate bounced back with a great 1893 vintage, though the young vines of phylloxera-resistant rootstock didn’t produce at a high enough quality and a second wine named Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux was born.

Throughout the second quarter of the 20th century, wealthy wine trader Fernand Ginestet purchased shares in Margaux until ultimately purchasing the entire estate around 1950. Fernand and his son Pierre reorganized the vineyards and guided the estate through several successful vintages, though they were unfortunately no match for the financial crisis of the 1970s and the horrible vintages of 1972, 1973, and 1974. The Ginestet family, due to these struggles, had to sell Château Margaux and it was purchased by André Mentzelopoulos in 1977. André made his fortune trading cereals and through his ownership of a grocery chain, so he was able to invest heavily in Château Margaux during this trying time without the need for immediate financial gains. Though André passed away far too soon in 1980, during his short ownership of Château Margaux he completed drastic renovations to both the buildings and vineyards of the estate and set the property on a renewed path to greatness. André’s daughter Corinne adeptly took over in her father’s footsteps, guiding the estate through the incredible growing demand for Bordeaux wines following the 1982 vintage and into the 21st century. She remains CEO to this day.

Switching gears, as I mentioned before the size and format of Château Margaux hasn’t really changed since the end of the 17th century. Today the property consists of 262 hectares (647 acres) with only a third of that planted to vine. Vine density is fairly high but typical of Bordeaux, with 10,000 vines per hectare (2.5 acres) of land. For the red wines, 75% of this land is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% to Merlot, and the balance to Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. They also have 12 hectares (30 acres) planted to Sauvignon Blanc. With this Château Margaux makes four wines including the Grand Vin, Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, and Margaux du Château Margaux for their reds and the Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux for the white.

From a winemaking standpoint, Margaux is fairly traditional for the realm of Bordeaux. The red wines ferment in a combination of oak and stainless steel vats ranging in size from 5 hectoliters up to 180 hectoliters. The reds also go through malolactic fermentation in vats, however the press wines complete their malolactic fermentation in barrel. Aging is accomplished in 100% new oak for 18-24 months, with many of these barrels coming from Margaux’s own in-house cooperage. The white wine, on the other hand, is whole cluster pressed with no skin contact and ferments partially in stainless steel before wrapping up in 33% new French oak barrels. This wine is aged on its lees but forgoes malolactic fermentation while aging for 7-8 months before bottling.

Today’s Wine: 1982 Château Margaux

Cabernet Sauvignon dominant Bordeaux blend; 12% ABV

The 1982 Château Margaux is deep garnet in color, showing no signs of bricking. I decanted this for sediment, but there really wasn’t any and this seemed ready to go after a short while. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of redcurrant, blackcurrant, red plum, dried violet, tobacco, pencil shavings, graphite, smoked meat, forest floor, black truffle, eucalyptus, and cedar. Flavors are also of pronounced intensity, while the palate offers up notes of redcurrant, blackberry, cassis, stale licorice, violet, cigar tobacco, scorched earth, crushed gravel, charred green herbs, green peppercorn, and a touch of smoke. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium acidity, medium but perfectly integrated and silky tannin, medium alcohol, and a long finish. This is an outstanding bottle with exceptional balance, and it’s drinking perfectly right now.

Price: $1,200 (we paid $980). At this price-point I can’t really discuss the value proposition because, let’s be honest, nobody can argue it. However, this was an ethereal bottle that I am very happy and lucky to have enjoyed and it was firing on all cylinders. This showed intensity, complexity, and incredible balance that will be memorable for a long time. I would love to find a 1983 for comparison.

Left Bank Elegance

Today’s Story: Château Palmer

Château Palmer is a historic winery in the Margaux appellation of Bordeaux with roots back to 1748. Once part of Château d’Issan, 50 hectares of vines came to the Gascq family through division of d’Issan by the estate’s heirs in 1748. The Gascq family took this land and started producing wine under Château de Gascq, quickly becoming a well-known winery who served the court of Versailles under Louis XV.

In 1814, however, Madame Marie Bumet de Ferrière (the widow of the last remaining Gascq heir) sold the estate to English Lieutenant Colonel Charles Palmer (later a Major General in the British Army). Palmer spent decades enlarging the estate and modernizing its winery, with Château Palmer spanning 163 hectares with 82 hectares under vine by 1831. Unfortunately for this great estate, Charles Palmer faced some financial issues that forced a sale and the estate fell under control of an agricultural mortgage corporation.

Several years later, Château Palmer returned to private hands when Émile and Isaac Péreire purchased it in 1853. The Péreire brothers previously built an empire spanning railways, real estate, and banking (they were rivals of the Rothschild family) but wanted to add a winery having grown up in Bordeaux. Unfortunately for the estate given its recent turmoil, Château Palmer received the Troisième Cru (Third Growth) designation in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. I say this is unfortunate only because Palmer used to have a reputation similar to Château Margaux and Château Beychevelle.

Though Palmer eventually grew to 177 hectares with 102 hectares under vine, the estate as it exists today came about in 1938. Owners had to sell land parcels thanks to World War I and the Great Depression, though the Mähler-Besse family from the Netherlands and the Sichel family took over and descendants helped rebuild the estate following World War II. Though the two families are still involved, they have entrusted management of Château Palmer with Thomas Duroux, a former winemaker at Tenuta Dell’Ornellaia.

I would like to end this post with some comments on the values of Château Palmer. Like many great historic estates, Palmer believes they must respect their soils and vineyards to achieve the greatest expression in their wines. To this end, they explored biodynamic farming in 2008 and the practice soon became a necessity in the eyes of those running the estate. Sheep graze on the land and in the vineyards, grass and flowers grow naturally, and the estate stopped using agrochemicals. These efforts are so far greatly rewarded, with Palmer producing some of the greatest Third Growth wines.

Today’s Wine: 1996 Château Palmer

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot; 12.5% ABV

The 1996 Palmer is medium to deep ruby in appearance and moderately transparent as you edge toward the rim of the glass. Once this wine opens up in a decanter, the complex nose showcases aromas of blackcurrant, blueberry, black plum, violet, pencil shavings, forest floor, tobacco, truffle, black pepper, green underbrush, and coffee grounds. In the mouth, the wine offers notes of blackberry, blackcurrant, anise, cigar box, sweet tobacco, graphite, crushed rock, chalky minerality, and a hint of oak. The wine is full-bodied with high acidity, medium but elegant tannins, and a long finish.

Price: $250. A nice bottle of wine for a celebration with family, though this is not one of Palmer’s greatest vintages. I had a 1995 not too long ago that showed very well and was a bit more powerful, a nice surprise given it’s also not one of the greatest vintages. Pair this with high quality steaks or lamb.