Margaux - Margaux 2015

Vinous

97

par Neal Martin le 10/07/2019

The 2015 Château Margaux has a beautifully defined bouquet of intense black fruit laced with graphite and mint; light rose petal aromas develop with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and a crisp line of acidity. Not a powerful 2015 but so elegant, displaying wonderful detail on the cedar-tinged finish. This is a lovely Château Margaux, although I feel it has lost a little panache in the last few months, indicating that perhaps it is beginning to close down. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

Wine Advocate

99

par Neal Martin le 02/03/2018

The 2015 Chateau Margaux was the final vintage under Paul Pontallier before his untimely passing in April 2017 and a specially engraved bottle has been made to honor the gentleman that did so much for this first growth. Nevertheless, one must be objective about the wine. It was so impressive in barrel, perhaps the finest from the left bank. Would it match up in bottle? The answer is an unequivocal affirmative. It has an incredibly perfumed bouquet with pure black fruit, oyster shell, crushed flowers and just a faint hint of black truffle. It is more nuanced than when I tasted it from barrel, taking its time to unfold in the glass with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, almost chiseled tannin and a perfect line of acidity. Continuing from its showing in barrel, the Cabernet Sauvignon drives this wine forward and imparts a keen graphite thread from start to finish that lends it a Pauillac-like personality. Think of a more feminine Château Latour and you would be close. It is a long-term Château Margaux that will give pleasure for many decades, a fitting tribute to the man whose name is engraved on the bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2025 - 2070.

Vinous

99

par Antonio Galloni le 27/02/2018

The 2015 Margaux is a compelling, arrestingly beautiful wine that expresses all the best qualities of the vintage. Dark, fleshy and richly textured, the 2015 nevertheless retains the super-classic Margaux sense of structure. Time in the glass brings out the wine's rich, multi-faceted personality. I imagine the 2015 will enjoy a very long and uninterrupted drinking window that will last decades. As exceptional as the 2015, it is not easy to taste. I walked the vineyards at Margaux with Paul Pontallier in late July of that year. A few months later, Pontallier's life was tragically cut short by a very aggressive cancer. The 2015 will live on as a fitting testament to the legacy of a man who did so much for Chateau Margaux and Bordeaux.

Wine Advocate

99

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 22/02/2018

The 2015 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Medium garnet-purple colored, the nose features oh-so-seductive notes of warm blackberries, cassis and black forest cake with touches of forest floor, sandalwood, anise and cigar boxes plus a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers taut, muscular, densely packed black fruits and exotic spice flavor layers supported by a very firm backbone of grainy tannins with oodles of freshness and a long, savory finish. It is tightly knit and a little reticent at this very youthful stage; afford it at least 15 years in the cellar, and it will open out into a classic Chateau Margaux of incredible proportions. Readers may be interested to know that this wine is beautifully packaged in a special commemorative bottle honoring winemaker Paul Pontellier, who passed away in 2016. The gold-etched black bottle bears the message, “Hommage à Paul Pontellier” at the bottom. This 2015 is an achingly beautiful swan song from an incredibly gifted winemaker, taken from us too soon. In my view, this alone makes this vintage more than worth the investment for the many lovers of history in a bottle.

Wine Spectator

99

par James Molesworth le 15/02/2018

Sublime, with captivating sandalwood, black tea and mesquite aromas that infuse the core of gently steeped red and black currant and raspberry fruit. The structure is seamless and thoroughly embedded throughout, letting warm tar, lilac, juniper and iron notes display themselves at will through the finish. The finish is about as long as it gets, with echoes of fruit and warm earth that should prove haunting when this reaches full maturity. Best from 2030 through 2050. 10,833 cases made.  –JM

Jamessuckling.com

100

par James Suckling le 12/02/2018

This is a haunting young wine that shows you a subtle and hidden strength on the nose with rose petals, currants, currant leaves, stones and plums. Wonderful ripeness yet brightness, too. Takes your breath away with the intensity and structure. Full-bodied, powerful and muscular, yet there's an agile undertone to the whole thing. Compact and condensed. A new legend for Margaux. The 1961 that didn’t happen. Try in 2024.

Decanter.com

100

par Jane Anson le 26/01/2018

Château Margaux's grand vin accounts for 35% of production in this vintage. It stood out as a potential wine of the vintage during en primeur and it is more than living up to its promise. The concentration is stunning, with a fruit structure that is darker, tighter and more insistent than Pavillon. It's so fresh, there is an opulence here, a dense silkiness to the tannins that is fleshed out across the palate, building to a big finish with menthol freshness. This is classically-styled Margaux with aromatic acrobatics and tannins so fine that the stitching is seamless and perfectly pulled together. Even though extremely ripe, there is freshness too - the acidity measures 3.6pH. The 100% new oak is barely perceptible even now, fresh out of the cask. One to savour over the long term. Bottled in August 2017.

Jeb DUNNUCK

100

par Jeb Dunnuck le 30/11/2017

Jamessuckling.com

100

par James Suckling le 30/06/2016

The Margaux is the Wine of the Vintage. But I have been saying that from the beginning after tasting about 800 barrel samples in March. I have read many others have said the same thing, particularly British wine trade members. The purity of fruit and depth of ultra-fine tannins makes the Margaux a sublime wine. And it seems even better at the moment as the wine takes on weight, structure and center in barrel in the winery’s cellars. The perfectly ripened tannins in the wine and polished texture are so fantastic that you almost want to drink it now. But you know that it has such an amazing future as a young Bordeaux.  Aurélien Valance of Château Margaux said that everyone at the château believes its 2015 is, indeed, one of its best wines ever. He explained what was exceptional about the year, which included the early flowering and how hot weather after kept the berries small. The cool August also gave the grapes a special ripening and tannin quality. He also said that the winery’s new addition to the winemaking facilities (designed by Britain’s architect guru Norman Foster) gave an added value to the vintage. They could further ferment and select by vineyard parcels, more than 80 in total. “It was precision, precision, precision,” he said.  He added, "But as Paul (the late technical director of the estate) always said, sometimes you can’t explain why a wine is so great.” Château Margaux Margaux: Wow. The aromas are so wonderful with a purity of cabernet fruit that also gives a floral undertone of roses. The texture and purity of fruit is sublime. The tannins are perfect. So much tannic concentration yet so polished and refined. It’s gentle with superfine tannins. It is seamless and endless. Ethereal. It floats on the palate. 100 points. 

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100

par Jeff Leve le 30/04/2016

The color of a blood red ruby, this wine makes a powerful opening statement. On the nose, the luscious inhale as the door to the flower shop opens, a row of Spanish cedar cigar boxes still filled with a stash of Cohiba, the not-too-sweet aromatics of cherry pipe tobacco -- all combined with cherries, licorice, forest floor, creamy espresso and blackberry liqueur. On the palate, the wine melts into a buttery wealth of fresh fruit, gratifying tannins and a finish that saunters, taking it’s time to linger close to 60 seconds while slowly expanding at the same time. Rich without being heavy, this wine is aristocratic and refined. This is the quintessential example of Chateau Margaux at its best. This wine is deceptively easy to taste, and if it puts on weight during the aging period, which it probably will, it should hit triple digits.

Wine Advocate

98-100

par Neal Martin le 29/04/2016

The 2015 Château Margaux is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, all together representing 35% of the total production at the estate. Raised entirely in new oak, it has a lucid garnet color. The bouquet is aimed directly at the senses - there is no dilly-dallying about, as it almost knocks you off your stool with its intense mineralité embroidered into this iridescent, graphite-tinged nose. The focus and penetration here ranks among the finest that I have tasted at this estate since first coming here in 1997. The palate is astonishingly well balanced, perfectly poised with super-fine tannins wrapped around pure blackberry, bilberry, graphite and cedar fruit. Like the Pavillon Rouge this year, there is a Pauillac-like sense of authority and aristocracy, leavened by Margaux-inspired femininity that completes that standout 2015 on the Left Bank. Beg for a bottle and worry about the cost later. Post script: I composed this tasting note five days before the passing of Paul Pontallier. It is a final gift from a gifted winemaker.

Decanter.com

98

par Steven Spurrier le 27/04/2016

My joint top wine (with Ch Mouton Rothschild) of the vintage. Pure charm: the palate is discreet at the start and then goes on forever , always with the château’s silky texture and fine, firmly structured tannins. This will become a very great wine.2022-2050

Vinous

95-98

par Antonio Galloni le 27/04/2016

The 2015 Margaux is a super-classic wine. In 2015, most Margauxs are notably intense, but Château Margaux expresses the richness of the year in its surprising tannic backbone and overall structure. Far from an up-front or sensual wine, the 2015 Margaux is likely to require considerable cellaring. It is a tightly-wound wine that manages to be both powerful and crystalline in its translucent purity. The 2015 is a wine of real density and yet so very much Margaux. About 35% of the crop went into the Grand Vin.

timatkin.com

97

par Tim Atkin MW le 20/04/2016

Jean-Marc QUARIN

19

par Jean-Marc Quarin le 20/04/2016

Château Margaux est le plus grand vin du Médoc en 2015 ! Je regrette que Paul Pontallier, décédé le27 mars dernier n'ait pu s'en rendre compte. En octobre dernier, nous avions partagé nos impressionsdevant des premiers lots balbutiants, mais éblouissants. J'en reparlerai.Couleur sombre, intense, pourpre et vive. Nez profond, suave, fin et un peu plus puissant que decoutume. Superbe entrée en bouche où instantanément le vin monte, puis se met à délicatement plombersur le palais. Puissant au développement, surtout après le milieu de bouche, il se met à fondre et offreenfin sa grâce, tout son charme, avec un grand éclat dans le goût. Superbe grande finale ! Remarquez lepeu de merlot dans l'assemblage, l'élevage pourrait le grandir encore. Assemblage : 87 % cabernetsauvignon, 3 % cabernet franc, 2 % petit verdot et à peine 8 % merlot. Degré d'alcool : 13,5° - pH : 3 ,65– IPT : 70. Sélection : 35 % de la récolte. 42 % de la production totale sont passés dans le 3ème et4ème vin.

Wine Enthusiast

98-100

par Roger Voss le 15/04/2016

Barrel Sample. This is a wonderful, subtle, sophisticated wine that has hidden power as well as great fruit. The Cabernet gives a pure black currant character to this intense wine, with its firm tannins hidden inside a fruity exterior. The balance is just right. 99 points

Jancis Robinson

19

par Jancis Robinson le 15/04/2016

87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. 13.5% - record alcohol for the grand vin. Great breadth and savour on the nose. Lovely freshness and sophistication. Lots of fine tannins. Very aérien. Really flies! Perfect Margaux. A great welcome for the new chai and memorial for Paul Pontallier. Still tight but nothing out of balance. Very Margaux. Very classic claret. Quite brave because there is nothing showy about this wine, but it could truly be described as beautiful. 13.5% Drink 2026-2046

Jamessuckling.com

100

par James Suckling le 05/04/2016

The greatest Margaux ever made. More than perfection. Full body, firm and ultra-silky tannins. Black currant, mineral and floral character. It starts slowly and seems almost endless on the palate. Seamless. I want to sing! This is the wine that Margaux never made in some of the classics vintages like 1961, 1959 and 1945. May be its the 1900 all over again? Breathtaking.