The Misunderstood Margaux: Marquis de Terme 1947-2021
BY NEAL MARTIN |
The blood in the Médoc’s veins has run blue since time immemorial. Thank the Baron and Comtesse of Pichon, the Marquis d’Alesme and the subject of this article, Marquis de Terme. Last year Ludovic David, chief executive of the classified Fourth Growth, invited me to the Margaux château for a private vertical tasting. He did not specify the timespan. Just the last decade would have been useful. But entering the spacious tasting room, my eyes set upon an array of vintages back to the post-war period. I readied my taste buds and diligently worked my way through the wines, penned my notes, and then they were overwhelmed by the deluge of deadlines and other articles demanding completion. The recent announcement of David’s departure prompted me to return to my spreadsheet, research the background and author a piece on this oft-overlooked wine.
History
The genesis of Marquis de Terme dates back to 1762 when Mme. Ledoux d’Emplet, either the niece or grand-niece of Pierre Rauzan, married François de Peguilhem de Larboust, aka the Marquis de Terme. Her dowry included land cleaved away from the vast Rauzan estate that was named after her husband, though Clive Coates, writing in his Grand Vins tome, posits another theory that it was an amalgam of small vineyards. In 1787, the future president of the United States and then ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, stayed at Marquis de Terme and ranked its wine as a Third Growth in his own unofficial classification.
Proprietorship is a little convoluted. After the passing of the Marquis, the château was bought by a Swedish Bordeaux négociant, Halvorous Sollberg, for 32,000 Francs in 1809. He hired a winemaker named Thomas Feuillerat, whose family made the wine for over a century. Sollberg ran into financial difficulties and, in 1834, fled to Argentina, after which the estate was divided. Monsieur Mac-Daniel took over Marquis de Terme, though it is alleged that he was embroiled in a love affair with Sollberg’s wife. Coates suggests this was all a ruse in order for the Sollbergs to retain ownership once they had settled their debts. This was accomplished in 1845, whereupon their son, Oscar Sollberg, took over the estate, as well as Château Siran.
Ludovic David out in the vines last summer. I must admit I’ll be sad to see him go as he has done a great deal for the estate.
