2004 Château Margaux

00

Drinking Window

2024 - 2050

Subscriber Access Only

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

00

Drinking Window

2023 - 2045

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

00

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

"A great classic vintage for us in cabernet sauvignon," said Paul Pontallier. Because he considered the merlot to be less worthy, the grand vin contains a very high 90% cabernet sauvignon and just 4% merlot. Pontallier compares the new vintage to the '86, which he says had a similar level of tannins. "But 1986 was a classic in the context of the wines of 20 years ago, while 2006 is a modern classic, with greater purity and riper tannins. The vintages that have closed down in bottle are those that were picked with unripe tannins, like '86, '88 and '95." Incidentally, 2005 brought the highest IPT (indice de polyphenols totaux) ever measured at Margaux, and Pontallier noted that due to the combination of the tannins and very high alcohol he was even more careful with the extraction in '05 than he was with the 2006.

00

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Having visited Chateau Margaux after finishing in the northern Medoc, I wondered how this great first growth could be as outstanding as most early tasters were rating it. After all, most chateau owners, at least those in the north, seemed to rank their cabernet ahead of their merlot, and Chateau Margaux has a good 20% merlot planted on the estate. Part of the explanation is that the grand vin at Margaux in 2005 includes just 8% merlot. As estate manager Paul Pontallier explained, leaving out most of the merlot was not really a function of the inherent quality of this variety in 2005. Rather, he said, "when our cabernet sauvignon is outstanding, our merlot sometimes can't fit into the blend." The young 2005 Margaux is one of the greatest young Bordeaux I have yet tasted: with its dominant cabernet component, powerful backbone (15% press wine is in the blend) and record 78 IPT, it's almost Pauillac-like in its expression of cabernet. The density and structure of the wine suggest that it will outlast any adult who buys it now.

00

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

I don't yet find quite the density in the 2004 Margaux that estate manager Paul Pontallier does, but there's no arguing with the wine's dark color and lovely aromatic precision. Pontallier told me that 2004 was one of the estate's best vintages for merlot since 1995, but then emphasized that "only cabernet sauvignon makes great wine here." The cabernet sauvignon was harvested here between October 11 and 21. Incidentally, the 2003 Margaux has the highest-ever IPT at this estate (73); just a step behind in total polyphenols have been 2004, 2000, 1995 and 1986, all measuring about 70. Margaux's 2004 white wine is a knockout.

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social