Château Margaux 2003

VINUM 6/2004 - Unlike all those hobby winemakers who, when asked which wine they would take to a desert island, triumphantly answer “a vine,” I would ship my entire cellar, and in it Margaux wines have a very special place. Why did I award this estate the top score precisely in the two vintages I like least among the more recent ones? Because in those years, both of which produced exotic wines, Margaux kept its proportions and made the best of the conditions. Personally, I rate 2004, 2006, or 2008 higher – but objectively, in the tropical 2003 there is simply no better wine than Château Margaux, which was already of stunning sensuality en primeur and has not lost that quality, even if it is showing more closed today than I assumed at the time and is developing more slowly – which only speaks in its favor. What I dislike in many 2005s (a kind of little brother to 2003, in its own way certainly a great Bordeaux vintage for people who like broad, firmly built wines based on Cabernet-Merlot, as produced elsewhere in the world) is that hardness on the finish, that hint of rusticity. At Margaux, they managed to avoid both.

This was the finest performance by this wine that I have seen since it was released. I did not expect the 2003 Chateau Margaux to show this well in a vintage where the southern part of the Medoc was clearly less impressive than the north. However, it is a beautiful, dark plum/purple-tinged effort with sensational aromatics, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and a youthfulness, precision and freshness that belie what one generally associates with this vintage. It can be drunk now and over the next 15-20 years. Kudos to Chateau Margaux.

This monumental wine boasts a super-ripe bouquet of fig, plum and blackberry fruit, with cedar, pepper and earth notes. The spice from the cask ageing is present but integrated. The body is rich, the texture is firmly tannic but not unapproachable, and a well-proportioned sense of balance suggests this will age for decades to come. An ample demonstration that torrid years such as 2003 can produce wines of lasting beauty.

Mid to deep garnet. An inviting if atypical nose of dried fruit and exotic spice, as well as leafy undergrowth. Still a touch of mocha. The fruit really has quite a richness without being overripe. More generous than many on the mid palate. The tannins are pretty grippy, though. (JH)

Full, saturated red-ruby. Knockout nose combines redcurrant, tropical chocolate, leather, woodsmoke and nutty oak with exotic chocolate mint and coffee liqueur; still manages to retain floral lift even in this beastly vintage. Then wonderfully fat, sweet and full, even if it comes across as almost heavy following the ineffable 2005 and 2004 examples. But “relatively inelegant” for Margaux still suggests a degree of refinement that few chateaux can match in the greatest vintages. A hugely rich and dense wine that finishes with elevated but ripe tannins and great length, with a subtle suggestion of dry spices. Pontallier says the terroir will take over in 20 years, “like with the ’82.” Splendid.

Flamboyant, opulent, rich, full-bodied, a showy-styled Margaux that is about as hedonistic as you can get. Precocious, so you can enjoy it today, or feel free to age it for another decade or two; this is a gorgeous wine from start to finish.

An engaging, deep and intense nose, with an erotically sensuous aura and blueberry and floral contours. This sexy Margaux from a hot vintage is highly concentrated and extroverted, yet shows disciplined richness and structure. At the same time, it’s playful and full of finesse. Very finely woven, immensely juicy, cassis notes, with only a fine bitterness emerging on the finish, likely due to the hot vintage. You wouldn’t necessarily peg it as 2003. There can be 19/20 experiences here as well. 18.5+/20

Paul Pontallier: <div style="font-style:italic;color:#990033">Since 1893 and 1989, this is the earliest harvest in our traceable history. It is the most concentrated vintage I have personally experienced at Margaux, thus denser than 1986 and 2000! However, 2003 will not go down as the year of drought, since 1995 was climatically even drier. It is the heat that characterizes the vintage in terms of tannins. And yet it has remained a classic, because despite the heat, there are no inappropriate, exotic notes in the aromatics of the youngest Château Margaux.</div> Barrel sample in 2004: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The yield was less than 30 hl/ha, and for the Petit Verdots in part as low as just 5 hl/ha. Only 45% of the harvest was selected as Grand Vin, which resulted in 150,000 bottles (about half the quantity compared to 1982 and 1983): Deep, dense purple with a violet sheen. Plenty of Cabernet expression on the nose, still cool and extremely profound, delicately floral yet refreshing notes, smoky contours, meaty, black peppercorns, and only afterwards do the blue and especially black-berried fruit notes emerge. On the palate, firm, meaty, a generous extract that still seems slightly angular; the massive tannin load prevents the finesse usually expected from Margaux and gives the wine an affinity more akin to a St. Estèphe. The power and potential are immense, but one must hope that further barrel ageing and the fat gained from the wood will bring more fullness and charm to this Premier Grand Cru with its rather rustic contours. Certainly no youthful charmer, and perhaps a Château Margaux that will partly have tannin configurations like 1981, 1986 and 1988. Perhaps it is precisely the overly intense concentration that prevents this wine from achieving true greatness. Looking at the tannins alone, old-wine aficionados are reminded of 1928, 1945 and 1961. Now this Margaux must prove over the next ten, perhaps even twenty years that it digests, i.e. integrates, these tannins, and whether it can truly belong to the greatest Médocs of the 2003 vintage. Other competitors like Giscours and Palmer currently seem to stand above this still questionable Margaux. Let’s wait and see! (18/20 2015 – 2040). In October 2004, when I knocked on Margaux’s door with a group from the Académie du Vin, I asked Paul Pontallier to let me taste the 2003 Margaux again. Rarely had a young wine from a Premier occupied me personally to such an extent. I tasted it after the “thin” 2001 and thus it appeared even more concentrated. Hot bouquet with scents of currants, lots of tar notes (almost asphalt contours…), dry and insanely concentrated. On the palate, robust, grainy, intense, indeed dominating tannin contour, massive build, for here the gripping muscles come into play in addition to the tannins. The potential is significantly higher than its class. (18/20). Still 5 months to go before bottling. Lightening garnet with a ruby rim. A crazy, delicate bouquet with lots of dried fruits, rumtopf, sultanas and vanilla sweetness, Parisette bread-crust tone and freshly cooked plum jam; despite the heavy sweetness, the wine seems fresh and almost playful on the nose. On the palate, full, creamy and opulent on the outside, with supportive muscles underneath that come more from the tannins than the acidity; dried bananas, exotic woods; in the finish, a certain tannin surplus relative to the wine’s own fat. An undeniably erotic wine with plenty of sweetness potential, reminiscent of ’61 in terms of tannins and ’59 in terms of fruit intensity. Only in 10 years will one know exactly which direction this powerful Margaux will take. 06: Crazy, hot bouquet, lots of dried fruit, first herbal notes; despite the enormous heat in the grapes, the wine somehow remains red-berried, very multi-layered with a hint of dryness. On the palate like a Richebourg and Chambertin at once, lots of firm tannins showing a certain hardness, hence an astringent texture; much astringency, concentrated and at the same time peppery, piquant acidity, still unruly and young. Yet the tannins point a far more positive way than I initially thought. Patience is the best way to experience this wine in its full greatness. (19/20). 08: Lightening purple-ruby. Open bouquet, cooked plums, glutamate notes, erotically sweet with hot fruit. On the palate, a phenomenal concentration inside, the outside currently wrapped in a fairly soft shell; in the aftertaste, however, you can feel the grippy, still very demanding tannins, jasmine tea and currants on the finish. The potential (19/20) is to be rated higher than the current enjoyment. (18/20). Potential rating sits at 19/20. 09: After almost 100 Tuscan wines in 5 days, Henri Prosperi www.ristorantehenri.com in Viareggio pulled this wine from his private cellar and served it blind. It was Bordeaux! It was like coming home! It was simply awesome. Soft and already rounding off quite well, which may also be due to the 2003 vintage. (19/20). 15: Extremely youthful color, lots of purple with violet highlights. While Haut-Brion and Mouton clearly indicated the hot vintage, the bouquet of the Margaux is full of freshly picked berries, cassis, raspberries and wild cherries. The nose thus shows dramatic fruit concentration. It continues on the palate with an equally dramatically concentrated, extremely dense extract; the massive yet fine tannins form a regal astringency and the wine ends as it began: almost over-fruited. Here one finds very clear parallels to its own 1983. And that sits at 20 points. And this Margaux 2003 will very likely move there as well. (19/20). 16: Deep purple, dense core, only slightly lightening at the rim. Powerful nose, meaty traces (glutamate), indicating wild Cabernet, licorice. After a few minutes, increasingly mineral. On the palate, thick, rich, almost bombastic, lots of sweetness and coming across like an almost winey Margaux liqueur; in the finish, dried figs and a hint of Vintage Port. In terms of taste, it lies far outside Bordeaux classicism. (19/20). 21: Deep, impenetrable purple. Begins with a brilliant parade of fruit: candied raspberries, grenadine, blackcurrant jelly, wax, vanilla, white smoke, precise, full and at the moment relatively communicative. On the palate, it seems significantly sweeter than on the nose and shows, besides its heft, a certain Pinot affinity, or trace elements that can be found in a wine from Priorat. The extract seems candy-like, but already quite charming. An atypical Château Margaux due to the hot vintage, to which one can certainly ascribe a certain pinch of eroticism. I would also call it a “soft drug.” (19/20).

Dense, massive and complex bouquet with dark berries, mulberries, tuna parisette, thyme. Roasted notes, delicate hint of cassis. Massive, dense, powerful palate with a tight structure, good fruit, plenty of fine tannins and concentrated aromatics. Concentrated, powerful, endless finish. 19/20 2015 - 2040

At a beautiful moment to drink, spicy, light, ethereal, red cherry, cigar box, blond tobacco, clear spice as it opens, and more tannins than I perhaps expected in a 2003 as it approaches its 20-year mark. I have been surprised by a number of classified Médoc 2003s in recent months, and yet again we see here that the position along the river Garonne, with its cooling breezes, was a lucky spot to be in during the punishing summer. One of the wines of the vintage, still delivering. Paul Pontallier, director.

A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2003 Chateau Margaux has a deep garnet color, with a touch of brick. It springs from the glass with surprisingly spritely notes of blackcurrant jelly, baked plums, and star anise, giving way to an undercurrent of Sichuan pepper, kirsch, unsmoked cigars, cedar, dried roses, and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate is completely filled with ripe, expressive black fruits and perfumed floral and exotic spice layers, framed by very firm, sturdy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and earthy. "In 2003 we were tempted to correct, but we didn’t," commented current managing director Philippe Bascaules, who was working with the late managing director Paul Pontallier in 2003. "I think it is better not to help nature but to permit." This 2003 is delicious now, yet it has the stuffing to cellar for another 20+ years.

A marvel of finesse, delicate yet dense, with tannins that are sublimely integrated but certainly still far from their peak, and a staggering length. A connoisseur’s wine.

Logo on the cork: A in a circle (Amorim) Faulty bottle Dark, intense color with slight evolution. Very aromatic nose, refined, fruity, subtle and slightly smoky. Delicate on the attack and almost faded, the wine melts on the palate, with a very pleasant sense of precision. Then suddenly, in the finish, an excessive oakiness appears, an unexpected hardness that doesn’t match this cru. Typical behavior of a faulty, non‑representative bottle. Given the stimulation from the previous wines, it was tempting to think it might be Sassicaia.

This may be from the exceptional vintage of 2003, but Château Margaux remains true to form. First and foremost, it is a refined, elegant wine, with complex layers of flavors. But, yes, the hot summer is there the dense, dry tannins, but somehow they seem to float through the wine rather than sitting heavily in the middle. Acidity and freshness come to finish, giving the wine a delicious lift. Imported by Diageo Chateau & Estates.