Château Margaux 2010

Like all Premiers, this wine has become as unattainable in price for the true connoisseur as a Ferrari is for car enthusiasts, and it leads a sad existence in the cold safe-deposit boxes of investment funds instead of reigning in our carefully maintained cellars. But so be it—fortunately, there are other great wines today. It still (sadly) deserves twenty points. Because the 2010 belongs, whether we like it or not, quite simply among the truly great, awe-inspiring, brilliant wines of the world and the rare vintages in which power and elegance allow perfect harmony.

The 2010 is a brilliant Chateau Margaux, as one might expect in this vintage. The percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the final blend hit 90%, the balance Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and only 38% of the crop made it into the Chateau Margaux. Paul Pontallier, the administrator, told me that this wine has even higher levels of tannin than some other extraordinary vintages such as 2005, 2000, 1996, etc. Deep purple, pure and intense, with floral notes, tremendous opulence and palate presence, this is a wine of considerable nobility. With loads of blueberry, black currant and violet-infused fruit and a heady alcohol level above 13.5% (although that looks modest compared to several other first growths, particularly Chateau Latour and Chateau Haut-Brion), its beautifully sweet texture, ripe tannin, abundant depth and profound finish all make for another near-perfect wine that should age effortlessly for 30-40 years.

Fresh and youthful aromas of understated curranty fruit with cedar, smoke, and spice accents lead to a silky, archetypal Margaux texture with silky tannins, perfect weight, balance, and impressive length. The edges of this wine—so evident en primeur—are now pleasantly rounded and supple, but there is no mistaking the power and ageability of this triumphant vintage. The wine is a blend of 90% Cabernet and 7% Merlot; picking began with the latter on 22 September.

The perfume teases you with its depth and intensity, foreshadowing what’s to come with aromas of violets, smoky oak, licorice, earth, vanilla, and a mélange of dark berries. From the first sip, the wine coats your palate and taste buds with pure, fresh, rich, thick, polished blackberries, silky tannins, and a finish that builds and expands for close to 60 seconds! The wine continued to build and expand in the glass over the two hours we spent with it at lunch.

The 2010 Château Margaux is still relatively youthful, but it clearly has rounded out since release. Still a vivid purple, with powerful aromatics of cassis, green tobacco, cedar pencil, underbrush, and spring flowers, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness as well as incredible purity and precision, and it blossoms with time in the glass. It's a structured, focused, elegant yet concentrated 2010 that will have another 40 years of overall longevity.

38% Grand Vin. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc and 1.5% Petit Verdot. Bright ruby-purple. Fascinating bouquet full of nobility and perfumed sweetness: violets, mulberries, cherries, cassis and various fine woods, a light nutty undertone, a warm Arabica coffee touch, the most delicate coconut notes. Velvety-silky on the attack, showing an intoxicating sweetness in the tannins, perfumed, with a hint of dried banana, cedar, Dominican tobacco, complex, perfect astringency. A Château Margaux with record-breaking tannin that is effortlessly integrated and takes nothing away from this overwhelming wine’s silky charm. Perhaps — in 109 years — this is the reincarnation of the legendary 1900? Paul Pontallier: “I’m slowly running out of things to tell visitors. For the 2009 vintage, I explained that in almost 30 years at Château Margaux I had never experienced anything so magnificent. And this year I believe the 2010 is even more perfect and even greater. I hope that comes across when tasting the barrel samples, otherwise I’m going to start sounding unreliable.”

Château Margaux – now with 5 wines! What few people knew until now is that the only Premier Grand Cru in the eponymous appellation has always selected four wines. The Grand Vin Château Margaux. Then the red second wine, Pavillon Rouge du Ch. Margaux, and the Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux. And the fourth was unknown to everyone. No one could have known it, as it was the bulk wine, sold anonymously as a simple wine to any merchant. This will continue to be the case… Now, for the first time with this vintage, a kind of third wine from Château Margaux is being launched. Around 30,000 to 50,000 bottles are expected annually. As for its name, the estate doesn’t know yet. “We still have some time to mature the wine in barrel, then bottle it, and by then find a label with the right name,” said Paul Pontallier when we came to the en primeur tasting to sample the legendary Château Margaux 2010. 38% Grand Vin. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc and 1.5% Petit Verdot. Bright ruby-purple with a dense core. Fascinating bouquet full of nobility and perfumed sweetness: violets, mulberries, cherries, blackcurrant, and a range of fine woods, slightly nutty underneath with a warm touch of Arabica coffee on top, and the most delicate coconut notes in the background. Velvety-silky on the attack, again showing an intoxicating sweetness in the tannins, perfumed at the core with a hint of dried banana, cedarwood, Dominican tobacco, complex, perfect astringency. A Château Margaux with a record level of tannins – perhaps even a world record – for how effortlessly it integrates such massive amounts of tannins and still comes across as a rather silky charmer. Perhaps this is – after 110 years – a reincarnation of the legendary 1900 vintage. Paul Pontallier: “I’m slowly running out of things to tell visitors. For the 2009 vintage I explained that in almost 30 years at Château Margaux I had never experienced anything so magnificent. And this year I believe the 2010 is even more perfect and even greater. I hope that comes through when tasting the barrel samples, otherwise I’ll start to seem less credible,” he says with visible conviction, smiling with quiet satisfaction.

(90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1.5% Petit Verdot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc, 38% of the harvest was used for the Grand Vin) Deep, dense, elegant, finely knit, complex bouquet: blueberries, black berries, mulberries, black currant, truffle, mahogany, mint, tobacco. Dense, velvety, elegant, multi-layered palate with a dense, silky, feminine structure, plenty of fine tannin, precise, opulent fruit, powerful, dense, and varied aromatics, very long, creamy, powerful finish with pronounced afterflavours. 20/20 2018 - 2040

The remarkable thing about the tannins of this 2010 Château Margaux is that they feel more plush and velvety than the 2nd wine at this stage – almost more ready to drink. A brilliant wine, dense yet light on its feet, aromatic and seductive, with soft leather, cedar, sandalwood, Christmas spice and blackberry notes, plus violet accents and a curl of gun smoke. Margaux du Château Margaux was in its second vintage at this point, and by adding this 3rd wine they tightened up selection across the board even further, with 38% of grapes making their way to the 1st wine. 100% new oak. Paul Pontallier director.

A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc, and 1.5% Petit Verdot, the 2010 Chateau Margaux is deep garnet in color. It needs a shake or two before it erupts from the glass with powerful notes of crème de cassis, baked plums, and licorice, followed by sparks of redcurrants, mocha, black olives, and tar, plus a fragrant waft of jasmine tea. The medium-bodied palate maintains its elegance and grace with a refreshing backbone and firm, yet fine-grained, tannins supporting the generous fruit, finishing with an array of beguiling spice, floral, and fragrant earth nuances. A masterpiece!

A perfect wine, impeccably structured on the palate and of remarkable breed, clearly still a long way from its peak.

The attack is dense, the substance very concentrated, the wine tannic, with fruit, massive, very pure aromas, slightly rough tannins, a little stricter than the 2009. Dense, long and tannic.

Logo on the cork: inverted T (Trescases) Tasted blind, not decanted. Dark color, normal intensity and youthful. Intense, fine, subtle, noble nose, fruity, slightly smoky and complex. Delicate on the attack, caressing mid‑palate, juicy, the wine melts on the palate, developing complex aromas and a slightly strict profile, even though it is flavorful and the tannins have no sharp edges. Very good length.

A great wine that is just starting out. The high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend gives the structured, black currant character. Dark chocolate and layers of wood are forward, revealing how young the wine is. And then the fruit, so rich and powerful, brings deliciousness to the firm, dense structure. Age for many years.