Margaux Wine Region Primer For Beginners
Margaux is one of new areas of interest for 2024. So this is my initial deep dive into the region. As with my areas of interest for 2023 (Barolo & Chambolle Musigny), I hope that viewers will follow my journey in learning more about the region and modifying my thoughts based on my tastings of more wines from this region.
Margaux is one of the 4 main appellations in the Left Bank of Bordeaux. It is located 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the city of Bordeaux and is the second-largest appellation on the Haut Médoc (after Saint-Estèphe). It is 1530 hectares or 3780 acres in area.
A total of 21 classified growths (more than any other region) are situated in Margaux (20 still exist as Chateau Dubignon was purchased and assimilated into Chateau Malescot St. Exupery. There are 1 First Growth, 5 Second Growths, 10 Third Growths, 4 Fourth Growths, 2 Fifth Growths in Margaux and the region in total has around 60-80 producers.
Margaux is divided into four communes, or parishes (there were five communes in the appellation but the communes of Margaux and Cantenac were merged in 2017 to form the single commune of Margaux-Cantenac):
Soussans - near St. Julien - no growth wines
Margaux-Cantenac - 17 classified growths including Margaux and Palmer
Labarde - in the south where Giscours and Dauzac is located
Arsac - southwest & inland where Chateau du Tertre is located
Margaux is unique in that most wineries have vineyards dispersed in the appellation (not just surrounding the Chateau).
Margaux has a diverse array of soils. The elevations in Margaux range from 1 meter up to 30 meters, with the highest point in the appellation found at Chateau Angludet. In the Margaux appellation, the terroir features soils with large deposits of gravel, limestone with pebbles, stones, rocks, white gravel, and only a minor amount of clay in the vineyards. Margaux has some of the poorest soils in Bordeaux, making it perfect for cultivating grapes. The gravel provides natural drainage, reflects sunlight, retains heat and force the vines to dig deep into the soils. Those chateaux with clay deposits plant more Merlot in their vineyards. Because the soils in the Margaux region are often thin and cannot easily hold water, the vines are forced to dig deep into the soil for nourishment. The comparative lack of depth in the soils of Margaux allows the soils to heat up faster. In turn, the grapes mature before the other Bordeaux appellations in the Medoc. Since it is the warmest area in the Medoc, Margaux the first appellation in the Left Bank to be picked most of the time. As such the Margaux appellation does not do well in the very dry, drought, heat-struck vintages.
The dominant grape variety is Cabernet Sauvignon which is blended with varying amounts of other permitted grapes: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec. 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc.
The dominant fruit flavour is blackcurrant. The wine from the southern part of the appellation (i.e. Cantenac, Arsac and Labarde) tends to be more powerful but less fragrant, and leans more towards plum.
Dry white Bordeaux wines are also made by some Margaux chateau owners.The white wines are a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The grapes are grown outside the Margaux appellation which means the wines are not allowed to be sold as from Margaux. The wines are sold as generic Bordeaux Blanc wines.
Пікірлер: 35
Excellent class. My preferred wine in Margaux region is Château Palmer. It’s a unique and truly OUTSTANDING wine.
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
😀😀
Thanks for the video and I'm looking forward to seeing more tastings from the Margaux region and learning along with you- just like for Barolo and Chambolle Musigny. A very minor point, you mentioned the allowed varieties in Margaux, but I believe that there are few new ones as of 2021- Touriga National, Marselan, and others. Keep up the great work!!!
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
noahcap: thanks for the info...I will research this but does not show up on the Margaux region website.. That is something I am going to talk about in future videos. The Margaux wine region has its own association and website with lots of information about the region Cheers!
Excellent video and explanation
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
kampong: thank so much for watching my video. Glad you enjoyed it. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
Great little primer! Thank you. Had a bootle of the 2010 Kirwan a couple months ago. It is good but didn’t blow me away like the 2005 Malescot. Probably needs a couple more years in the bottle. 2010s seem to age slowly.
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
Good to know. Cheers!
Interesting comment that poor soil forces the roots to go down further exposing them to more types of soils and minerals and thereby producing better wine. I had always assumed that vines that had to struggle to get water had to spend more energy developing their root system as opposed to spending their energy developing fruit, causing the fruit to have less water and therefore be more concentrated. Maybe both? Either way, I agree that wines from the valley floor are less complex than those from the hillsides where presumably the conditions are more difficult.
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
doublewides: I think it is a bit of both. Groundwater is typically lower down so to real water, roots either have spread their surface area or dig deeper or both. Roots and minerals go towards the water so where you find water, you also find nutrients/minerals, thereby developing complexity. Probably not totally scientific explanation but all I know is that if I visit a winery with pristine, abundant leaves and rich dark soils, I get a little worried. I like to see basically places where the farther away you are, the better the winery/vines look. Cheers!
I am a huge fan of the graphite notes in Bordeaux wine, I think this flavor is most commonly found in Pauillac and Saint-Estephe.
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
RB: I will be looking for it more as I deep dive into Margaux wines. Cheers!
Thanks!
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
Sergey: thank you for viewing my video. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
Margaux vs Pauillac- why not to make this comparison video?))
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
Sergey: Good idea! I will probably do a video on the Pauillac region or just do a comparitive tasting between a Pauillac and a Margaux wine. Cheers!
Somethig to add is that perhaps in the entirety of the BDX classification system, Margaux would need the biggest rework if the system was ever to be updated.
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
michael: I think that was true 10-15 years ago but with global warming, I would wait another 10 years to see if you still feel that way. Cheers!
@micheal0811
5 ай бұрын
Touché!
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
@@micheal0811 😀😀
Nice video!! 👍🏻 Can you pls suggest good stores for Single malt Scotch whisky in Singapore !!
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
Purushtam: thx for watching my video. Not really a scotch person. I mostly focus on wine. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
Thank you for an accurate description; i swear google isn't worth much these days.
@TrophyWineHunter
4 ай бұрын
dafoodmaster: thank you for viewing my video. Not sure I understand the google comment? Cheers!
@Dafoodmaster
4 ай бұрын
I was looking for some information on the Margeaux region but google wasn't any help; i feel the quality of google's search engine is in a downward spiral.
Violets are commonly used in perfumery. Women's perfume in particular
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
cosmo: Yes, the point I was making is when I usually describe a wine as perfumed, I normally think sweet like fruit or honey. Cheers!
Ah, 2022 being a hot & dry year would not be best for Margaux?
@TrophyWineHunter
Ай бұрын
Garioch: I am not an expert on terroir but my understanding is that Margaux region is the hottest region and gets hot early. So a really hot vintage generally is not the best for Margaux. That is why you see "off" vintages like 83 be so good for Margaux. See my recent video on the 2022 En Primeur campaign for my explanation of why I think the 2022 vintage is overpriced/overhyped. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!
essentially, if one had to describe Bordeaux, Margot including, I would say blending… blending of plots, casks, verities. it is kind of opposite of what terroir suppose to be. all their talk about, soils, gravel and blue clay is all essentially meaningless if you blend everything😊
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
llurispuir: partly agree with your assessment. You are right that most wineries blend grapes from different plots. So I do agree most wine experts spend way too much emphasis on soil since for most wineries, particularly Margaux, there is diversity in the soil and altitude. But that is why it is so important to see how many fermentation tanks the winery has. The more tanks, the more they can separate out each plot and the more distinctive their blend can be. With blue clay, most of it is with Petrus so essentially that is really the only winery where it is a factor. There are maybe 5 other wineries that arguably have enough blue clay to even move the needle. Cheers!
@DarthJabba504
5 ай бұрын
Which are the other wineries with blue clay?
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
@@DarthJabba504 I believe Petrus, La Conseillante, Lafleur. L'Evangile and maybe VCC. Don't quote me on this as I am just doing from the top of my head. Cheers!
You didn't open the bottles!! 🙄
@TrophyWineHunter
5 ай бұрын
Kent: I have already had a few of them and done reviews on my channel. I will open up the Kirwan shortly but next up for me in Margaux is the 2017 Ferreire. Please like, subscribe and keep watching. Cheers!