The 2012 Château Margaux is showing much differently from bottle than it did from cask. Seemingly much fuller and richer, it has a dense ruby/purple color, representing a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Merlot, as well as only 33% of their harvest. It possesses hints of spring flowers intermixed with blueberries, blackberries and cassis fruit, moderate tannin, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a long, structured finish. This 2012 was charming, up-front and precociously styled from barrel, but in bottle it is more masculine, dense and rich. This wine needs a good 5-7 years of cellaring, and should keep well for 25 or more years. This is a great effort from Château Margaux, and should handsomely repay those who buy it. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2040.
The 2012 Château Margaux is a wine that, based on this showing, is a little closed at the moment and needs the most coaxing from the glass. Plenty of black fruit in situ, although it does not really blossom. It is very well-balanced, quite deep and powerful, but it needs time to develop refinement on the finish. Cellar for another few years. Tasted blind in Bordeaux.
Wonderful aromas of flowers such as roses, violets, strawberries and a hints of wet earth. Wet stones as well. Full to medium body, very firm tannins and a long, racy finish. Minerals and chalk on the aftertaste. Needs three to five years to soften. Better in 2020.
Graceful, nuanced, totally moriesh. Hugely successful at the 10 year mark, this is rippled with raspberry, white pepper, smoked earth, blond tobacco, cold ash, blueberry and star anise. One of my stars of the lineup, mouthwatering and full of cheer, with waves of fine tannins that are guiding the fruit from beginning to end. Above all finessed but not afraid of pleasure, a balanced Château Margaux that has plenty of time ahead of it. 34% of overall production.
Heady and very much in the same style as the Pavillon but a bit more emphatic. Grand - not in a monumental sense because there is nothing big about this. Very discreet and I think the two wines are closer together than usual.
Since the early 1980's Margaux has produced many excellent vintages under the assured direction of Paul Pontallier. It is always impressive, whilst remaining fine and elegant. Margaux is certainly the most stylish and sophisticated of the First Growths. Quality is maintained here by a rigorous selection process and since 2009 there has been a third wine produced (which will be released in autumn 2013) as well as the popular second wine Pavillon Rouge. In 2012 the Grand Vin represents 34% of the total harvest and is made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. There is a beautiful, perfumed, floral nose here. The palate has ripe berry fruit with touches of brioche, coffee bean and mocha. Plush, plump, soft, rounded and layered. A lovely blend of rich cassis fruit with toasty new wood and ripe, succulent tannins. This is all about balance and elegance. Silky and harmonious, long and persistent but never heavy. Pure Margaux. A lovely wine.
The nose seems very concentrated with lots of brooding black fruits. The palate starts with ripe cassis and plum the fleshiness helped by ripe rounded tannins. The sweet fruit on the mid palate is underpinned by freshness red cherry and wild strawberry yet there is a richer feel towards the back fleshing out the finish. 2020-40.
Just in case you're tempted to dismiss 2012 as a light vintage, Paul Pontallier points out that
this impressive Margaux has "significantly more tannin than the 1986". This is certainly
dense, with plenty of toasty oak backed up by perfumed, leafy fruit, fresh acidity and a herbal
undertone. The acidity is quite marked at the moment, but will ensure that the wine ages
gracefully in bottle. Serious, elegant and refined, this is priced appealingly, too.
Drink: 2022-40
This quintessentially finesse-styled Margaux exhibits notes of pure black currants, spring flowers, graphite and forest floor. With supple tannins and medium body, this pretty, stylish effort reminds me of the 2001 or perhaps a modern day, improved version of their 1979. The lovely 2012 should be drinkable in 4-5 years and last for two decades.
Only about one-third of the total production made it into the 2012 Chateau Margaux, which is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Like many Medoc first-growths in this vintage, this estate-s aim was to make an elegant, supple-styled 2012 that emphasized the fruit, charm and delicacy of this terroir rather than pushing extraction and going for a powerhouse, which would have been difficult to produce in a vintage like 2012. The natural alcohol is 13%
Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Château Margaux has a taut, linear, pencil lead-infused bouquet with pure blackberry and boysenberry scents, an undercurrent of tobacco that surfaces after five minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, a life-affirming sense of balance with well-integrated new oak towards the finish. I concur with Robert Parker that his has become more structured and masculine in bottle, yet there is pedigree here from start to finish, a sense of effortlessness that is seductive. This is a top-class wine from the late Paul Pontallier and his team. Tasted January 2016.
This is tannic and rich on the finish. Lacks a bit on the center palate, but full and very pretty fruit. Long finish. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, 9% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot.
