This is a stunning Chateau Margaux, made in a sexy, up-front, elegant style, with deep creme de cassis fruit intermixed with spring flowers, a solid inner core of richness and depth, but again, very sweet tannins as well as striking minerality and elegance. One of the most seductive Chateau Margauxs given its recent bottling, this blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot should drink beautifully for the next 25-30 years. Remarkably, a mere 36% of the entire production was selected for the 2008 Chateau Margaux.
Currant, blackberry and mineral aromas lead to a solid core of fruit, with fine tannins and a long, clean finish. Refined and very, very pretty
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot.Bright crimson. Rather opulent on the nose - hints of tobacco - and a little more burly and savoury than usual, perhaps because of less Merlot flesh. Dry start with the same backbone as the Pavillon Rouge. Firm, very fine tannins. No shortage of acidity. Mainly structure at the moment. Very clean but very youthful. Great freshness. Purity but I do feel we are tasting this too young. It should take on a bit more flesh. Very straight backed. Very fresh. Very embryonic.
(87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Petit Verdot; as a result of drastic selection, the final blend will represent only 31% of the crop at bottling time.) Good deep colour, very fine Cabernet red fruits with aromatic purity, precise and direct with a restrained quality, more violets than blackcurrants, more roses than black cherries, less dense than the Cabernets from Pauillac, fine firm fruit and terrific length show in time, less ripe at this stage than its peers in this vintage, all in finesse and purity. Drink 2018-35.
This is a superb vintage for Chateau Margaux, and while it may be too early to say this, the 2008 appears superior to the 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001. Only 36% of the crop was utilized and the yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. An exceptionally late harvest for this estate began on October 3 for the Merlot, and finished on October 23. The final blend includes a whoppingly high 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As always, the first characteristic one notices is the extraordinary floral component as well as the sweet black currant fruit allied to full-bodied richness, sweet tannin, and superb freshness and delineation. In many ways, the 2008 is reminiscent of the 1996, but the former wine is showing even more density and concentration than the 1996 did at the same point in its evolution. The 2008, which appears set for 30-40 years of longevity, is a remarkable effort from this great estate.
Tasted ex-château and single blind in Southwold. Two bottles of the Château Margaux 2008 were opened, one showing a little more chutzpah than the other. It has an exuberant, mineral-rich bouquet with stunning delineation that soars from the glass with blackberry, limestone and cassis aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannins. Great precision, beautifully integrated oak with a seamless finish as fresh as a daisy. Although it is surpassed by the 2009 and 2010, this is still a very precise, pretty Château Margaux. Tasted January 2012.
A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot with 1.5% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, this has a comparatively introspective nose of black fruits, sous-bois, a touch of cigar box and a little graphite. Like the Pavillon, it has something of a Pauillac austerity to it. The palate is medium-bodied, very fine tannins, sensuous texture, less floral than usual, more broody and introspective, but understated and elegant on the finish. There is more tangible sous-bois character than usual, an enigmatic Château Margaux that could benefit from more depth and length. Tasted April 2009.
