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Margaux 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

Since the early 1980's Chateau Margaux has produced many excellent vintages. It is always impressive, whilst remaining fine and elegant. This is where we most often find the "Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove". Margaux is certainly the most stylish, charming and sophisticated of the First Growths. Quality is maintained here by a rigorous selection process and, since 2009, there has been a third wine (Margaux de Margaux) produced as well as the popular second wine Pavillon Rouge. There is also a 4th wine sold off in bulk. The yield in 2018 was 31 hl/ha (down on the average of 40) mainly because of Mildew in early July that decimated the production of neighbouring Chateau Palmer. The concentration of the must meant that no Saignée (bleeding) of the tanks was required. The grand vin is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot and it represents 36% of the total harvest.

Also available in the following mixed case:

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Margaux

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2018 Château Margaux is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, representing 36% of the crop this year. The wine has a pH of 3.8 and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it slowly unfurls to reveal tantalizing scents of crème de cassis, wild blueberries and Black Forest cake with hints of redcurrant jelly, rose oil, dark chocolate and cedar chest plus a touch of star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with opulent black fruit, fragrant earth and floral layers, supported by a rock-solid structure of exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless backbone of freshness, finishing with fantastic length. This is classic Margaux at its most seductive, although it is, rather amazingly, approachable and absolutely delicious right now. But, to enjoy its full glory, you will want to cellar it for at least 6-8 years and then watch it metamorphize over the next 40+ years. 2027 - 2067

100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (End of Mar), March 2021

The 2018 Château Margaux was observed over a period of 24 hours. I used the word "luxurious" to describe the nose when I encountered this First Growth from barrel, and it’s still apt to use now the wine is in bottle. It just blossoms over time, revealing gorgeous blackberry, raspberry, crushed violet and peony, and hints of shucked oyster shells, all delivered with the precision one expects from a first-division Claret. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, still as silky-smooth as ever, offering blood-orange-infused black fruit that is crystalline on the finish. You almost miss the structure behind this Château Margaux that should ensure it will age over the next three or four decades. Utterly sublime. Drink 2026-2060.

96
Neal Martin, vinous.com, March 2021

So much ash, tobacco and earth to the bright blackberry and currant aromas. Flowers too. Fresh. Full-bodied with seamless tannins that spread across your palate and caress every square centimeter. It’s shows loads of ripe-berry, cherry, currant and chocolate character, as well as walnut and light cedar. Then the finish goes on for minutes. Extremely refined and elegant, despite the structure. 90% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc, 4% merlot and 2% petit verdot. A joy to taste, but drink after 2025.

100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2021

Tasted blind at Southwold 2018. Deep purple colour. Oily fruit and fragrant violets together on a very Cabernet-led nose. The palate has bags of character, bringing dried flowers, roasted black fruits and cleaner fresh cherries together. Though bursting with flavour, the underlying tannins are very persistent, firming-up towards a finish of focus and depth. Finely etched, this can only improve in the coming decades.

96+
Thomas Parker MW, Farr Vintners, January 2022

Without doubt an incredible Margaux, although whether it will equal the 2015 remains to be seen. It's less serious than the 2016 but every bit as good, floating above the palate, performing that acrobatic trick that only happens in the really great years. It's silky yet intense and powerful, with sweet, fleshy and succulent raspberry cut through with fresh rosemary and sage that add texture and grip. The menthol side of the Cabernet is already coming through, which suggests the fruit was just perfectly ripe - these are aromatics that you don't get in true heatwave years like 2003. The flavours stretch out, gently gripping and keeping you involved in what is unfurling.

Harvested between 17 September and 13 October, with an average yield of 31hl/ha due to both mildew and the concentration of the berries that occured at the end of ripening. The impact was uneven, depending on the vineyard blocks, so yields actually varied between 15 and 50hl/ha. The best plots were the least affected, which means that unusually there is more production in the grand vin and in Pavillon, with less in the third and fourth wines. Final numbers are 36% of production here, 30% in Pavillon Rouge.

83IPT. 100% new oak. 12% press wine. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Drinking Window 2028 - 2045

98
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2019

Tasted blind. Light animal note on the nose. Rich but in medium mode rather than top-drawer mode. Neat and very good but just a little more restrained than the finest. Long though. Easy to overlook. 14%
Drink 2028 – 2048

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2022

90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. Barrel sample.
Intense cherry red with black core. Scented cassis and cassis leaf. Small, intense berries giving refined and intense fruit. Tannins are super-charged but not aggressive, deep and chewy but layered rather than monolithic. There’s a fine dark, charry character on the palate, giving a savoury dry freshness. Very fine in all its tannic power. Dare I say, more Pauillac than Margaux? Elegance in power. Great length. So smooth on the finish. The concentration is carried lightly. (JH)
Drink 2028-2048

18.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2019

Deep in colour and brooding on the nose, with cassis, pepper and blackberry. The palate is silky and suave, with cashmere tannins framing ripe, juicy black fruits, dried flowers and creamy, toasty oak. This is ripe and exotic, with some warmth coming through that adds to the sweetness and pepperiness. Vibrant acidity comes in waves, and paired with the fine tannins offers great poise and precision. Powerful and long, with a floral, complex and spicy finish.

96+
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

One of the wines of the vintage on the Left Bank is the 2018 Château Margaux, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot. A thrilling, sensational Margaux that reminds me of the 2015 at this stage, it reveals a saturated purple/blue color as well as heavenly notes of black raspberries, blueberries, cassis, spring flowers, high-class smoke tobacco, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and seamless, it builds incrementally on the palate and carries masses of fine tannins, no hard edges, and awesome purity of fruit. Given its purity, depth of fruit, and texture, it’s going to be approachable with just short-term cellaring, but I suspect it won’t start to hit prime time for at least a decade.

98/100
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019

(90 Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 Merlot, 4 Cabernet Franc, 2 Petit Verdot) | 100% new oak | 14% alc | 36% of the harvest was used for this wine | 83 IPT They had 600mm of rain between April and July, then only 40mm in following hot and dry three months. Mildew was a threat and they lost a part of the crop as well as losing fruit from dehydration in the summer months, too. The quality of tannins in this wine is amazing and the entire framework of the fruit is built on these foundations. The fruit is richer and more intense than Pavillon by quite a jump in power and there is obvious richness here. 13% press wine was added in this vintage on account of its sheer quality. The berries were particularly small and this certainly influenced the density of flavour and fondant nature of this wine. Long and calm with superb balance in the mid-palate and a crunch of acid on the finish, there is not the scale of fruit here which I have seen in some of the other top wines, but it is still a lovely Margaux. I am sure that this is a vintage which some will go nuts for but for me it is a lovely interpretation of 2018, but not on a par with 2010 or 2016.

18.5+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

The 2018 Château Margaux was picked from September 17 until October 13, the Cabernet Sauvignon from the beginning of October. The word that springs to mind on encountering this for the first time is "luxurious." The supremely pure bouquet features raspberry, blueberry, violet petals, black currant pastilles and a hint of vanilla; it is opulent rather than rich. The palate is medium-bodied with very plush, velvety-smooth tannins. It sashays along nicely and, atypically for a 2018, reaches a gentle crescendo toward the linear finish. It is amazing how well this contains the excesses of the growing season and retains the sense of Château Margaux.2026 - 2060

95/97
Neal Martin, vinous.com, November 2019

Wow. This takes off on the palate the moment you taste it. Aromas and flavors of redcurrants, flowers, cherries and hints of hazelnuts. Full-bodied, tight and compact, but the linear tannins, running down the center of the wine, draw the wine through the finish.

99/100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019

The 2018 Château Margaux is made of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The grand vin represents 36% of the crop this year. The wine has a pH of 3.8 and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it comes prancing out of the glass with energetic Morello cherries, black raspberries and blackberry pie scents plus nuances of fragrant soil, candied violets, lavender, sandalwood, unsmoked cigars and black olives with a gentle wave of cassis and licorice emerging with coaxing. Full-bodied, the palate is charged with the most amazing energy, delivering layer after layer of red and black fruits with tons of earthy nuances, framed by the most exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing with amazing freshness and an extraordinarily long-lingering perfume. Magnificent.

97/100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.