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Noncontractual photograph
Vintage | Wine 1978 |
Classification | Médoc - 1er Cru Classé |
Region | Bordeaux |
Appellation | Margaux |
Colour | Red |
Volume | 0.75 l |
Country | France |
Château | Château Margaux |
Country | France |
A privilege to bear the name of its appellation Margaux, for Château Margaux there is no doubt ample justification.
For several centuries this Premier Cru Classé has expressed the highest degree of quality of exceptional terroir patiently assembled by several generations of owners. Maintained and harvested exclusively by hand with extreme care, the 78 hectares of vines (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) derive their wealth deep in the soil which is clayey gravelly and particularly dense and thick. The fermentation in oak vats, after which the wine is strictly selected, follows 18 to 24 months in new oak barrels. A masterpiece among Bordeaux, the best according to some, Château Margaux reveals the delicate taste and opulence, depth and complexity, and exudes a rare elegance of rose, violet, black fruit, suspended by tight tannins that require patient aging before the wine fully expresses itself. The château also produces a second wine, Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux, and a dry white wine, Pavillon Blanc de Château Margaux.
Best vintages of Château Margaux are : 1900, 1928, 1953, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990
>> Read our article "Grands Crus Classés from Bordeaux"
>> Discover all the crus classés of Médoc classification
Margaux
Sauternes
Porto
CHÂTEAU BRANAIRE DUCRU Magnum 1978
Saint Julien
Saint Julien
Corton Bressandes
Saint Julien
Sauternes
Côte Rotie
(02-2000) Tasted blind after one hour of decanting. Color. Dark red. Blood. Medium to good intensity. Slight evolution. Brilliant. First clean nose. Intense. End. Fruity. With still a vanilla and fine woody note. Light touch of button mushroom. Restlessness. Better. Complex and fine. Spice. Quite warm too. What sweetness in the entry in the mouth, what a caress! The wine develops with a great delicacy of structure, velvety then, suddenly, it really melts in the mouth, leaving a tight, long frame and very ripe tannins for the vintage. We still find the mushroom note. Beautiful, refined length in this fairly discreet wine, which is swallowed with incredible ease.
(05-2016) The 1978 Chateau Margaux is a significant wine for two reasons: that is was the first under the Mentzelopoulos family after acquiring the property and also, it was their best wine in many years. Today it is still going strong. Clear in color, it has quite a deep garnet core. The nose is very seductive with black fruit, leather, scorched earth, a hint of lavender all beautifully defined and quintessentially Margaux. The medium-bodied palate has exquisite balance, the acidity nicely judged, still a little masculine and "solid" compared to the subsequent vintages under Paul Pontallier, yet fresh and vital. Sure, there is a grittiness and a touch of rusticity towards the finish, but all in all, this represents a great 1978 Left Bank and a signpost that the First Growth was back on the right track after a dismal run of vintages during the 1970s.
(09-2007)
(12-1989)