Aurélien Vallance explained that “The wet warm spring brought significant mildew pressure, but the Margaux team was able to fight it using exclusively organic products. Flowering was early and even (10-15 days in advance of the norm), but we noted that the bunches had less grapes than normal. Summer was exceptionally dry. Margaux experienced 50 consecutive days without a drop of rain. Luckily there was enough water in the soil to supply the vines until a huge storm on the 12th August unleashed 80 mm of rain. We were concerned it might be too much, but the berries didn’t swell. There was just one additional day of rain with 20 mm, then sunny and dry conditions returned. Harvest was early, conducted between the 10th and 30th September. The berries were very tannic and we had to be very careful with extractions, it was the smallest and most controlled extraction we’ve ever done at Margaux. This gentle approach with no pumping over resulted in very ripe, velvety tannins, wonderful freshness to the fruit and relatively low alcohols.” We may have claimed that the Pavillon Rouge is closer than ever to Margaux, however, there is still a chasm. The Grand Vin does everything on a more grandiose scale, yet with even more focus and detail. Aurélien noted that “the blending process was easy… all the great plots went into the Chateau Margaux”. Representing 36% of the crop, the bouquet is similar to the Pavillon Rouge, but everything is there in more abundance, even more floral, creamy cassis fruit, graphite, sandalwood, spices and a hint of decadent liquorice. The palate is so precise, laser like precision, wonderful detail, crisp berry fruit, crème de cassis, lots of bright mineral notes, seductive griotte cherries, it is complete, complex and very long, finishing with super refined tannins, which have been expertly ensconced in the wine. Stylistically, this errs towards the classical, there’s nothing flashy or extravagant, yet one is mesmerised by the beauty, the refinement, elegance and latent power. An extraordinarily impressive Margaux! 3.67pH, 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc.
DELIVERY
How much is delivery
Delivery is free to mainland Great Britain and other bonded warehouses for orders over £200 (inc. VAT) in value. For orders under the value of £200 destined for mainland Great Britain there is a delivery charge of £18 (inc. VAT).
All deliveries to mainland Great Britain coming from
Cellarers will incur a delivery charge of £24 (inc. VAT).
Cellarers Storage Charges.
Where are the wines stored and are they fully insured whilst in storage?
We store clients’ wines with a subsidiary company called
Cellarers (Wines) Ltd, which is wholly owned by Justerini & Brooks but where clients’ wines are segregated from our own stock. The wines are stored at Octavian's industry-leading underground cellars in Corsham, Wiltshire, UK. All wines stored with Cellarers are individually labelled with clients’ details and are insured to current market value.
Can I ship outside of mainland Great Britain?
We offer regular shipments to Hong Kong from £90 per 9L case and £62 per 4.5L case. A discounted rate of £72 per 9L case may apply when shipping five or more cases to one address. Deliveries usually take approximately three weeks.
For deliveries to destinations other than mainland Great Britain or Hong Kong, please contact the Customer Relationship Team via email on
justbrooksorders@justerinis.com for a quote.
Why can’t I request delivery of certain wines?
Most often, the reason you cannot request delivery of certain wines is that they are still ‘En Primeur’ and not yet in the country. Once they land in the UK, they will be available for Duty Paid Delivery.
Click here for more information on buying En Primeur.
GUARANTEED PROVENANCE
Provenance in fine wine
When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of utmost importance. A wine’s history – where it’s sourced from and how it’s been stored – can have an enormous influence on the eventual enjoyment it provides. At Justerini & Brooks, we can trace nearly every case back to the domaine, estate or Château it originally came from; we ship from over 200 wine producers throughout the world.
Wines not bought directly from the vineyard are either sourced from trusted suppliers, with whom we share the same philosophy and rigour in buying, or from our own network of Cellarers customers. These customers’ wines are stored in optimal conditions in Octavian Corsham and, in the vast majority of cases, have been stored by us since the wine was first shipped. We do not purchase wine from auctions.
We feel it is equally important to for our customers that the case they buy and leave in storage with us is exactly the same case they subsequently have delivered. This may sound obvious and straightforward, yet we are one of very few merchants to have taken measures to ensure this.
We have created a system where every case is independent, thereby ensuring a trail of ownership and peace of mind for every customer.
The Journey
Justerinis ensures that every case of wine stored with Cellarers (Wines) Ltd has a unique identifier and customer’s name, almost unheard of in the industry as it is expensive to administer. These details are printed and placed on every case which is logged and recorded under your account name and kept in the world’s most renowned storage facility, Octavian Corsham.
This information is sent from our systems to the warehouse every day to ensure the trail of ownership is verified and upheld.
While customer reserves are stored in Corsham, our physical stocks are kept in Hoddesdon, further providing a geographical separation between customers’ wines with Cellarers and Justerinis’ own stock.
Further Reassurance
Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is a legally separate limited company from Justerini & Brooks which currently holds approximately £450 million worth of customer reserves. It is fully insured to catastrophic loss. Many merchants will state that wine in their care is fully insured, but in reality this is on an individual case basis with insufficient cover for total loss as this is prohibitively expensive. The cover provided by Octavian and Justerini & Brooks is unmatched.
Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is audited by PwC every year.
