Château Margaux

Château Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Margaux, 1990

Name: Château Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Margaux
Brand: Château Margaux

100/100

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

100/100

The Wine Independent

98/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

all 2003 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

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Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

Paul Pontallier, the charming and highly informative Director of Château Margaux, believes this is their most concentrated wine in 40 or 50 years. Before our trip, we had concerns about the quality of Merlots in the southern Médoc, but Margaux has produced a good crop of exceptional quality, from their clay-based parcels. This unquestionably adds to the charm and sophistication of his 2003, but this wine really rests on very fine Cabernets: Pontallier is clear that “you cannot make great wine with Merlot”. This wine deserves a brochure of its own and was a strong candidate for our favourite of the whole week. It begins with a beautiful deep garnet colour, glinting purple in the glass; on the nose it is very fine and hugely complex, with cassis, black and red berries, cherries and sloes. On the palate it is fresh and clean, delivering layer upon layer of dark flavour, with tannins that are apparent throughout but which firm up a little on the finish, as if to tie things off nicely at the end. The typical Margaux femininity and charm are there, with plenty of finesse, as is the weight of the vintage, and the whole package makes for a wonderfully complete Margaux. Two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and one-third Merlot.

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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.

Critic Reviews

100/100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,

The Wine Independent

The 1990 Chateau Margaux has a deep garnet-brick color. The nose positively explodes—a detonation of crème de cassis, plum preserves, and blueberry pie aromas, which is, given time and much swirling, followed by that classic Margaux perfume of candied violets, incense, fragrant soil, and fallen leaves. The medium-bodied palate is jam-packed with black fruit and exotic spice layers, supported by beautifully plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long with loads of mineral sparks. If you are lucky enough to have a bottle, settle in for an absolute thrill ride with this legendary wine! It is the epitome of Margaux expression, not only of this terroir, but also its caretakers.

drinking window 2024 - 2044

date of review 11/2024

98/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 1990 Château Margaux has a really fabulous, knock-your-socks-off nose, soaring from the glass with crushed violet, copious black fruit, blueberry and pressed violets. So pure and enticing, this is just magnificent. The palate displays sublime balance and filigree tannins. This is perhaps the freshest example of the 1990 I have encountered to date. Caressing in texture, sumptuous, so much so that it disguises the backbone underneath. This is awesome. Tasted at the Académie du Vin dinner in Bordeaux.

drinking window 2023 - 2055

date of review 09/2023

100/100

William Kelley,

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 1990 Chateau Margaux is really beginning to hit its stride at age 31, soaring from the glass with aromas of blackberries and cassis mingled with notions of licorice, cedar and violets, framed by subtle hints of vanilla and spice. Full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, it's seamless and complete, its velvety tannins and ripe acids entirely cloaked in a lavish but vibrant core of fruit. This is an especially dramatic, fleshy rendition of Margaux, yet it remains impeccably balanced and has decades of longevity ahead of it.

drinking window 2015 - 2050

date of review 02/2022

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abv:

13%

allergen information

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.