Château Margaux

Château Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Margaux, 2015

Name: Château Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Margaux
Brand: Château Margaux
Price: 6067.22 GBP

98/100

The Wine Independent

99/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

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in bond

Broking

2015
3x1.5L
DP
£6,067.22

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

We were saddened to hear of the death of Paul Pontallier just before the primeur tastings. He worked tirelessly for over thirty years for Chateau Margaux, to promote and improve the wines. Although his death was untimely, 2015 will be remembered fondly by those who knew him as his last vintage. It is a vintage that is befitting of the great man; a vintage of depth, classicism, class and refinement. The Grand Vin accounts for just 35% of the crop and is produced from a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. We had high expectations having just tasted a seriously impressive Pavillon Rouge – and we were not disappointed, far from it. Chateau Margaux has produced one of the most hauntingly beautiful wines we can ever recall tasting from this noble terroir. It is classically understated yet ripples with power and a sense of nobility. Initially the perfumed bouquet of potpourri, roses, damsons, bilberry and griotte delights the nose. Then a silken swathe of aromatic dark fruit, crème de cassis and lacy flecks of bright crimson fruit captivated the palate. This is so detailed and effortless; the fruit is uplifting, refined and ever so charming. The tannins are discrete but ever-present, coated with beautiful red berry fruits. This mesmerising, nuanced wine goes on and on delighting the palate with new flavours and regal, effortless tannins. Simply Superb!

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GUARANTEED PROVENANCE

Provenance in fine wine

When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of upmost 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

98/100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,

The Wine Independent

Chateau Margaux 2015 has a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot and is deep garnet in color. It is very closed and shy to begin, eventually opening out to beautiful warm cassis, black raspberries, and notes of dried mulberries, followed by hints of tobacco leaf, crushed rocks, and dried lavender, with a touch of Ceylon tea. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and seductive, featuring grainy tannins and bright, bold acidity, finishing epically long and layered. The tannins are just a touch "al dente" compared with the 2016, but this is nonetheless gorgeous. This vintage is packaged in a beautiful commemorative bottle honoring winemaker Paul Pontellier, who passed away in 2016. The gold-etched black bottle bears the message, “Hommage à Paul Pontellier” at the bottom. This 2015 is an evocative swan song from a gifted winemaker, taken from us too soon.

drinking window 2025 - 2055

date of review 11/2022

99/100

Antonio Galloni,

Vinous

The 2015 Margaux is a compelling, arrestingly beautiful wine that expresses all the best qualities of the vintage. Dark, fleshy and richly textured, the 2015 nevertheless retains the super-classic Margaux sense of structure. Time in the glass brings out the wine's rich, multi-faceted personality. I imagine the 2015 will enjoy a very long and uninterrupted drinking window that will last decades. As exceptional as the 2015, it is not easy to taste. I walked the vineyards at Margaux with Paul Pontallier in late July of that year. A few months later, Pontallier's life was tragically cut short by a very aggressive cancer. The 2015 will live on as a fitting testament to the legacy of a man who did so much for Chateau Margaux and Bordeaux.

drinking window 2025 - 2065

date of review 02/2018

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13.5%

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.