Château Margaux

Château Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Margaux, 2023

Name: Château Margaux, 1er Cru Classé, Margaux
Brand: Château Margaux
Price: 2160 GBP

98/100

Inside Bordeaux

97-99/100

The Wine Independent

97-99/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

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En primeur

2023
6x75cl
EP
£2,160.00

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

Aurélien explained that 2023 was the first year of organic conversion at Chateaux Margaux. After an excellent flowering there was a big mildew pressure, but in the end mildew wasn't the biggest problem as they can now treat the entire estate in just five hours. More challenging were the heatwaves at the end of August and the beginning of September which caused a bit of sunburn, accounting for 10% of the crop. The resulting wines have the "ripeness and texture of a warm vintage with the freshness and purity of a cool year.” Quite taciturn initially, with aeration it reveals some gentle florality, notes of stones and fine cigar tobacco. This is even more sophisticated (than Pavillon) from a textual standpoint. Absolute cashmere, the softest, most refined touch, natural and genteel. The fruit is tightly wound with glorious contours. Purple and red fruits interplay with spices and flowers. A very stylish, pure and elegant Margaux. A ravishing wine with so much detail - one senses this is very much the tip of the iceberg. A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot with a moderate 13% of alcohol.

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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

97-99/100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,

The Wine Independent

The 2023 Chateau Margaux, accounting for 41% of this year's crop, is deep garnet-purple in color. A little shy to begin, it needs some swirling before notes of black cherries, blackcurrant pastilles, and anise emerge from the glass, leading to suggestions of fragrant soil, lilacs, and cardamom with a touch of iron ore. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly crafted, with fabulous tension creating an exhilarating sense of energy in the mouth, offset by firm fine-grained tannins to support the vibrant red and black berry layers, finishing long and perfumed. So fragrant and graceful, this could only be Chateau Margaux! The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.60. "There is a little more Cabernet Franc this year. More and more has been making it into the First Wine. We have been grafting over some vines to Cabernet Franc and planting more."

drinking window 2030 - 2060

date of review 05/2024

98/100

Jane Anson,

Inside Bordeaux

Vibrant peony and ruby red colour, this hums with movement and energy through the palate, a complex bloom of lavendar and white rose flowers, fresh and dense at the same time. Classical Margaux, with the savoury quality of the best wines of the year, a ton of fine tannins with a reserved sculpted architecture. The drinkability of this vintage is such a welcome return, and this is exceptionally good quality, and a real pleasure to taste. Superb winemaking from Philippe Bascaules. 41hl/h yield (compared to 25hl/h last year), 41% of the production in this 1st wine.

drinking window 2033 - 2055

date of review 05/2024

97-99/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 2023 Château Margaux, which contains 15% vin de presse, is quintessential Château Margaux. It immediately blossoms in the glass with irresistible crushed violets on the nose, instantly demanding attention—you will gladly give it. Exquisitely defined and very focused with supremely well integrated oak, this is blessed with laser-like precision. The palate is silky smooth on the entry, perhaps a little feistier than expected thanks to a liberal sprinkling of black pepper. Quite structured (like the Pavillon Rouge) and gentle, you can almost overlook its grip. It finishes with a concentrated, graphite-tinged finish that lingers long in the mouth. This First Growth will require ten years in bottle to really show what it is capable of.

drinking window 2033 - 2070

date of review 04/2024

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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.