Château Margaux 1988

In a somewhat chunky, full-bodied, rather muscular style, with a dark, almost opaque garnet color and a big, smoky, earthy nose, with hints of compost, melted asphalt, black fruits, mushrooms, and new oak, this wine lacks the elegance one expects from Chateau Margaux, but does have plenty of tough-textured tannin and an almost rustic, corpulent style to it. The wine is mouth-staining as well as mouth-filling, but in a relatively chunky style. Anticipated maturity: Now-2018. Last tasted, 3/02.

Mid ruby with an evolved rusty rim. Bright colour. Graphite and iodine dominate a fully developed nose. Very attractive and subtle. Fine, delicate Cabernet tannins on the end. Fresh and edgy, perfectly clarety. Not especially heavy or alcoholic. Dry finish but for a 1988 it’s very charming. And more evolved than I would have expected, especially compared with 1986… Slightly dry finish but first-growth quality without doubt. (JR)

The 1988 Château Margaux is another wine I have not tasted for several years. It has a pure nose that is unmistakably this First Growth, with layers of black and blue fruit mixed with iodine and that signature pressed violet scent. The palate is velvety smooth, displaying a tad more glycerin than other First Growths. It's smooth with more blue fruit towards the finish. It is a seductive wine, perhaps less austere than bottles a decade ago. It's classy and more-ish. Tasted at the 1988 Bordeaux dinner at Noble Rot Mayfair.

The wine lacked the charm, elegance, and density found in great Margaux. Close to maturity, it might soften up, but it's not going to get much better. This is an old-school styled wine that others will like more than I did.

Another vintage that regularly stood in the shadow of its more extroverted successors, 1989 and 1990. Dark garnet with a medium rim. Here too, a rather cool, classic nose, not particularly enticing, but with the class that Margaux exudes. On the bouquet: leather, smoke, black peppercorns, all very restrained, with a hint of herbs in the background. On the palate, firm and massively structured, with slightly rough, gripping tannins that suggest reserves but come at the expense of elegance.

89: Barrel tasting (18/20): sweet perfume, finesse and richness. Huge extract, more Merlot dominance than the ’86, total fruit concentration. In principle, you should spit young wines at a tasting. In 1991, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it: so dense, so fine, so full-bodied, massive astringency, long, long, long. A beautiful, great ’88. In a somewhat illogical way, it shows similarities to the ’88 Lafite. In 1992 still in its fruit phase, even one note at 19/20: smoky nose with coffee notes from the barrique, behind it a concentrated, ripe fruit profile. On the palate very well balanced, beeswax, rich in many fine tannins, making very positive progress. A great Margaux! During its closed phase it showed as follows: completely shut down, almost adolescent. The nose is bursting, very aromatic, but still showing no harmony between fruit and terroir. On the palate compressed, almost hard, with massive substance. A great wine that still needs at least four more years of rest. 98: open, expansive, Burgundian bouquet, lots of lingonberries and mulberries. Juicy, fine flow on the palate, comes across as opulent, ample extract, a budding chocolate note on the finish, spicy aftertaste. In full pleasure phase it will probably be worth 19/20 (18/20)! 00: a delicate wine, initially discreet, with a fine dried-fruit bouquet. No bluff, but a silky Premier Cru that is now starting to give more and more pleasure (18/20). 01: open bouquet, plum tones, nicely expansive with the first discreet chocolate nuances. On the palate still a lot of fruit, lovely Cabernet spice, morello cherries in the extract, shows plenty of backbone and is still building. 02: we drank a probably somewhat mature bottle from a Burgundy glass in Ticino: clearly shows mushroomy notes, frankincense and dried kitchen herbs. Also on the palate very mature and gently drying. 04: a sensational bottle with relatively a lot of fruit, but also slightly bourgeois contours. A few months later at the tasting at Bruno Hertig’s, rated again with the same score: 18/20. Dark garnet with a lightening rim. The bouquet shows leather, currants, smoke, black peppercorns, opens only slowly and shows a minty freshness in the middle. Massive palate with grainy tones, slightly roughening, thus still showing a lot of reserves but not as refined as one might expect from a Premier. 08: garnet-ruby, dense, still a lilac shimmer at the rim. Deep Cabernet bouquet, tobacco, Szechuan peppercorns, seems a bit cool at first, Napa touch, Bakelite, appears very profound; after 20 minutes it shows a fine curry note. Firm, strict palate, still little developed and thus initially a bit hard, marked astringency. Today still a reserved wine with further-demanding potential; the real enjoyment is (not yet?) fully there. Decant two hours. 11: now fully at its peak, fine with a perfumed mulberry tone, elegant and silkily fine – exactly how a fairly great Château Margaux should be! Enjoy without decanting. (18/20). 13: after 20 years still very fresh and showing red-berry traces. Very fine, juicy tannins, subtle peat notes underneath. (18/20). 16: still quite dark red. The beginning sits somewhere between cool and reserved. Bakelite traces, green Madagascar pepper, dark tobacco, appearing quite profound. On the palate fresh, shows contours and lovely plum tones, not particularly sweet in expression. A “cool” Margaux with slightly firm backbone. I think this classic simply needs a well-matched dish to really hit its stride. (18/20). 17: very dark color, bluish sheen in the deep garnet. The nose is direct, fresh, it keeps gaining and presents itself as a great classic. Still showing cassis, blackberries, freshly crushed Szechuan peppercorns. On the palate juicy, more concentrated than the slightly lighter 1985, good flesh and an aromatic finish. An underrated, great 1988, and there are more of them. (18/20). 18: deep purple, dense core, brick-red shimmer at the rim. Open, elegant scent, gently expansive, licorice, rock sugar, still remnants of red berries, mulberries and cassis, as well as Dominican tobacco. On the palate very fine-textured, with a well-supporting acidity that might be just a nuance discreetly dominant. The remaining tannins feel slightly ascetic. When you slurp it, the typical Margaux perfume comes through. Still in good shape, though you might wish for a bit more finesse. On the other hand, its type matches the 88 vintage template perfectly. (18/20).

Dark color, of normal and evolved intensity. Moderately aromatic nose with fresh, lively fruit. Becomes smoother with swirling. Palate mainly juicy, tasty and pleasant, stretching out with a slightly astringent finish of average length. This bottle shows less well than the one reviewed in the vertical of château Margaux. It was taken from the same case.