Château Margaux 2017

Immensely stylish, elegant, full of charm, not an extraction monster, to be sure, but showing the greatest harmony and freshness! A textbook Margaux.

The 2017 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to reveal alluring notes of blackcurrant cordial, Black Forest cake and black raspberries with suggestions of candied violets, tilled soil, fallen leaves, licorice and espresso plus wafts of underbrush and rosehip tea. Medium-bodied, the elegance and finesse on the palate is simply bedazzling, exuding a quiet intensity of fresh black fruits layered with oh-so-subtle floral and earth nuances. It has a soft, velvety texture and seamless freshness to support the tightly wound flavors, finishing long and perfumed. Beautiful! This grand vin accounts for just 37% of the crop.

Aromas of wood and fresh fruit translate to the palate, giving this wine depth and concentration. It is powerful but also balanced and fresh, displaying the elegance of the vintage. While never overpowering, the wine's structure will allow it to age well. Drink from 2024.

Extremely elegant and finessed spicing on the nose, this has beautiful aromatics, and a seductive lead in. It has added some flesh and creaminess over the ageing, and although you still get fairly high austerity at this point it is becoming well enrobed without sacrificing precision. Good quality and highly enjoyable, this will age effortlessly, fine boned in the 2001 or 2011 sense. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend, a little lower percentage than usual because they felt structure in the wine was already in plentiful supply. 27% of production.

The 2017 Château Margaux, bottled in June/July 2019, has a classic aromatic profile for this First Growth: blackcurrant leaf, raspberry, cold black tea and pressed iris rather than violet petals this time. It is well defined, if not as intense as the 2016 as you would expect. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fine acidity, quite saline in the mouth with superb precision on the elegant finish. This is one of the most approachable Château Margaux that I can remember, less opulent than out of barrel and supremely refined.

Dark ruby in color, the wine is silky and seductive. This is not a powerful wine, instead a velvet and satin texture with complexity and length. On the palate, the wine beguiles you with its sweetness, lift and sumptuous qualities. This vintage contains a record amount of tannins for the estate yet these tannins are so ripe and soft, you’ll barely notice them. This gem will have the ability to age for several decades. Made from a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the wine reached 13.5% ABV with a pH of 3.7. The Grand Vin was produced using only 37% of the return. The harvest commenced on September 18 and finished October 3 and the average yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare. Bravo for Philippe Bascules, the managing director who supervised this sublime production from start to finish.

Despite Margaux being a slightly more difficult region for the Medoc in 2017, this estate has fashioned an incredible 2017 Chateaux Margaux that’s unquestionably in the same league as the 2015 and 2016, and that’s saying something. Based on 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot representing a draconian selection of just 22% of the total production, it reveals a deep purple/ruby hue as well as stunning notes of creme de cassis, blueberries, crushed violets, unsmoked tobacco, and Asian spice. With flawless tannins, medium to full body, brilliant concentration, and a great, great finish, it's easily one of the standouts in the vintage. It’s already stunning, yet a good 7-8 years of bottle age are warranted, and it should cruise for 20-25 years in cold cellars.

89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. 35 hl/ha. Medium-deep ruby purple. A wonderfully fine bouquet with hints of wild cherry and lingonberry jelly, followed by light tobacco, a delicate violet scent and profound cassis spice. On the powerful palate, the extract is finely powdery, with palpable muscle, yet tightly and seamlessly woven. Then the wine surges forward like a sprinter in the 100 meters, while remaining elegant and clearly focused. In the multifaceted, impressive finish: juniper, plum skin and a lingering astringency that is hugely appetizing. Great Margaux cinema, reminiscent of 1996. With impressive finesse and magnificent concentration, this year it clearly stands at the top of the appellation and is one of the best wines of the vintage! 19.5/20

Kunz Fassprobe 18: (89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 35 hl/ha) A deep, concentrated, complex, mineral bouquet with blackcurrant, blackberries, black cherries, flint, truffle, graphite and precious woods. The palate is concentrated, tightly knit, layered and balanced, with intense, multifaceted aromas, plenty of fine tannins, a compact, finely muscular structure, and velvety fruit. Very long, aromatic finish with many lingering echoes.

(89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 35 hl/ha) Deep, concentrated, complex, mineral bouquet: blackcurrant, blackberries, black cherries, flint, truffle, graphite, fine woods. Concentrated, tightly knit, multi-layered, balanced palate with a rich, nuanced aromatic profile, plenty of fine tannin, a dense, finely muscular structure, and velvety fruit. Very long, aromatic finish with many lingering nuances. 19/20 2026 - 2050

Pencil lead, roses, cassis, bleuberry, tea, gunsmoke, fine and supple tannins that stretch out through the palate, this is an amazing quality 2017 that shows the potential of the vintage in the right hands. The vineyards of Château Margaux are almost exactly the same size as in 1855 at 80ha. Three-quarters of the vines are on deep and extremely poor gravel soils, and others with clay and limestone bedrock, covered by fine gravels of terraces 3 and 4. Philippe Bascaules technical director, Corinne Menzelopoulos owner at the time (it was recently announced in 2023 that she has now handed over to her son Alexis).

A blend of 89 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Chateau Margaux is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It is still very closed on the nose, giving slow-to-come glimpses and scents of kirsch, black raspberries, and star anise, followed by suggestions of tilled soil, mossy tree bark, and pencil shavings, with a waft of crushed rocks. Medium-bodied, the palate is taut and tightly wound with loads of stunning floral and red berry nuances coming through in the mid-palate, supported by ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and mineral-laced. A head-turner, for sure.

2017 is the most affordable, in a style that ultimately proves to be very classic. A precise, sleek and linear wine that resonates on the palate, with outstanding fruit purity and perfectly sculpted tannins. The very essence of Margaux.

An intense, tactile, fruity, juicy wine, with plenty of chew and flesh, round and silky tannins, very elegant, and a very long finish.

What a bouquet! Intense, inviting and fresh, with notes of raspberries as well as blueberries. An elegant, fruity and compact attack. This Château Margaux is defined by finesse and perfectly supported by its structure. Lovely fruit freshness across the palate. The finish is intense and persistent. A sapid wine that wonderfully combines finesse, precision and rigor.

Dark, intense, beautiful color. A great nose—complex, refined, fruity, pure, with finely toasted notes and real depth. The tactile precision on the attack is remarkable. The wine builds continuously, full and fleshy, before releasing a black-fruit flavor that shimmers on the finish. Superb—long, crafted with great meticulousness, and a very fine-grained texture.