Bordeaux 2010 Primeurs: Margaux Tasting Notes
Moving through the other wines in the appellation, there were a lot of good wines here, showing a lot of concentration and vitality. To my delight I found at the Lascombes tasting that the Margaux appellation has turned in an admirable performance this year; on the whole the wines are consistent, structured and built for the cellar. But are they must-buy wines? And how do they compare to last year’s efforts?
Before answering those questions, let me just come clean regarding the style of these wines. The ‘classical’ view of the Margaux appellation is that it yields lighter and elegant wines that focus on pure, perfumed, floral red fruits, with perhaps more than a hint of gravel to them. When the wines achieve this aromatic character in combination with some substance to the palate, they can be wonderful, but in 2010, as in 2009, this is not what the Margaux appellation is about. If you are looking for delicate red-fruited wines, you should scratch both vintages from your potential shopping list, as in both these vintages most wines are as distant from this classical view of Margaux as it is perhaps possible to be. In 2009 the wines showed black fruits supported by voluptuous textures (I will never forget the velvety feel of d’Angludet, the first wine I tasted at the 2009 UGC Margaux tasting) whereas in 2010 we have black fruits supported by rich structures, dark seams of tannin and bright acidity. The occasional hint of gravel can be seen, but red fruits are as rare as hen’s teeth.
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