Bordeaux 2012 Primeurs: Margaux Tasting Notes
After Château Margaux, Château Palmer and Château d’Issan, most other wines of the Margaux appellation I tasted at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Margaux tasting, this year hosted by Château Labégorce. The unique feature of this tasting was that the organisers decided that rather than leaving the floor space at the centre of the room free of obstacles, it would be more appropriate to add some decoration, in truth probably to hide and protect some electrical cables. Thus, along the centre of the room there ran a series of low piles of what essentially looked like stacked driftwood. This was a tasting where you needed your wits about you; these low-level obstacles were just perfect for tripping over. Fortunately I didn’t fall prey to their malevolent presence; others, I saw, were not so fortunate. There’s probably nothing you would want to do less at a Margaux tasting than, when stepping backwards away from the tables, to tumble backwards, dramatically launching a just poured glass of 2012 Château Rauzan-Ségla over your neighbours as you do so. Oops!
On the whole, the wines of this commune performed better than those from St Julien and Pauillac to the north, as well as those in Moulis and Listrac, to the north-west. It is tempting to say that the more southerly location of these vineyards perhaps helped, but this seems unlikely and rather a simple view of it to me. More likely, in my opinion, is that there are larger plantings of Merlot here, together with terroirs that may have been favourable in this vintage. It is notable that from among the top trio, Palmer is several rungs on the quality ladder above Margaux and d’Issan in my opinion. Among the lesser estates, the wines showed more confidence and flesh from many further north. They are not wines that are tense and exciting though; rather they are slightly soft, accessible, rich and fleshy, with a harmonious tannic substance at their respective cores.
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