Bordeaux 2013 at Two Years: Margaux
Margaux is by far the largest of the great left-bank appellations, spreading over several communes, the most noteworthy being Margaux itself, and then neighbouring Cantenac. This tasting is – from a cru classé point of view at least – a fairly comprehensive overview of the appellation, taking in 21 wines (including a couple of deuxième vins).
I often find Margaux to be the weakest of the left-bank communal appellations. It may be just a style thing; for me, the great wines of Pauillac and St Julien, and to a lesser extent perhaps, St Estèphe, typify what a great wine from Bordeaux should be. Margaux, meanwhile, with its redder fruits, perfumed rose-petal fragrancy and gravelly elegance, while it may all sound idyllic, all too often ends up feeling like a poor-man’s version of Pessac-Léognan. There are truly great wines at the appellation’s heart of course, the great domaines such as Château Margaux, Château Palmer and others all situated on the gravel bed in the commune of Margaux, but as you venture out beyond Cantenac to other parts of the appellation the wines seem less resilient.
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