Bordeaux 2020 at Two Years: Margaux
I arrived in the vineyards of Margaux early one Tuesday morning in the dying days of November. It had been a slow drive up from Bordeaux; it was still dark when I set out, and when the sun eventually began to lift itself above the horizon it did little to illuminate the landscape, which remained enshrouded in mist. This was only now beginning to lift, apparently with the energy and enthusiasm of a pruner starting out on a cold and wet winter morning.
All around me the vines and posts dripped with the misty morning dew. I kicked my heels, at least metaphorically, while I waited for the time of my appointment at Château Margaux to arrive. I say metaphorically, because what I really did was take advantage of a spare thirty minutes – a rare moment on any tasting trip – to actually eat some breakfast. Not the relaxed affair I enjoyed in the chambre d’hôtes mentioned in my 2020 Pauillac report, rather an egg and lardon pastry (that’s the best description I have for it) purchased at a roadside boulangerie.
Ah, the luxury of bumming wine samples in Bordeaux!
There is no point arriving early at Château Margaux when the appointment is at 9am; the office is locked until the moment the clock strikes the hour. So I continued my heel kicking and munching a little longer, before jumping back behind the wheel to begin my day of tasting in Margaux. As usual, I tasted here with technical director Philippe Bascaules, who has now been in post here since 2017. More then five years already! Time seems to fly by faster than ever.
