Margaux 2018

Margaux, First Growth

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1 300cl Double Magnum Case 1 £3,250 per Btl Case [Add to shopping basket]
Tasting Notes

So much ash, tobacco and earth to the bright blackberry and currant aromas. Flowers too. Fresh. Full-bodied with seamless tannins that spread across your palate and caress every square centimeter. It’s shows loads of ripe-berry, cherry, currant and chocolate character, as well as walnut and light cedar. Then the finish goes on for minutes. Extremely refined and elegant, despite the structure. 90% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc, 4% merlot and 2% petit verdot. A joy to taste, but drink after 2025.

Score: 100

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Maturity: 2025+ 03 February 2022

Wow. This takes off on the palate the moment you taste it. Aromas and flavors of redcurrants, flowers, cherries and hints of hazelnuts. Full-bodied, tight and compact, but the linear tannins, running down the center of the wine, draw the wine through the finish. Superb.

Score: 99 - 100

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 11 April 2019

he 2018 Château Margaux was observed over a period of 24 hours. I used the word "luxurious" to describe the nose when I encountered this First Growth from barrel, and it’s still apt to use now the wine is in bottle. It just blossoms over time, revealing gorgeous blackberry, raspberry, crushed violet and peony, and hints of shucked oyster shells, all delivered with the precision one expects from a first-division Claret. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, still as silky-smooth as ever, offering blood-orange-infused black fruit that is crystalline on the finish. You almost miss the structure behind this Château Margaux that should ensure it will age over the next three or four decades. Utterly sublime.

Score: 96

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026 - 2060 22 August 2021

The 2018 Château Margaux was picked from September 17 until October 13, the Cabernet Sauvignon from the beginning of October. The word that springs to mind on encountering this for the first time is "luxurious." The supremely pure bouquet features raspberry, blueberry, violet petals, black currant pastilles and a hint of vanilla; it is opulent rather than rich. The palate is medium-bodied with very plush, velvety-smooth tannins. It sashays along nicely and, atypically for a 2018, reaches a gentle crescendo toward the linear finish. It is amazing how well this contains the excesses of the growing season and retains the sense of Château Margaux.

Score: 95 - 97

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2060 01 November 2019

Based on 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Château Margaux is a magical, incredibly sexy expression of this Château that sports a dense purple color as well as a thrilling bouquet of blueberries, cassis, acacia flowers, scorched earth, sandalwood, and violets. Incredibly concentrated and full-bodied on the palate, it nevertheless has an almost Burgundian sense of finesse and elegance, with an ethereal texture, silky yet massive amounts of tannins, notable freshness, and brilliant length. The alcohol hit a whopping 14%, which is high by this estate's standards, but everything is flawlessly integrated, the balance is perfect, and I certainly can't find anything that could be better. This 2018 is going to be relatively drinkable at an early age (do your best to hide bottles for 7-8 years) yet last for 75+.

Score: 100

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2028 - 2103 19 July 2021

One of the wines of the vintage on the Left Bank is the 2018 Château Margaux, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot. A thrilling, sensational Margaux that reminds me of the 2015 at this stage, it reveals a saturated purple/blue color as well as heavenly notes of black raspberries, blueberries, cassis, spring flowers, high-class smoke tobacco, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and seamless, it builds incrementally on the palate and carries masses of fine tannins, no hard edges, and awesome purity of fruit. Given its purity, depth of fruit, and texture, it’s going to be approachable with just short-term cellaring, but I suspect it won’t start to hit prime time for at least a decade.

Score: 98 - 100

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 01 January 2019

The 2018 Château Margaux is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, representing 36% of the crop this year. The wine has a pH of 3.8 and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it slowly unfurls to reveal tantalizing scents of crème de cassis, wild blueberries and Black Forest cake with hints of redcurrant jelly, rose oil, dark chocolate and cedar chest plus a touch of star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with opulent black fruit, fragrant earth and floral layers, supported by a rock-solid structure of exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless backbone of freshness, finishing with fantastic length. This is classic Margaux at its most seductive, although it is, rather amazingly, approachable and absolutely delicious right now. But, to enjoy its full glory, you will want to cellar it for at least 6-8 years and then watch it metamorphize over the next 40+ years.

Score: 100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2027 - 2067 16 July 2021

The 2018 Château Margaux is made of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The grand vin represents 36% of the crop this year. The wine has a pH of 3.8 and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it comes prancing out of the glass with energetic Morello cherries, black raspberries and blackberry pie scents plus nuances of fragrant soil, candied violets, lavender, sandalwood, unsmoked cigars and black olives with a gentle wave of cassis and licorice emerging with coaxing. Full-bodied, the palate is charged with the most amazing energy, delivering layer after layer of red and black fruits with tons of earthy nuances, framed by the most exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing with amazing freshness and an extraordinarily long-lingering perfume. Magnificent.

Score: 97 - 100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 23 April 2019

Without doubt an incredible Margaux, although whether it will equal the 2015 remains to be seen. It's less serious than the 2016 but every bit as good, floating above the palate, performing that acrobatic trick that only happens in the really great years. It's silky yet intense and powerful, with sweet, fleshy and succulent raspberry cut through with fresh rosemary and sage that add texture and grip. The menthol side of the Cabernet is already coming through, which suggests the fruit was just perfectly ripe - these are aromatics that you don't get in true heatwave years like 2003. The flavours stretch out, gently gripping and keeping you involved in what is unfurling. Harvested between 17 September and 13 October, with an average yield of 31hl/ha due to both mildew and the concentration of the berries that occured at the end of ripening. The impact was uneven, depending on the vineyard blocks, so yields actually varied between 15 and 50hl/ha. The best plots were the least affected, which means that unusually there is more production in the grand vin and in Pavillon, with less in the third and fourth wines. Final numbers are 36% of production here, 30% in Pavillon Rouge. 83IPT. 100% new oak. 12% press wine. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Score: 98

Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2028-2045 15 April 2019

Château Margaux's 2018 Grand Vin boasts off the charts textural richness and intensity from the very first taste. A huge core of dark fruit, potent, muscular tannins are two of the signatures. Dense and explosive in the glass, with breathtaking concentration, the 2018 is one of the finest Margauxs in recent memory. Lavender, rose petal and spice add striking perfume in this compelling, memorable Grand Vin. In 2018, the Grand Vin represents 36% of the crop and is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Score: 95 - 98

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 April 2019