CHATEAU MARGAUX 2006 - Margaux - 1er Grand Cru Classe - France - Red Wine

Country : France
Region : Bordeaux - Margaux
Type : Red
Year : 2006
Volume : 75 cl


WINEMAKER NOTES :This wine has an extraordinary aromatic finesse, a tannic richness and a particularly dense and tight-knit texture. The finish is very long, fresh and lively, a little bit firm but already packed with flavor. Such balance is a brilliant expression of Chateau Margaux's noble terroir.

WINE CRITICS 95 points Decanter Outer quote mark Plenty of tannins still in play, and it is dense, powerful and reserved even at 15 years old. The tertiary notes of cedar, charcoal and crushed mint are just hints at this point, with the purity of Cabernet Sauvignon's cassis and bilberry fruits very much in the lead. First time that so little Merlot made it into the final blend, which no doubt also explains why the overall construction of the wine is so architectural and firm. Long drawn out finish, with higher acidity than the other wines in this lineup, with brilliant estate signature of precise peony and violet aromatics. (JA) Inner quote mark (6/2021)

95 points Wine Enthusiast
Outer quote mark This is not a big Château Margaux, its style showing more elegance and discretion. The tannins are soft, although producing a dense web that lies underneath the black currant and plum fruit flavors. It is a wine that envelops the mouth, an edge of firmness over velvet fruit textures. The wine floats away slowly on the close. (RV) Inner quote mark (3/2009)

94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Outer quote mark Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London.The 2006 Château Margaux has a sense of airiness and wonderful definition on the nose: wild strawberry, redcurrant, cedar and crushed roses soaring from the glass, but it never strives for the opulence of say the 2006 Château Palmer. The palate is very well balanced with fine and quite firm tannin in the mouth. This seems to be approaching its plateau after a decade. While not a powerful or ostentatious Château Margaux, it epitomizes understatement and refinement in a similar vein to Lafite-Rothschild. It is only after the wine has been swallowed that you appreciate its qualities and you feel urged to go back for another sip. (NM) Inner quote mark (5/2016)

92 points Wine Spectator
Outer quote mark On the taut, sinewy side, with cedar and sandalwood notes framing the core of red currant, bitter cherry and damson plum fruit. Offers a lovely singed feel through the finish, with a gentle perfumy edge. Despite the tannic profile of the vintage in general, this is all charm and hitting its stride now. (JM) Inner quote mark (11/2014)

ABOUT HISTORY & WINERY : 1855 THE OFFICIAL CLASSIFICATION
Empereur Napoléon III paid an important service to the great red wines of the Médoc by organising in Paris, in 1855, the Second Universal Exhibition. It was an occasion for him to glorify French products, among which were the prestigious Médoc wines. He wanted the wines to be presented in the form of a classification. A blind tasting was organised in Paris which led to this official classification of 1855. It divided about sixty Médoc growths, and a property in the Graves, into five quality levels.

Four growths were classified “Premier Grand Cru Classé”; only Margaux was marked twenty out of twenty. This classification, which maintains its validity today, confirmed the qualitative hierarchy illustrated by the great price differences that had been practiced on the world market for a long time. In the XVIII century, the “first growths” were already being sold at twice the price of the “second growths”. Moreover, the 1855 classification succeeded over other more informal classification attempts like that of Thomas Jefferson in the XVIII century. Under the Second Empire, there’s little to say other than Bordeaux experienced a truly golden age, thanks to the building of a railway to Paris, but also thanks to the rapid expansion of commerce, facilitated by the agreements of free exchange inspired by the liberal ideas of the Emperor. It’s certain that Napoléon III had a lot to do with the upturn of Bordeaux viticulture.

TWO CENTURIES OF ARCHITECTURE IN TRIBUTE TO A GREAT WINE Château Margaux’s history and renown stem equally from the intrinsic genius of the place as from the contributions made by the various people who have served it for five centuries. But there has probably not been an owner who has played such a decisive role, in such a short time, as André Mentzelopoulos, who purchased the Estate in 1977 and who would have been 100 years old today.
200 years ago, the Marquis de la Colonilla made his mark on the Estate through the construction, in honour of the wine, of a great architectural legacy inspired by Ancient Greece. The architect Louis Combes designed the Château’s peristyle as a tribute to the Parthenon – my father felt so much pride and joy at the sight of these Ionic columns which reminded him of his beloved Greece. Over 160 years later, my father in turn took the necessary steps to reclaim, in barely three years, the prestige that Château Margaux had lost during the long crisis that had struck Bordeaux’s wines.

TODAY At the beginning of the XXI century, Bordeaux wines are experiencing unprecedented success. The whole world seems to have their eyes riveted on Bordeaux, where the demand for these great wines never stops growing. This prosperity, as well as the rapid expansion of other regions in the world, has placed Château Margaux in a more competitive climate, and also allowed the underlining of its unique position: that of a First Growth classified in 1855, enjoying a terroir that has been shaped by the passing centuries.
But there is no room for it to rest on its laurels – it would be tedious to enumerate all the investments carried out in the property since 1977. It’s about being at the top of its inheritance, but never ceasing to question in order to improve and perfect that which can still be done, in acknowledgement of the heritage of Château Margaux.

The commercialisation, in 2013, of a third wine in order to improve further the quality of our first and second wines, the numerous trials that have been carried out over the last ten years, by our Research and Development department, in particular the observation of the response of the vines and the wine to biodynamics, and the establishment of an authentication system for our bottles are all examples of recent progress, worthy of the history of Château Margaux whilst ceaselessly progressing so as never to disappoint the enthusiasts of the whole world.

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