Bordeaux 2018: Margaux MW Institute Tasting
The Margaux appellation is large and heterogeneous. This variety comes through in the wines in 2018. A hot year with wildly shifting conditions – first wet and humid, then dry and hot – is complex enough and likely to yield variation. When translated across a wide variety of soils [clay, sand and gravel] it adds another dimension of complexity. For me classic Margaux is defined by enticing perfume, purity of fruit and velvet tannins. In that respect Château Margaux itself alongside Château Brane-Cantenac and Château d’Issan lead the pack with these characteristics in spades in 2018. Not a hint of vintage heat in these wines, just layered, cool blackcurrant fruit tones. I’d have expected Château Palmer and Château Rauzan-Ségla to be in this set too, but they were not represented at the MW tasting. I’ve previously been a fan of both Château Giscours and Château du Tertre, but neither impressed greatly on the day. Château Lascombes and Château Cantenac Brown were comfortably the next best wines. The former is typically opulent and saturated, the latter inky and structured. Neither are classic Margaux as identified above, but they will be bold, satisfying glasses of wine for sure.