Château Margaux

Since the 17th Century, the first wine of Château Margaux has been recognised as being one of the greatest wines in the entire world.

The pursuit of excellence has always led Château Margaux to produce a second wine, which took the name of Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux in 1908. Our demands have never ceased to strengthen and led to the creation of a third batch of wine as from 1997. Over the years, the selection has become more and more rigorous, thus improving the quality of Pavillon Rouge and consequently, that of the third wine. The exceptional quality of the 2009 vintage and our wish to take advantage of it, have enabled us to produce a third wine of a standard never previously attained. It seemed a pity to us to sell it in bulk as we had done until then… We aged it in barrels with the same care as Pavillon Rouge and bottled it after fifteen months, thus giving birth to the first vintage of Margaux du Château Margaux. Of course, the production of this wine being limited, Margaux du Château Margaux will only be available at first in a small selection of restaurants within Château Margaux’s traditional markets : in France and the United Kingdom since September 2013 and will become available in Japan and the United States between now and the beginning of 2014.

The production of a second wine probably goes back to the beginning of the XVII century because it is inseparable from the search for excellence which started at that time. Sold under the name of “Château Margaux 2nd wine”, it took its permanent name of Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux in 1908. After an eclipse between the thirties and the mid-seventies, its production restarted on the arrival of André Mentzelopoulos in 1977 and at first greatly increased in order to improve the quality of the first wine. From the mid – 1990s, the creation of a third wine in its turn, allowed for a more and more rigorous selection for Pavillon Rouge. For a few years now, a third of the harvest has gone into the first wine, barely 30% into the Pavillon Rouge, and the remainder is divided between the third and fourth wines. The quality of Pavillon Rouge has become very close to that of the first wine because all the plots involved contributed to the blending of Château Margaux not so long ago. Of course there isn’t the same complexity, the same depth, the same “magic” but the flavours are close and the balance in the mouth leads to the same subtle senses of power and softness. In general it is ready to drink a little earlier whilst retaining an excellent potential to age largely beyond 30 or 40 years.

White wine production at Château Margaux goes back to the end of the XVII century. The cellar master at that time recounts how he was one of the first to separate the white grapes from the red during the vinification. Sold in the XIX century under the name « Château Margaux vin de sauvignon », it has existed under the brand name « Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux » since 1920 and its label has not changed since that date. The eleven-hectare vineyard is composed only of Sauvignon Blanc. It is situated on a very old plot of the Estate that had long since been planted with red vines and then been dug up because of the high risk of spring frosts. Production techniques, as well as the selection have been completely reviewed since the years 2009/2010 in order to reach a higher level of excellence; only 1/3 of the harvest is bottled, the remaining 2/3 is sold loose. So the quantity of Pavillon Blanc has been greatly reduced and isn’t more than one thousand cases. Today it benefits from the new wine cellar’s ultra-modern installations designed by Norman Foster. The finesse, complexity, richness and the length in the mouth of Pavillon Blanc are incomparable for a wine produced from 100% Sauvignon. The very latest vintages, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 in particular, have opened up new horizons in quality, ageing capacity and style which has become more mineral and much more complex. A significant part of the harvest is bottled in magnums which create optimum ageing conditions.