Winemaker Notes
The 2024 vintage is characterized by its suppleness and balance. Refined and graceful, the resulting wine is approachable while holding great ageing potential. A vintage that captivates with its freshness and purity, it remains true to the expression of its terroir.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
This wine does not include the blanket 10% tariff imposed in April 2025. When the wines are shippable in fall of 2027, customers will have the option to pay any tariff in place at the time or to keep their wines stored in a temperature-controlled facility free of charge in France.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This vintage shows lovely minerality and excellent red currants, red cherries and stones. Such vibrancy, youthfulness and energy. Not a wine of immense depth, but I like the chalky tannins that provide vibration and length. Mostly cabernet sauvignon with merlot, malbec and petit verdot.
Barrel Sample: 94-95 -
Decanter
Dark chocolate, blackcurrant leaf. Some savoury wet earth, chocolate tobacco elements and some crushed stones aromatics. Chewy, bright and tangy - this has a good fleshy aspect with concentrated fruit and lifted aromas. Clean and focused with blueberry and some red cherry with black chocolate and liquorice aspects too. It’s svelte for sure, but refined with super fine tannins and an overall sense of charm. There’s juiciness all the way to the finish too which is great. 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot complete the blend. 3.20pH. 50% new oak.
Barrel Sample: 94 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2024 Château Issan is composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34.5% Merlot, and small amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Offering notes of currants, spice, cedar pencil, and spring flowers, it's medium-bodied and ultra-pure on the palate, with fine-grained tannins and a finesse-driven style. The balance here is spot on.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Vinous
The 2024 d'Issan is pretty closed in on itself. Issan is usually a showier wine at this stage, but the 2024 is decidedly virile, almost somber in feel. Floral, spice and earthy notes open with some coaxing, and yet the Grand Vin is only showing a fraction of what it has to offer. I do admire its strong character, however. The 2024 will be a fascinating Issan to follow. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 92-94
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.