Winemaker Notes
Blend: 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 1%Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Ferrière is a very shy, reticent wine. It has good depth, but all its energy is presently directed inward. Blue fruit, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice and mocha open with a bit of coaxing, but the 2021 needs time. Cabernet Sauvignon is elevated in this year's blend, and it shows in the wine's flavor profile and overall feel. Yields were just 24 hectoliters-per-hectare. –Antonio Galloni
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Wine Enthusiast
This has ripe nutmeg and black-currant freshness. Concentrated from old vines with great acidity, the wine gives intense fruits and freshness at the end.
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James Suckling
This is very classy and refined, with hints of sandalwood, blackcurrant and mineral aromas and flavors. Medium body. Crunchy and delicious. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Delicious now but better in a year or two.
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Decanter
Dark blackcurrant, plum and soft perfume aspects on the nose. So juicy on the palate, really high acidity but it's sweet and softly high toned. The acidity is giving some sharpness to the fruit at this point but there is enough concentration and density to balance it while still giving the structure and overall freshness alongside nuances of dark chocolate, perfume and liquorice. Usually Ferrière has 25% Merlot, this year just 13%, so the 81% Cabernet Sauvignon is doing most of the talking, giving a lifted menthol feel, firm tannins and an effortlessly long finish. This has energy and verve, it's fruit forward and upfront. I love the signature here. 1% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 62% grand vin, in 2020 it was 68%. 12.5% press wine. 18 months ageing, 40% new oak, 40% one year and 20% in amphora.
Barrel Sample: 92 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Offering up notes of cherries, dark berries, charcoal and petroleum jelly, the 2021 Ferrière is medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with an impressively round, generous profile for the vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon represents an unusually high proportion (81%) of the blend.
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.