Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wonderful complexity of fruit on the nose, with sweet tobacco, cherries, dried strawberries and flowers. Full body with well-integrated tannins and a complex finish. Ultra-fine tannins. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Finely structured, this has become an impressive wine, gaining in intensity as it develops. The tannins are powerful but come from concentrated fruit as much as from wood. It is becoming a powerhouse of ripe flavors. This is a wine that shows how Malescot St-Exupéry is joining the top ranks in Margaux.
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Wine Spectator
Complex aromas of truffle, blackberry and flowers follow through to a full body, with supersilky tannins and a long, polished, caressing finish. Superrefined and pretty.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted at the property as part of a vertical tasting, the 2006 Château Malescot St Exupery is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 4% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, picked between 25 September and 12 October. It has a detailed, quite mineral-driven bouquet with blood orange scents infusing the red berry fruit, the oak neatly integrated. The palate is well balanced with edgy red berry fruit on the entry, a stoniness underneath, a Margaux of the earth not the air. Correct and linear, with good depth and ample freshness, it actually reminds me of Brane Cantenac in style and the salinity on the finish is just wonderful. Returning after 30 minutes, you notice the acidity coming through more and more, though it is in sync with the fruit. This is a delightful Margaux to enjoy over the next 10-15 years. Tasted March 2016.
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.