Winemaker Notes
Blend: 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blueberries and stone with some dried-flower notes. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, silky tannins and a medium finish. Linear and refined with a very fine line of tannins running through it. Better after 2023.
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Decanter
Starts out strongly, attractive high fruit aromatics on the nose, acidity a touch sharp but they do a great job of balancing it with plush well-expressed plum and cassis fruit, carefully placed with elegance and poise.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Malescot St. Exupery is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot aged in French oak, 70% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it is redolent of warm red and black currants, kirsch and raspberry pie on the nose with floral wafts, tobacco and wild sage in the background plus a hint of pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, it is packed with expressive red and black fruits and is velvety and refreshing, finishing long.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a fruit-driven wine, packed with a strong black-currant character and bright acidity. The tannins are light, though they lend ample structure for medium-term aging. It is more about freshness and attractive fruit. Drink from 2023.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Wine Spectator
The plum and cassis notes are pure and fresh, carried by a polished structure, while aromatic black tea, violet, bergamot and alder elements hang in the background. Very stylish and nicely rendered for the vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2033.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A ripe, fleshy wine, with lots of ripe blackberry and black raspberry notes, the 2017 Chateau Malescot Saint-Exupery comes from a site in the heart of Margaux and 45-year-old vines planted in deep, gravelly soils. Nicely textured and medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has ripe tannins and a great finish. A blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot brought up in 70% new oak, drink this juicy, fresh yet nicely textured wine over the coming 15-20 years. Michel Rolland also consults here, and this estate consistently produces outstanding wines.
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.