Winemaker Notes
Blend: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot
The Barrel Sample for this wine is above 14% ABV.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
I've been thoroughly enjoying the work that they are doing at Marquis d'Alesme in recent vintages and this very much continues the success. Sappy, juicy, well defined raspberry and blackberry fruits, concentrated in all the right places, with a saline finish that is both mouthwatering and moreish. Winemaker Marjolaine de Coninck has steered the property through the heat of the summer and got the balance just right.
Barrel Sample: 94 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Château Marquis D'Alesme is terrific and a good follow-up to the brilliant 2018. Sporting a deep ruby/purple hue, it gives up a great nose of ripe darker cherries, blackberries, mulberries, leafy herbs, cedar pencil, and violets. This is followed by a medium to full-bodied Margaux with a rich, fleshy, expansive mouthfeel, polished tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish. I'm not sure it will make terribly old bones, but it shines for its purity of fruit as well as its terrific overall balance and purity. As I wrote from barrel, it's one of those pretty, elegant wines that still packs rocking levels of fruit! Drink it any time over the coming 15-20 years. Best After 2022
-
James Suckling
A big, juicy red with lots of blackberry and chocolate character to the fruit, as well as juicy and chewy tannins. It shows plenty of backbone and stuffing.
Barrel Sample: 93-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Marquis d'Alesme has tuned out well, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berry fruit, wood smoke, licorice and sweet soil tones. Medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless, it's supple and charming, with a succulent core of fruit, powdery tannins and fine length. Best After 2025
-
Wine Spectator
Shows roasted plum and ganache notes, along with pure cassis and cherry compote flavors -- hallmarks of the vintage. Features a refined alder-laced structure, with the finish allowing a curl of black tea in for added range. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2029.
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.