Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2020 Chateau Marquis De Terme clearly a step up and is based on 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot. Aged all in once-used oak for 16 months, it has a pure bouquet of cassis, violets, chocolate, and toasted spices. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows the pure, focused, elegant style of the vintage, has ultra-fine tannins, and outstanding length. It's one of the finest wines from this estate I've tasted, and the quality here continues to skyrocket. Best After 2028.
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James Suckling
This has aromas of graphite, blackcurrants, blackberries, walnuts and mint chocolate. It’s focused and full-bodied with a frame of polished, firm tannins. All wonderfully integrated and persistent. Firm and fine. Try after 2025.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine has a definite firm structure with its initial dry tannins. Slowly the black fruits seep through to promise balance, richness in structure and fruits for the future.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Marquis de Terme sports a deep garnet-purple color and pronounced notes of blackcurrant cordial, blackberry preserves and kirsch, plus suggestions of bay leaves, forest floor, black truffles and hoisin. The medium-bodied palate is soft and juicy, delivering a good amount of ripe black fruits without heaviness, finishing with a spicy kick.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Wine Spectator
Frankly ripe, this extroverted version brims with warmed boysenberry, açaí and blackberry puree supported by singed sandalwood, black tea and violet notes along the way. Broad, velvety finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now.
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.