Winemaker Notes
Blend: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Subdued aromatics on the attack. Brambles, tannins and liquorice abound, this is good quality but not jumping out of the glass and the austere side of 2017 is dominant right now. Well built, and this is one that I suggest giving a full eight years in bottle before getting into its drinking window.
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James Suckling
A floral and lightly spicy red with redcurrant undertones. Medium-bodied with firm, silky tannins that are polished and poised. Give it time to open. Shows depth and intensity at the end. Try after 2022.
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Wine Enthusiast
This fruity wine will bring out black-currant flavors along with spice. The tannins are already soft leaving just a dry core to this balanced wine. Drink from 2024.
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Wine Spectator
Caressing in feel, with a silky structure underneath layers of warm plum, blackberry and black cherry puree flavors. Subtle black tea and alder notes curl around the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Prieure-Lichine is scented of crushed blackberries, black cherries and roses with touches of cloves, cinnamon and dusty earth. The palate is medium-bodied with plenty of flesh, textured by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long.
Barrel Sample: 88-90+
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.