Winemaker Notes
The structured and dynamic Cabernet Sauvignon grapes provided the balance for the Merlot, which was rich in alcohol. The color is deep and brilliant. Black fruit with great aromatic power comes through with an elegant mouth-feel. The richness and complexity of the Margaux terroir are expressed in the most perfect way in this King Cabernet vintage, demonstrating the pertinence of the technical approach adopted by the Ballande family over the last 20 years.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine shows the generous richness of the vintage while restraining it with fine tannins and pure black-currant acidity. The structure and fruits promise long-term aging. Drink this wine from 2027.
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Decanter
Power, character and succulence abound with well-handled cassis and damson fruits. This is good-quality with chocolate shavings, silky tannins and a heavily spiced finish. 45% new oak. Drinking Window 2026 - 2042
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James Suckling
Blackberry with white-pepper and some tile undertones on the nose. It’s full-bodied with tight, chewy tannins yet so beautifully polished and composed. Lingering finish. This needs time to soften and come together. Best after 2024.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Château Prieure-Lichine is terrific and certainly a step up over past vintages. Pure black and blue fruits, spring flowers, violets, and cedarwood notes all emerge from the glass, and it's medium to full-bodied, elegant and nicely focused on the palate, with a solid sense of freshness and purity. With moderate tannin's, terrific overall balance, and outstanding length, it's a beautiful wine. It already offers pleasure with a decant yet should hit prime time in 4-5 years and keep for 15-20 years. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, brought up in 45% new French oak.
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Wine Spectator
Solid, with warm dark plum, currant and bitter cherry flavors, wrapped in singed cedar, vanilla and coffee notes. The toast is a bit overt on the finish.
Barrel Sample: 89-92 Points -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Prieure-Lichine sings of black raspberries, kirsch and fresh red and black currants, followed by hints of powdered cinnamon, lilacs and bouquet garni. The medium-bodied palate is delicately played with bags of freshness and a soft texture framing the red berry and spicy layers, finishing with an herbal lift.
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.