Winemaker Notes
Drinking this Classified Growth is indeed a special event.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A big, ripe chocolate-flavored wine with spice, new wood and a smooth, polished character. It is rich, with black currant jelly flavors, but this richness is balanced with a lively freshness and subtlety in its tannins. The finish is long, the flavors echoing the perfumes on the nose.
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James Suckling
Very pure fruit in this wine with flowers and red fruits such as raspberries on the nose and palate. It?s full-bodied with fine tannins and a fresh finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet in color with a touch of brick, the 2006 Rauzan-Ségla gives up dusty earth, sandalwood, cigar and Indian spices scents with a core of mincemeat pie, prunes and dried mulberries plus a waft of dried roses. Medium-bodied, firm and chewy, it has bags of freshness supporting the muscular core of evolved, spicy fruit, finishing minerally. The blend this year is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 21st and October 7th, at an average yield of 52 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 50% new. The alcohol is 13%.
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Wine Spectator
Raspberry, violet and blueberry on the nose. Full-bodied, with soft, refined tannins and a long finish. Such finesse and precision. Best from 2014 through 2020.
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.