Château Margaux 2025

Château Margaux is a Premier Grand Cru of the Médoc, classified at the top in 1855 and farmed on the deep gravel banks that define the appellation. Those gravel soils drain freely and store daytime heat, pushing the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon to full maturity while the poor, stony ground keeps yields low and concentration high. Vines average around thirty-five years, their deep roots drawing a consistent, restrained character from the subsoil. The blend is led by Cabernet Sauvignon for structure and cassis, with Merlot for flesh, Cabernet Franc for aromatic lift and a little Petit Verdot for colour and spine. Ageing runs to twenty-two months in French oak barrels, where measured oxygen ingress through the wood resolves the firm young tannins and adds cedar, fine spice and a thread of cocoa without masking the fruit. The colour is deep ruby. The nose is layered, with red currant, dark plum, violet, tobacco and graphite. The palate is structured and long, the tannins firm but finely grained, closing savoury and persistent. This is a wine for the cellar. Serve at 17 degrees and decant well ahead, with rare beef or lamb.