Château Margaux 1990

Margaux

First growth of Médoc

France - - Red wine

75 cl - 12.5% vol.

Price/btl: €1,102.80 inc. VAT

This wine is currently in stock in our cellar

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Press review

Château - Commentaire # web (12/1/2008)

After a mild winter, the flowering was very early but quite long and uneven. As in 1989, the summer was exceptionally hot and so dry that at the end of August the young vines were really suffering from lack of water. The two rainy intervals in September were very beneficial to the final ripening of the grapes, which were harvested in very fine weather. The harvest lasted almost a month, as the Cabernets ripened much later than the Merlot. We even interrupted the picking for 10 days at the end of September to let the Cabernet finish ripening. Luck was on our side, as the weather was exceptionally good. 1990 was the third in a run of very fine vintages, with 1988 and 1989. After the classic 1988 and the rich, opulent 1989, the 1990 immediately caused great excitement with its charm and great finesse. It is hard to believe that two years with quite similar vine growing conditions produced two wines with such different characteristics ! But maybe these conditions were not as similar as they appeared. Who knows what influence a few days' heatwave may have, or what an apparently unwelcome shower or a lengthy period of drought can do ? The wines of the 1990 vintage, whether Merlot, Cabernets or Petit Verdot, were immediately outstandingly attractive, rich and tender, tight-grained but soft, with enticing fruit flavours. Today, all the aromas and flavours already mingle sweetly together into this wine, whose perfect harmony conceals a power comparable with 1989. It is enjoyable now, as it was, in fact, shortly after its bottling. It will surely continue to be so over the next twenty or thirty years. What more can we ask?

Falstaff # 6/2003 (11/1/2003) : 97

Jean-Marc Quarin # web (6/1/2005) : 18,75/20 (97/100) Maturity: -2030

The colours are very similar, both dark and intense for Margaux and Latour. MARGAUX is really totally different. The wine is more elongated on the palate, not as opulent, but most clearly, it is less broad. Here, bliss is due to the subtle nuances. Not that there it lacks power, but it is not exuberant as in Latour. And really, I do like this kind of wine; just when you think it is about to drop away, it comes back by surprise; without warning it starts to spread out and overtake the palate without ever seeming tannic or powerful. Privately, I think that this is precisely the magic of a great gravel terroir. Similar to a long distance sprinter who accelerates in the ultimate straight line, Chateau Margaux 1990 shows up with an impressive long finish during the last moments of the tasting. It takes over Chateau Latour. The gorgeous and solid tannic fabric melts in the mouth before leaving free play to the aromas, in a grand Bourgogne style. Spectacular length, probably enhanced by the contrast with the very different style of Latour, which is all power in mid-palate.

Parker # #183 (6/30/2009) : 100 Maturity: -2027

I had this wine both in Seoul, Korea in February, and from my cellar in December, 2008, and it was remarkable how identical the wines smelled and tasted. It offers an extraordinary aromatic display of spring flowers, camphor, sweet red and black fruits, a hint of licorice, and no evidence of its 100% new oak cask aging. Round and generous with low acidity, but an opulent, full-bodied richness that is fresh with laser-like precision, this stunning wine is just beginning to reach its plateau of full maturity, where it should remain for another three decades. A sensational effort, it is one of the legendary wines made at Chateau Margaux.

Wine Spectator (6/30/2001) : 99

Dark color. Cigar, tobacco and ripe fruit aromas. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins. Very concentrated. Superb. Long, long finish. Big and powerful. Plenty in reserve but delicious now. I normally prefer the 1989 Margaux, but this is great.

The property in brief

1st classified growth in 1855. The château, already known in the 12th century under the name La Mothe de Margaux, started only to resemble to what it is today when the Lestonnac family took it over in 1572 and undertook important restructurations. By the end of the 17th century, Château Margaux already covered 265 hectares (654 acres). At the beginning of the 18th century the estate manager Berlon was the first to vinify red grapes and white grapes separately and understood the importance of terroir. In 1810, a Basque, Bertrand Douat, Marquis de la Colonilla, owner since 1801, built the neo-palladian style residence of Margaux and the cellars which we still admire today. After several successions of owners, the Ginestet family bought the chateau in 1950 after being obliged by the serious economic crises to sell it in 1977 to André Mentzelopoulos, a Greek at the head of the grocery shops Félix Potin. André Mentzelopoulos sensed the opportunity and invested massively without expecting any immediate return in a market that was still depressed and a few years away from the new golden age for Bordeaux at the end of the 20th century. He made spectacular moves: in the vineyard, where better drainage was introduced and new plantations made; in the cellars, under the supervision of the oenologist Emile Peynaud, Pavillon Rouge was reintroduced with a considerable increase in selection; new oak barrels were used to age the wine, plans were drawn up for the first great cellar in the region to be built underground (a technical feat), and Pavillon Blanc was redefined. In the château and its outbuildings, under the supervision of the inspectors for Historic Monuments (Margaux is a classified monument), the reconstitution of the architectural heritage and the renovation of the interior were carried out. All of this was done with deep respect for the existing structures and with the determined aim of allowing the terroir to express its fabulous qualities. Since his death in 1980, his daughter Corinne Mentzelopoulos has been managing the estate and pursuing the investment program of her father.