Chateau Margaux 2021

JAMES SUCKLING: "The purity of fruit here is terrific, with redcurrants, blackcurrants, licorice, lead pencil and hints of fresh basil—so aromatic—that follow through to a full body with creamy, round tannins and lots of volume and fluidity in the center-palate for the vintage. Very structured at the end. 87% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Leave this for at least five or six years. Try after 2030."

WEINWISSER: "Der Château Margaux 2021 verfügt über eine superintensive, dunkle, viskose Farbe. Sehr komplett und vollreif präsentiert sich dieser jugendliche Margaux würzig wuchtig und offensiv. Seine feine, differenzierte Nase wirkt sehr komplett und lässt keinen Zweifel an seiner Klasse. Dicht und extrem fein zeigt er im Mund unglaubliche Tiefe und große Struktur. Vielschichtig und mit grandioser, perfekt integrierter Gerbstoffausbeute kommt wieder das Wort ‚komplett‘ zum Tragen. Denn dieser Grand Vin zeigt keinerlei Anstalten von Kleinwüchsigkeit, auch wenn der Jahrgang generell eher als schwach angesehen wird. Eine Fehleinschätzung. Zudem sind die 13.1 Vol.-% Alkohol angenehm trinkfreudig und seine salzig-mineralische Struktur verspricht ewig frisch zu bleiben. Sehr intensiv, komplex und energiegeladen ist 2021 auch wieder ein großer Margaux gelungen. Beeindruckend in jeder Hinsicht."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "It is the blackberry fruits that leap from the glass in this fine wine. Its structure is there, but in a way that is so elegant. The wood tannins give structure and layers of concentration. The wine is juicy with black-currant flavors giving great density of freshness. Drink from 2028."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Dunkle Frucht, schwarze Beeren und Kirschen, etwas Edelholz, süße Gewürze, etwas Wacholder, Mandarinenzesten, facettenreiches Bukett. Saftig, elegant, reife Herzkirschen, feine, seidige Tannine, kompakte Mineralität, salziger Nachhall, gute Balance, zeigt Länge und Potenzial, bereits sehr zugänglich, ein delikater Begleiter bei Tisch, gefällt durch Finesse, nicht durch Wucht."

JEB DUNNUCK: "In the running for the wine of the vintage, the 2021 Château Margaux is stunning in its concentration, depth, purity, and length. Pure cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as graphite, ripe tobacco, and spicy oak all define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, ultra-fine, building tannins, and a gorgeous finish. The style actually reminds me slightly of the 1996, and while it offers pleasure even today, it deserves 5-7 years of bottle age and will evolve for 20-30 years gracefully. It's a classic Château Margaux. The blend is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, aged all in new French oak."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Chateau Margaux has a pH of 3.65. This year the first wine is 36% of the total production. It has a deep garnet-purple color and after a swirl or two it shoots from the glass with vibrant scents of blackcurrant jelly, fresh blackberries, and violets, leading to touches of pencil shavings, garrigue, and cloves. The medium-bodied palate is so plush and lively, delivering a quiet intensity of fragrant black fruit, finishing on a lingering mineral note."

DECANTER: "Lovely soft floral aromatics, pretty and perfumed with red cherries, raspberries and blackcurrants, some liquorice and toasty hints. Round and smooth, silky yet concentrated, there's a fleshy aspect to the fruit and texture while a lean core of salty minerality and high acidity keeps things straight and direct. It's a little reserved now, but this is suave, playful and sharp, full of energy and texture but not yet at the charming, graceful stage and a little atypical for the vintage. The estate picked late, bled the wine more to keep the structure and the result is mouthfilling and succulent, with Margaux charm."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2021 Château Margaux saw a traditional élevage in new barrels, with bottling in July, and as readers will remember, it's a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that benefited from late picking, appreciable percentages of saignée, and a strict selection. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis, blueberries and raspberries mingled with hints of licorice, white flowers and charcoal, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a broad attack, lively purity and sweet structuring tannins, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. It's a classic that will richly reward bottle age."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Fragrant and floral with violet and peony notes. Clean and direct on attack, mid-palate weight and drive on the finish. Low-key but refined tannic frame. Super-length and persistence. Discreet but elegant, if less substance than a wine scoring 18 or higher."