Amazing 2010! We thought we had reached the summit in 2009, and here it is, equalled in 2010. Moreover, Margaux du Château Margaux benefited from a selection that was unknown in 2009: the least good batches were put together into a fourth wine which was sold loose.
This Margaux du Château Margaux is an honest reflection of the extraordinary quality of the 2010 vintage: complex and deep on the nose, very pure, particularly subtle; the presence in the mouth is dense, rich, tight, very long and fine. The finale is both soft, fresh and very aromatic. This wine is already very pleasant to drink but far from having reached its peak. It’s the best vintage produced to date.
Margaux
Climate
Winter was quite cold and dry, causing some delay in the budding. Mixed weather conditions in the spring made the flowering process uneven and caused a little coulure in some of the older Merlot plots. Yet, as always, the great terroirs appear to have set their own agenda and ignored the vagaries of the weather, enjoying a fast and homogenous flowering process with perfect results. Then again, the Cabernet Sauvignon, which is so well suited to these lands, is not very prone to coulure.
From the end of June until the last grapes were harvested in October, we experienced, once again, the type of drought typical of great Bordeaux vintages. Indeed, while on the one hand, the vines were spared any excess of water, thereby preventing unwanted foliage, they benefited from just enough moisture to favour ripening as well as enhance concentration in the grapes.
While the 2010 weather conditions were reminiscent of 2009 and 2005, vintages are never completely alike. The summer of 2010 was as dry as 2009, yet cooler. The absence of extreme heat combined with cool nights compensated for the drought and probably allowed some of the great terroirs’ young plants to reach a new quality threshold. It also favoured the aromatic character in all grape varieties, particularly in Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet and enabled the maintenance of excellent acidity levels – the perfect foil for high levels of alcohol. (The picking began on 22nd September)