I tasted the Grand Vin of Chateau Margaux along its two second wines: Pavillon Blanc & Pavillon Rouge.
Pavillon Rouge 2012 is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and some Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Chateau Margaux 2012 is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and a bit of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
I first blind tasted the two wines with a friend to see if the Grand Vin stood out. I got it right, but I didn’t find the differences between the first and second wine to be overwhelming. For sure not in a 1 to 3 proportion as the price.
The Grand Vin has a stronger but at the same time more elegant aroma, in the mouth it displays more body and the aftertaste is longer, but everything marginally so.
Neither red wine impressed us. We will taste the two bottles we have left in 7-10 years to see if more differences will develop.
The wine that really excited us was the Pavillon Blanc 2012. We already tasted this 100% Sauvignon Blanc a couple of years ago and I published a post on January 1, 2018. Comparing those notes with today experience I find the wine pretty similar to two years ago. Still very young, rich and refreshing. What keeps impressing me since I first tasted it en primeur directly at Chateau Margaux is the never-ending persistence. Unfortunately, this was the second and last bottle we had.
Chateau Margaux is one of the most imposing Chateau of the Médoc. Since 1977 it is owned by the Greek family Mentzelopoulos. André Mentzelopoulos, who bought the property, made his fortune first in the Far East by importing and exporting cereals and then in France with grocery stores. His daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos, in the 1990s found an associate in the Agnelli family, who sold her the shares back in 2003, after Gianni Agnelli’s death.
I bought these wines en primeur and I paid 378 CHF, 117 CHF and 150 CHF respectively.
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Type: Red
Vintage: 2012
Producer: Château Margaux
Price range: Luxury (>100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5