2015 Chateau Margaux Hommage a Paul Pontallier

Château Margaux’s roots date back almost a millennium, where history and terroir intertwine to create a masterpiece of taste. From its royal beginnings to its modern innovations, Château Margaux embodies the very essence of Bordeaux winemaking.

In the 12th century, and "La Mothe de Margaux" stands as a haven reserved for royalty. While vineyards had yet to grace its grounds, the Lestonnac family initiated the transformation. Under Pierre de Lestonnac's guidance, from 1572 to 1582, the property evolved from grain to grape, setting the stage for the Château Margaux we admire today.

As history unfolded, Château Margaux evolved. The iconic Louis Combes-designed chateau, a masterpiece of neo-palladian architecture, stood as a testament to elegance and functionality. Through recessions and phylloxera's adversity, the spirit endured. Ownership shifted, innovations emerged, and partnerships flourished, all culminating in the monumental 2009 vintage and the renovation of the cellars in 2015. 

Château Margaux is more than a wine, it's an embodiment of elegance, a symphony of flavors. It marries purity of fruit, harmony, and finesse. This wine, rich and full-bodied, beckons with notes of cassis, truffle, and violets, evoking a passion for excellence that transcends time.

Château Margaux has a long storied history, one of the owners was even beheaded by guillotine in the French Revolution, and today, the Estate is currently in the best shape it has ever been, producing what is probably the best wine it has ever produced.

Aging: 20 months in Frech oak barrels, 100% new.

87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
See Critical Reviews for detailed tasting notes.

The concentration is stunning, with a fruit structure that is darker, tighter and more insistent than Pavillon. It's so fresh, there is an opulence here, a dense silkiness to the tannins that is fleshed out across the palate, building to a big finish with menthol freshness. This is classically-styled Margaux with aromatic acrobatics and tannins so fine that the stitching is seamless and perfectly pulled together. Even though extremely ripe, there is freshness too - the acidity measures 3.6pH. The 100% new oak is barely perceptible even now, fresh out of the cask. One to savour over the long term. ~100 Decanter

The grand vin is the 2015 Château Margaux and it’s as good a wine as I’ve ever tasted. Coming from just over one-third of the total production and a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot, brought up in 100% new French oak, its deep ruby/purple-tinged color is followed by a thrilling bouquet of crème de cassis, toasted spice, hints of toasty oak, and cedar wood. Incredibly elegant and finesse-driven, yet packed with fruit, depth, richness, and structure, it has as much class as you can fit inside a glass. While the vintage provides plenty of upfront charm, this is a wine to cellar for at least a decade, and enjoy over the following 40+ years. ~100 Jeb Dunnuck

This is a haunting young wine that shows you a subtle and hidden strength on the nose with rose petals, currants, currant leaves, stones and plums. Wonderful ripeness yet brightness, too. Takes your breath away with the intensity and structure. Full-bodied, powerful and muscular, yet there's an agile undertone to the whole thing. Compact and condensed. A new legend for Margaux. ~100 James Suckling

Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine shows a wonderful black-currant purity on the palate, along with intense, vibrant acidity. The background is all tannin, which speaks to its aging potential. This wine is the last vintage produced by Paul Pontallier, who was general manager from 1990 until his death in 2016. It's a memorable wine and one for aging. ~100 Wine Enthusiast

Medium garnet-purple colored, the nose features oh-so-seductive notes of warm blackberries, cassis and black forest cake with touches of forest floor, sandalwood, anise and cigar boxes plus a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers taut, muscular, densely packed black fruits and exotic spice flavor layers supported by a very firm backbone of grainy tannins with oodles of freshness and a long, savory finish. It is tightly knit and a little reticent at this very youthful stage; afford it at least 15 years in the cellar, and it will open out into a classic Chateau Margaux of incredible proportions. Readers may be interested to know that this wine is beautifully packaged in a special commemorative bottle honoring winemaker Paul Pontellier, who passed away in 2016. The gold-etched black bottle bears the message, “Hommage à Paul Pontellier” at the bottom. This 2015 is an achingly beautiful swan song from an incredibly gifted winemaker, taken from us too soon. In my view, this alone makes this vintage more than worth the investment for the many lovers of history in a bottle. ~99 Wine Advocate

The 2015 Margaux is a compelling, arrestingly beautiful wine that expresses all the best qualities of the vintage. Dark, fleshy and richly textured, the 2015 nevertheless retains the super-classic Margaux sense of structure. Time in the glass brings out the wine's rich, multi-faceted personality. I imagine the 2015 will enjoy a very long and uninterrupted drinking window that will last decades. As exceptional as the 2015, it is not easy to taste. ~99 Vinous Media

Sublime, with captivating sandalwood, black tea and mesquite aromas that infuse the core of gently steeped red and black currant and raspberry fruit. The structure is seamless and thoroughly embedded throughout, letting warm tar, lilac, juniper and iron notes display themselves at will through the finish. The finish is about as long as it gets, with echoes of fruit and warm earth that should prove haunting when this reaches full maturity. ~ 99 Wine Spectator

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