Why it matters
The producer
Château Margaux has a history spanning more than five centuries in the Médoc region of southwest France. The Mentzelopoulos family guides the estate today. Its property covers 265 hectares, with around 100 hectares dedicated to vines.
The estate combines a 1855 First Growth classification with a current programme of organic farming, estate vineyards, and cellar work carried out on the property. Its principal wines divide between two Cabernet Sauvignon led reds and a Sauvignon Blanc white.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Château Margaux sits in Margaux, within the Médoc region of southwest France. The Médoc is the wider regional setting, while Margaux supplies the local name attached to the château and its wines.
The First Growth classification belongs to the estate, not to a grape variety. Bordeaux assigned the rank in 1855, placing Château Margaux within a system based on named properties and their wines.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The red wine vineyard covers 82 hectares. It is planted to 75 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 percent Merlot, 3 percent Petit Verdot, and 2 percent Cabernet Franc.
Château Margaux maintains its own cooperage on the property. A major cellar renovation was completed in 2015. These are separate parts of the estate's current production infrastructure, one devoted to barrel making and the other to cellar modernisation.
Wines to know
The range in view
Grand Vin du Château Margaux is the estate's Cabernet Sauvignon led red, aged for an average of 21 months in new French oak barrels. Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux is another Cabernet Sauvignon dominated red, aged for around 20 months, with nearly 60 percent of the wine in new French oak barrels.
Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux is the estate's white wine, made exclusively from Sauvignon Blanc. It is aged for around eight months, with approximately 20 percent in new French oak barrels. The range therefore moves between long aged reds and a shorter aged white, with each bottle defined by its grape and cellar regime.