Location and Terroir
Château Margaux is located in the Margaux appellation in the Médoc in Bordeaux, about 30 kilometres from Bordeaux. The estate covers around 265 hectares, including about 87 hectares of red and 12 hectares of white vineyard area. The mild marine climate, influenced by the Atlantic and the Gironde estuary, brings mild winters and moderate summers.
The name goes back to La Mothe de Margaux, a gentle rise with improved drainage. The soils consist of tertiary limestone and clay as well as quaternary deposits of gravel, sand and clay. In the red wine vineyard, gravel, clay and limestone soils alternate; deeper gravel on the terrace of type 4 enables drainage and deep rooting.
Vines and Vineyard Work
The red vineyard plots are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, with Cabernet Sauvignon predominating. The white vineyard plots are planted exclusively with Sauvignon Blanc and are intended for Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux and Pavillon Blanc Second Vin. In total, 126 plots are recorded, with planting densities of 6,666 to 10,000 vines per hectare.
The documented work includes pruning, planting, ploughing, crop protection, thinning, training, fertilisation, ripeness control and manual harvesting with final sorting before destemming. Château Margaux has completed the switch to organic farming. Since 1986, grapes have been thinned before colour change in order to regulate yield.
Wines and Maturation
The Grand Vin du Château Margaux and the historic second red wine Pavillon Rouge are shaped by Cabernet Sauvignon and complemented by Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The Grand Vin matures on average for 21 months in new French oak barrels, Pavillon Rouge for about 20 months, of which nearly 60 per cent in new French oak barrels. Pavillon Blanc is made exclusively from Sauvignon Blanc and matures for about eight months, around 20 per cent of it in new French oak barrels, partly in 350-litre barrels.
History
The estate was referred to in the twelfth century as La Mothe de Margaux. Pierre de Lestonnac restructured holdings and vineyards between 1572 and 1582. Bertrand Douat, Marquis de La Colonilla, acquired Château Margaux in 1801; construction of the present-day, classicist château designed by Louis Combes began in 1810. Château Margaux was classified as Premier Cru in 1855. André Mentzelopoulos acquired the estate in 1977 and introduced, among other things, drainage, new plantings, a stricter selection for Pavillon Rouge, as well as maturation in new oak barrels.
