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Château Margaux 2000
Château Margaux 2000
Margaux
2000
1st Growth
87% Cabernet
9% Merlot
2% Cabernet Franc
2% Petit Verdot
ESTATE HISTORY
1855 Grand Cru Classe – 1st Growth
The area surrounding the present Chateau Margaux was known from the 12th century when it was called La Mothe de Margaux, or the Margaux Mound.
The middle of the 16th century marks the birth of Chateau Margaux as a notable producer of clairet wine. The owner, Pierre de Lestonnac restructured the property and favored vines to cereal growing.
The 18th century brought fame to Chateau Margaux in England. The wines first crossed the Atlantic and Thomas Jefferson, then US Ambassador to France wrote “There couldn’t be a better Bordeaux bottle” on his 1784 order of Chateau Margaux wines.
The golden age of Bordeaux wines ended during the French revolution. The chateau and its vines were auctioned by the revolutionaries as a national possession, which brought the estate to despair.
The current building of Chateau Margaux known as Versailles de Medoc was constructed in the early 19th century under Bertrand Douat who was a Basque ship owner.
The chateaux changed hands a few times until 1977, when André Mentzelopoulos, a businessman of Greek origin who made his fortune importing and exporting cereals, bought the property to the surprise of the French wine community.
Mentzelopoulos reconstructed the vineyard and the chateau, including building the first underground cellar in the Medoc, and reclaimed the prestige of the chateau.
Today, his daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos runs Chateau Margaux.
TERROIR
WINEMAKING
Fermentation takes place in stainless steel and wood vats. Matured in 100% new oak for 18 to 24 months.
Château Margaux, a unique Bordeaux estate with its own cooperage, produces the majority of the oak barrels needed to yard its wine on-site. The wines are then mixed and bottled as Château Margaux wines after ageing.
TASTING & FOOD PAIRINGS
Absolutely compelling in two tastings of this vintage, the 2000 Margaux is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. The extraordinary seductiveness, complex aromatics, and purity it exhibits lead me to believe it has reached its window of full maturity. Medium-bodied, with layers of concentration, stunning blue, red, and black fruits intermixed with spring flowers, a subtle dosage of new oak, and a distinctive personality that is elegant while at the same time powerful and substantial, this is a multi-dimensional wine that was extremely approachable and drinkable in both tastings I had of it. The color remains a healthy, even opaque bluish/purple, but there is no reason to hesitate to drink it. It should evolve for another 30-40 years, so there is no hurry either.