1966 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

1966 - horizontal tasting June 2001
1966 Margaux: dark ruby, fat appearance. Tobacco, pine (resin), cedar nose. Rounded tannins, plum and ripe fruit. Long finish. A very elegant Chateau Margaux. 89/100

1976 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

1976 Margaux: I was never impressed by1976 Margaux and this time was no exception. The colour is light ruby with a slight orange fringe on the rim. Dominated by floral scents, the nose is pretty discreet. Rounded tannins and sweet in mouth, rather short and a little dry by the end. This wine has started to decline. No regrets.

1987 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

1997 Margaux (open 3h - not decanted) 
All good things finally come to an end. Here's the last bottle of a case of 12 I had bought on my first ever "en primeur" campaign in 1988 (those happy days when one could buy a 1GCC for approximately 200 French Francs - approx. 30$ at that time!). 
Blind tasted, I always grin at my guests' reaction to this wine... 1987 Margaux totally misleads tasters in many ways! The hue is dark and deep. Open nose of wood and vanilla, leather and red fruit with a reminiscent almond flavour. The structure is elegant, silky, and only the tannin's light greenness suggests a vintage of poorer reputation. Harmonious finish for this youthful looking wine. At that point, my guests all scratch their heads - one of them suggests a wine of a Left Bank area - probably a Margaux. Good guess! Another dares a year; 1995..? Everyone fell from their chairs as they discovered that this youthful wine was in fact a 1987 Margaux! This generous Chateau Margaux  reveals itself immediately but doesn't quite hold the distance. Indeed by the end of the evening, the wine unfortunately falls apart. Unappealing mushroom smell and drying tannins with excessive acidity, which are not balanced any more by the initial fruit. I think it's time to finish those bottles if one doesn't want to take the risk of further unpleasant surprises in the future. 87/100

1993 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

January 2007 - not decanted.
1993 Chateau Margaux. Young and reasonably dark hue. Aromas of ripe blackcurrant, raspberries with discrete nuances of smoked cedarwood.

1993 Margaux is a very fine and complex wine, which suffers only from a lack of depth in comparison of greater vintages.
I really had a lot of pleasure with this bottle of 1993 Chateau Margaux. A surprisingly good wine in a rather ungrateful year. 88/100.
(Tasted by Fred Godin for ccvo-bg)

1999 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

1999 Margaux: Spices, grassy and black raspberry aromas. Some liquorice and blackberry fruit on the palate. Very elegant and feminine. Straight forward and easy to assess. 1999 Margaux will age without any problem but it's so beautiful to drink now! Maturity: 2015 - 2020. 94+/100 

2001 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

2001 Chateau Margaux: Compared to the other First Growths, 2001 Chateau Margaux gives the most expressive fragrances. Splendid ripe fruit, soft spices, soft oak, cinnamon, vanilla. A real pleasure! On the other hand, the structure seems softer than for 2001 Lafite or 2001 Latour. However, the body of 01 Margaux is fleshy with a beautiful volume. Slight feeling of green pepper on the aftertaste but overall, 2001 Margaux remains intense and promissing. 91/100

2002 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

2002 Chateau Margaux: Smooth and elegant nose of black cherries, peony, wild strawberry, graphite. Juicy and opulent mouth full of fresh fruit. 2002 Margaux' body tightens with classy tannins that last all along a very classy finish. Persistant and very promising! 92/100

2003 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

2003 Margaux : Great classic Left Bank Bordeaux nose with subtle licorice, floral, ripe fruit and delicate vanilla flavours. Quite a powerful structure but the tannins remain smooth and reveal the refined and unique style which one immediatly relates to Chateau Margaux. Long finish which, unfortunately, ends slightly disjointed by a woody aftertaste. 2003 Margaux needs time and will certainly be a great wine in a few decades. 2003 Margaux is probably the most atypical bottle of our tasting tonight, in the way that 2003 Margaux expresses the best the soil's original style (elegance, delicacy) considering the very particular conditions of the 03 vintage. 93/100

2004 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

06/2007 - Unusual, subtle nose of cocoa, oak, licorice, spice, and prune. Finely-textured tannin on the palate, but also quite round, and shows a great deal of character. Elegant aftertaste, but I had hoped for a little more complexity. A beautiful wine that is missing only volume and concentration to be among the very best of the vintage.

Further articles on ccvo-bg

Bordeaux wine tasting by topic

Bordeaux wine tasting by Chateau

Advanced wine topics by a sommelier

Glossary of wine terms

Bordeaux vine varieties

Bordeaux wine regions and appellations