2016 Wine Vintage Report, Margaux | Vintage Wines & Spirits (2024)

FAQs

Was 2016 a good year for Margaux? ›

For Margaux, the 2016 vintage was largely very good and some fabulous wines were made, although it was perhaps slightly less hom*ogenous in quality than the previous year. Like for much of Bordeaux, the growing season got off to a damp, muggy start with a surprisingly warm but resolutely wet winter.

What's really exciting about the 2016 vintage is that apart from Haut-Brion, which produced the best wine I have ever tasted from this chateau, there were 100-point wines from among the first-growth pretenders, Palmer and Pontet-Canet in the Médoc.

The 2016 Bordeaux vintage is one of the most unique and exciting vintages in recent memory. From the barrel samples we tasted, the takeaway is that the wines possess elegance, glorious ripe red fruit, silky tannins, lower alcohol than in previous years and vitality.

Over 200 years later, his words still ring true. The best vintages of Chateau Margaux are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1989, 1986, 1985, 1983, 1982, 1959, 1953, 1929, 1928, 1921 and 1900.

Rating: 97+

Deep and long, with sublime definition and gorgeous fruit.

A factor that sets 2016 apart from previous great vintages is the progress in vineyard management, especially the emerging trend toward precision viticulture. Although warm, there were no crippling heat spikes during the growing season.

He says producers “experienced two equally excellent years,” resulting in two very different high-quality vintages. “Our decision was that 2017 was too good not to declare,” he says. “The 2016s are defined by a wonderful freshness, elegance and balance.

When stored properly and kept unopened, white wines can often outlive their recommended drinking window by 1-2 years, red wines by 2-3 years, and cooking wines by 3-5 years. Fine wine — as you may have guessed — can typically be consumed for decades.

White Wine: 1-2 years past the expiration date. Red Wine: 2-3 years past the expiration date. Cooking Wine: 3-5 years past the expiration date. Fine Wine: 10 to 20 years.

The 2016 vintage was mostly excellent. It was an El Niño year, which heavily influences weather systems, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. Europe tends to be less affected. And in Europe, France enjoyed a wonderful year.

What is considered the best vintage in Bordeaux? ›

If you're looking at what now is considered ancient vintages, those that are at least 50 years or older, for the Left Bank, 1961, 1959, 1955, 1953, 1949, 1948, 1945, 1934, 1929, 1928, 1921, and 1900 are all stellar examples of great vintages.

The 2016 vintage for Pomerol was, like much of Bordeaux, excellent. The growing season began with an unusually warm, wet winter, which generated a humid atmosphere throughout the spring. The heavy rains meant the soils could refill their water tables before a hot and extremely dry summer set in.

Margaux is the first appellation plant for vines by ancient Romans. Margaux is the only major wine region in France with a chateau. Margaux is the only major wine region in France with a chateau. The Margaux appellation has the largest concentration of classified growths in its entirety.

An average temperature of 14°C ( 57°F) is ideal. The humidity should be high enough to prevent the corks from drying out and therefore prevent wine evaporation, but not too high, because that would damage the labels. A humidity level of around 75 – 80% is generally satisfactory.

There are sites that are covered in Garonne Gravels, which can give power and structure to the wine, but there's also silt, clay, and limestone, which in some cases can make for more perfumed Cabernets. Generally Margaux wines are known as the most elegant, delicate, and perfumed of the 4 communes in the Médoc.

The quality of Château Margaux 2017 comes close to its illustrious predecessors without pretending to rival the generosity of 2015 or the elegance of 2016. Nonetheless, it has a rightful place in the estate's lineage of great vintages: it is profound, complex, intense and long.

Finally, it is simply one of the greatest vintages in the history of the property. The climatic conditions of 2015 were, in fact, characteristic of the very best vintages of the estate, including those of 2005, 2009 and 2010. The red grape harvests at Château Margaux took place between September 18th to October 6th.

Château Margaux's 2018 Grand Vin boasts off the charts textural richness and intensity from the very first taste. A huge core of dark fruit, potent, muscular tannins are two of the signatures. Dense and explosive in the glass, with breathtaking concentration, the 2018 is one of the finest Margauxs in recent memory.