Here’s What to Know about Serving Château Margaux Wine

Traditionally, great Bordeaux reds are brought to room temperature before serving, i.e. their optimal serving temperature is ideally considered to be around 18-19°C.

It pairs well with roasted, braised, or grilled meats, Asian cuisine, or mushrooms and pasta. Meanwhile, Château Margaux white wine goes well with seafood, sushi, sashimi, veal, hog, and cheese.

Perhaps there truly is more to know about the Château Margaux Wine. Read on to discover more.

Château Margaux’s Amazing History

When the Lestonnac family purchased Chateau Margaux in the 16th century, winemaking truly began.

The land’s owners reorganised it as a wine estate in 1572, conmpletely restructuring the property as well as the vineyard, shifting the emphasis away from wheat goods and toward vine development. By the end of the 16th century, the Chateau occupied 265 hectares.

During the early 17th century, Berlon, a Margaux winemaker, pioneered modern vinification by vinifying red and white grapes separately. At the time, the vine stocks were mixed in the vineyard before going through the wine making process.

The 1771 vintage was the first “claret” to appear in Christie’s (the famous London auction house) catalogue. In 1787, John Adams praised Margaux as one of Bordeaux’s “four best vineyards.”

The famed palace was designed by fashionable Bordeaux architect Louis Combes for the Marquis de la Colonilla. Combes’ paintings are a prime example of the neo-Palladian style.

In the official 1855 Bordeaux classification, Chateau Margaux was one of four First Growth “Premier Grand Cru Classe” properties.

Following the fall of the Bordeaux market in 1977, the estate was purchased from the Ginestet family by André Mentzelopoulos. He breathed new life into Château Margaux.

Corinne Mentzelopoulos took over after her father died in 1980. Surrounded by the team that her father had chosen, she followed the investment defined by the latter, so that Margaux was ready to take up another challenge, that of the extraordinary explosion in worldwide demand for Bordeaux wines from 1982.  

Château Margaux Vineyards: Terroir And Grapes

Château Margaux is located in the historic Margaux appellation, the first Bordeaux sector explicitly established for vineyard development. Its superb vineyard is known to be made up of chalky clay soils that are overlaid with coarse and fine gravel.

Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for 202 acres, or 75% of the 650 acres planted. The remaining 5% is made up of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

The farm’s famed white wine is made from 30 acres of Sauvignon Blanc cultivated on the estate.

Examining Château Margaux’s Winemaking

In 2015, the estate built “Nouveau Chai” to make red and white wines. Red wine fermentation takes place in stainless steel and wood vats. Château Margaux makes unfiltered and filtered wine.

Press wine is made from grape skins that have not been fermented (marc). The wine produced by gently pressing the marc is strong, tannic, powerful, and meaty. Malolactic fermentation is not carried out on the free-run or press wine.

In stainless steel tanks at Château Margaux, no malolactic fermentation occurs. The wines are aged in new French oak barrels. White wines are matured for 6-8 months, while red wines are aged for 18-24 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.

The Uniqueness of Premium the Château Margaux Wine

Since 1989, Château Margaux bottles have been laser-etched. Later on, in 1995, each bottle’s trip was tracked individually. And then finally, in 2011, Château Margaux installed a bubble code on their bottle lid to discourage counterfeiting.

Great wine isn’t just about expensive bottles. It’s important to understand its history and heritage so that you, as the consumer, can appreciate it on a much deeper level. Now that you are more knowledgeable of the Château Margaux Wine, you are bound to unlock a new wine experience with it.

If you’re looking to buy Château Margaux in the UK, Cru Wine can guide you to understand the process and reap the benefits and procedure of investing in great wine. Give us a call today and discover more!