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The Legend of Chateau Margaux – A Tasting For The Ages
 
  New York Vintners is ecstatic to welcome senior director Aurélien Valance of Chateau Margaux to host an incredible retrospective of the famed first-growth estate. The tasting will include the legendary 1983, 1990 and 1996 vintages with bottles direct from the chateau in Bordeaux. We will also taste Margaux’s new wine – Margaux du Chateau Margaux, from the legendary 2009 vintage. Join us for a seasonal farm-to-table dinner and in-depth examination of the wines of Chateau Margaux. This is a once in a lifetime event!
 
Wednesday, October 15 @ 7pm
Price $345 per person
**Seating is very limited
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Krug MV Champagne
Château Margaux, 1983
Château Margaux, 1990
Château Margaux, 1996
Château Margaux, 1999
Château Margaux, 2004
Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, 2000
Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, 2005
Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux, 2011
Margaux du Chateau Margaux, 2009
 
Château Margaux has sought to achieve excellence in its wines for over 400 years now through painstaking and necessarily long studies of its terroir, through a constant desire to learn and innovate, by remaining sensitive to demanding markets, and above all through a passionate commitment that has been shared by the families that have succeeded each other at the estate. At the end of the 17th century, it became part of the nascent, elite “First Growths” – long before being established officially by the Classification of 1855. Since then, Château Margaux has known fame and fortune, seeing by experience how ephemeral both are. Today, Corinne Mentzelopoulos, supported by her team (led by Paul Pontallier), follows in her father’s footsteps, devoting her time and energy to radiating her enthusiasm for this wine, whose name is synonymous with greatness, balance, and harmony.

The vineyard of Château Margaux covers 202 acres and is situated on soils that are mostly gravel but also clay-limestone, and whose diversity is surely partly responsible for the complexity of the wines they produce. The first wine, Château Margaux, which makes around 1/3 of the total crop, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (at least 85%), Merlot (between 5% and 10%), Petit Verdot (around 2%) and a little Cabernet Franc (around 2%). These proportions, of course, vary according to the vintage, but the Cabernet Sauvignon always remains predominant, being the “body and soul” of the wines. In addition to this, from a gravel plot of 29 acres, Château Margaux has been producing Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, a white wine made solely with the Sauvignon Blanc varietal, for over a century.

Aurélien Valance has been passionate about wine since joining the oenology club at HEC and he underwent an internship at Château Margaux during his studies before getting involved with the creation of a wine importing company in New York. It was in 2006 that he returned to his first love, Château Margaux, where he was rapidly appointed as Senior VP Commercial Director. In parallel with his function, he travels to the four corners of the world sharing his passion for wine and talking about Château Margaux.

Thanks,

Shane Benson
New York Vintners, Owner
TASTING NOTES

The 1983 Margaux - 98 Points is a breathtaking wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes achieved perfect maturity in 1983, and the result is an astonishingly rich, concentrated, atypically powerful and tannic Margaux. The color is dark ruby, the aromas exude ripe cassis fruit, violets, and vanillin oakiness, and the flavors are extremely deep and long on the palate with a clean, incredibly long finish. This will certainly be a monumental wine, but it remains stubbornly backward and at least a decade away from maturity. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030.

- Wine Advocate #95, Oct 1994, Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The 1990 Margaux - 100 Points continues to be the quintessential example of this chateau. In addition to being profoundly concentrated, its ethereal bouquet of sweet black fruits, cedar, spices, flowers, smoke, and vanilla is remarkably well-formed and intense. In the mouth, there is not a hard edge to this classic wine, which is super-concentrated, soft, silky-textured, and opulent. It displays an opaque ruby/purple color, a compelling bouquet, and exquisite layers of flavors that cascade over the palate without any notion of toughness or coarseness. The acidity is low, although sufficient enough to provide vibrancy and focus. This wine's significant tannin level is remarkably well-concealed by the wealth of fruit. Although still an infant in terms of development, this fabulous Margaux is already drinkable. There have been so many great vintages of Margaux under the Mentzelopoulos regime that it is almost inconceivable that the 1990 could outrank the 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1995, but, in my opinion, it possesses an extra-special dimension. While it is approachable, it will last for 25-30 years.

- Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition, Jan 1998, Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The 1996 Margaux - 100 Points is a modern day legend. I reported in detail on the prodigious quality of the 1996 Margaux in issue #110. This wine, a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, achieved a natural alcohol of nearly 13%. The wine's acidity is low, largely because the estate harvested the Cabernet Sauvignon extremely late, not completing the harvest until mid-October. The wine, which was the single greatest wine I tasted from the 1996 vintage in spring, 1997, continues to give every indication of being one of the all-time great clarets from this renowned wine region. The dense opaque purple color possesses a thick, unctuous texture. The nose offers celestial aromas of cassis, vanillin, and intriguing blackberry and floral scents in the background. Despite aging in 100% new oak, the fruit dominates the wine, with the oak offering a minor background nuance. In the mouth, the wine is massive, but not heavy, with extraordinary richness, perfect precision and equilibrium, an opulent texture, and remarkably well-integrated tannin, acidity, and alcohol. Revealing dazzling sweetness at present, the 1996 may be the finest Chateau Margaux I have tasted in the two decades I have been visiting this property. Can it surpass the quality of the 1990, 1986, 1983, and 1982, not to mention the fabulous 1995? Time will tell, but this is one of the most compelling wines I have tasted. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2040.

- Wine Advocate #115, Feb 1998, Robert M. Parker, Jr.
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