WINES

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CHATEAU MARGAUX 1996


Reviewed by ANDRE BEAUMONT


Well-rounded with tannin in very good balance with acid and oak. More fruit than in many Margaux but like many of the best wines in the world it happily defies description in terms of fruit. As Corinne Mentzelopoulos, Managing Partner of Chateau Margaux, also says, those working at Margaux do not describe the wines in florid terms - what they are looking for is an essential balance.

Nose keeps moving on. 12.5% alcohol. A meaty wine. Long. Drinkable now with food but will age with great character. Not a conclusively big wine. It is the product of a dry and cool end of summer. Has a hint of austerity. Contrasts in style with the 1986 but has its own greatness. The tannins will dissolve to make a wine that will hold great promise.



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After the success of the Margaux tasting, at the reviewer's suggestion, the same wine society eventually invited Chateau Mouton Rothschild in 2007 and Chateau Haut-Brion in 2009. It had already invited Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour, making a full house of the first growths.




2007