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Margaux

France: map with a pin on MargauxMargaux and its surroundings: map with a pin
Margaux · FranceMap: Maison Apéro, based on Natural Earth (public domain)

Château Margaux 2018 is a way into Margaux as a landscape of gravel rises beside the Gironde, not just a famous name.

The background that matters

The Margaux appellation lies on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, on terraces of gravel laid down by the Garonne that now form low rises 6–33 m above sea level. The gravel is thickest, up to 30 m, at the tops of these rises (croupes), over Tertiary limestone or clay-marl. The climate is temperate oceanic, moderated by the Atlantic and the estuary.

Read it alongside this wine

The 2018 grand vin is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot making up the rest; this site's grape list shows the four varieties but not their shares. The review's radar records high tannin, full body, high alcohol, pronounced flavour intensity and a long finish with medium(+) acidity, and its aroma tiers include a bottle-age group. It describes one vintage of one estate, not every Margaux.

Try it with the review

Open the review of Calon-Ségur 2019 from Saint-Estèphe and compare the two radars and aroma tiers. Where they differ, decide whether vintage, place, blend or producer could explain it, or whether the published information cannot tell you; where they match, ask what the radar alone cannot show.

These are learning prompts, not guaranteed tasting results. Separate the published facts from your own observations.

Château Margaux 2018

Sources

Soil and climate diagrams

Médoc: gravel croupes by the Gironde estuary: Palus, Jalles, Saint-Estèphe, Margaux, Gravel croupes, Atlantic Ocean, Limestone close to the surface, Gironde estuary, Gravel and sand, Eocene and Oligocene limestones and marls, Temperate oceanic climate, moderated by the Atlantic and the Gironde

Schematic block diagram, not to scale: the top shows the relief and the front face a cross-section, coloured by soil and rock type.

  • In Saint-Estèphe, Quaternary terraces rest on Eocene and Oligocene marls and limestones, which come to the surface mainly in the west of the commune; the jalles and esteys that drain the land towards the Gironde have cut the terraces into gravel croupes.
  • On the croupes the soils are mainly sandy-gravel or clay-gravel; in the west, hard limestone is covered in places by sandy-gravel soils and thin rendzinas, and recent alluvium, the palus, lines the estuary.
  • In Margaux the gravel terraces lie on the left bank of the Gironde; the gravel is thickest at the summit of the croupes and rests on a Tertiary limestone or clay-marl terrace.
  • The climate is temperate and oceanic; the waters of the Atlantic and the Gironde regulate temperature.
  • The subsoil of Saint-Estèphe rests on a limestone base of Ludian (Tertiary) age.

Sources

Médoc: estuary, forest and gravel: The Gironde estuary and the ocean, The Landes forest, Gravel croupes by the river → Vineyards

The Gironde estuary, the Landes forest and gravel mounds give the Médoc its temperate, well-drained vineyards.

  • The Gironde estuary and the ocean — Water on two sides moderates the climate: the estuary and the nearby Atlantic soften spring frost and summer extremes.
  • The Landes forest — The pine forest to the west shelters the vineyards from Atlantic winds.
  • Gravel croupes by the river — Gravel mounds near the estuary drain quickly and hold daytime warmth, helping Cabernet Sauvignon ripen.

Sources

Wines to explore