Our private tour began in the reception room, continued to the chai, the vat room, the cooperage,…read moreand we returned to the reception room for a tasting and conversation. Altogether, the tour lasted about 1 to 1.5 hours and was both interesting and informative.
As we learned, for over four centuries, Ch.Margaux has been considered a wine of excellence. Today, Corinne Mentzelopoulos is the château's proprietor and, together with her team, she continues to produce outstanding Margaux wines on the estate's 262 hectares (650 acres). The estate's Premier Grand Cru is Château Margaux. The second bottling is Pavillon (Rouge/Blanc) du Château Margaux.
Currently, the estate dedicates 82 hectares (203 acres) to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines in the red vineyard is 35 years. Harvesting is done by hand from September through October by a seasonal team of harvesters. Ch.Margaux employs traditional French vinification techniques: fermentation is 3 weeks in oak vats, aging is 18 to 24 months in new French oak barrels and fining is with egg whites. The use of oak vats means that there is no punching down or pumping over during the maceration process.
Since the château is designated as a French historical landmark, any efforts to modernise or annex the exterior buildings are restricted, e.g., even the addition of windows is restricted. As a result of the historical landmark designation, when the time came for expansion in 1982, the estate built a subterranean cellar with a 1,200 barrel capacity adjacent to the chai (above-ground cellar). As a result of the region's high water table, the cellar is made of concrete with two walls that are each several meters thick. The open space between the concrete walls allows for water overflow and this space is drained regularly.
Today, the estate continues its cooperage tradition with Alain Nunes, the in-house cooper who produces three new French oak barrels per day (approximately 30% of the château's needs). Messr. Nunes continues the same trade as his father and, prior to his father, the château employed two coopers.
Annual production is ~150,000 bottles of Château Margaux, ~200,000 bottles of Pavillon Rouge and ~33,000 bottles of Pavillon Blanc. At the end of our visit, we tasted the 2004 Château Margaux.
