Compared with Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe to the north, Margaux and Saint-Julien wines tend to express a different style with quite a bouncy and voluptuous character. All things being equal, there is more structure in Saint-Julien and an intrinsic delicacy in Margaux. Those differences are tangible but vary from Château to Château according to wine making style and terroir.
Prices shown are wholesale, per bottle ex vat
Margaux
Château Boyd Cantenac 2006
€62.50
3ème Cru Classé. Ruby, a little recessive. Aromatic fusion of cigar box, damp forest wood, toasty, mocha and cassis from the Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruitiness on the palate is mature, ripe and earthy. A very fine lacy texture and overall good balance with a peppery touch from the Petit Verdot. Soft, round and open.
Château Cantenac Brown 2008/12
€66.95/58.25
3ème Cru Classé. Delicate Margaux fragrancy. Juicy, fluid and voluptuous. Polished and structured not heavy though, medium bodied. Ready now and will keep further. Soft, elegant, fresh and forward.
Château Brane-Cantenac 2011/12
€73.40/€74.65
This 2ème Cru Classé is deeply coloured and has a good nose of red and dark fruits with a depth and ripeness typical of this superb vintage. Still youthful with focused red fruits on the palate with a voluptuous texture. Not yet mature.
Château Giscours 2009/14/16
€94.80/€66.95/€73.45
3ème Cru Classé. The 2009 and 2010 are ink dark. Both with an open and fragrant nose not fully giving. The 2010 is firm and taut now but will develop in a more complex and reach opulence and fullness eventually. Both have concentrated and complex fruits but not ready yet. The 2009 is ageing faster. Plump. The 2014 is elegant and smooth, round, medium to full. Fruits are ripe and not fully unfolded yet. Needs time although quite approachable now because of its soft tannins.
Château Malescot Saint Exupéry 2011
€62.50
3ème Cru Classé. Ink dark. Roasted coffee beans and vanillin from new oak barrels on the nose with a long and delicious flavour. Sensuous fresh fruits gallore. Shows a very long finish. Shouldered for the medium term.
Château Margaux 2001/2003
2001 Out of stock /2003 €799
This seductive 1er Cru Classé displays captivating and hugely complex scents of fragrant roses mingling with luxury leather with appetizing hints of mocha, vanillin, nutmeg, clove, earth and truffle. On the palate lots of ripe succulent fruits and sweet, exotic spices with a subtil hint of cacao. Vibrant, fresh with a noble stand on superbly integrated tannins offering a classy glossy texture. A long finish with a sparky and glittering aromatic persistence.
Saint-Julien
Hortevie 2009
(from Château Ducru Beaucaillou)
€29.95
The wine of Hortevie is one of the smallest vineyards in Saint-Julien and planted with 70% Cabernet sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The vines are old and this adds a lot to the overall quality. The wine of Hortevie is made by the same team that produces Ducru Beaucaillou. The wine is produced in the same cellars as Château Ducru Beaucaillou, hence cannot be called Château Hortevie . The small estate of Hortevie could be a wine to watch for wine lovers looking for solid value Bordeaux wine from the Médoc.
Château Gloria 2011/15
€43.60/€49.50
Excellent. Classy. Modern style with a good fruit/texture and medium to full bodied.
Château Lalande Borie 2010/16
€46.45/€36.25
The 2009 has got cassis fruit galore, medium to full bodied and quite fragrant. Now mature. The 2010 is top class but not quite ready because of the vintage structure. Fragrant, meaty, earthy with damp forest floor. Needs to breath.
Château Langoa Barton 2006
€61.50
3ème Cru Classé. Dark ruby. Cassis and cigar box. Always smooth and medium bodied, never heavy. Still youthful, needs a good long decant. Ready now and will keep several more years in the cellar.
Château Branaire Ducru 2006
Out of Stock
4ème Cru Classé. Dark rubis. Tobacco, cedar wood, red and black earthy leathery fruitiness following on the palate with great elegance. Still firmly structured with substance and weight throughout.
Château Langoa Barton 2010
€84.70
3ème Cru Classé. Sweet spices, subtil violet, liquorice and cassis. Very dense and firm with finely taut tannins. Very long intense tactile finish with a good aromatic persistence. Youthful, and like most 2010’s, needs time.
Château Langoa Barton 2009
€78.40
3ème Cru Classé. The entry is full and substantial in flavour and unusually broad in mid palate, probably because of this very warm, ripe vintage. A fresh intense fruitiness projects well to the finish. Will improve.
Château Lagrange 2010
€94.00
3ème Cru Classé. Classic Saint-Julien nose, structure and finesse.
Château Talbot
2001
Out of Stock
Mature. Orange rim and rubis core. Scents of damp forest floor and tobacco. Elegant, smooth and soft style with lively delicate fruits. Half an hour decanting needed and should be perfect.
Château Léoville Barton 2011/2014
€89.65/€80.90
2ème Cru Classé. Deep garnet and ruby the 2011 is reminiscent of toasty vanilla and spicy cassis with hints of truffle. Fresh, fruity and sappy entry. The mid palate evolves well and shows silky tannins and a good structure. Balanced and refined.
Château Léoville Barton 1998
Out of stock
2ème Cru Classé. Has opened in the last 3 years and is now surprisingly good and at its peak. Decant at least an hour and enjoy ! Very balanced and refined.
Château Léoville Barton 1989
Out of stock
2ème Cru Classé. Classic aromas of cigar box (cedar) and a farmyard mature nose. Expect and enjoy the aromatic kaleidoscope taking place with air. Intense and long. Perfectly mature. Decanting rather risky. Let breath and evolve in your glass.
Château Léoville Barton 2000
€175.95
2ème Cru Classé. Deep garnet. Shows cigar box and a complex, mature automnal damp forest floor on the nose with dark fruits, cassis and licorice following on the palate. This very tasty, elegant and well balanced Saint-Julien will benefit from a short aeration.
Château Léoville Barton 1990
(Out of stock)
2ème Cru Classé. Colour starting to fade with a brick orange sheen. Typical mature nose of cedar wood with blond tobacco and restrained cassis. Well balanced and elegant on the palate. Lively fruits. Not a heavy profile rather delicate in structure with resolved tannins giving a fully mature, smooth harmonious texture.
Château Ducru Beaucaillou 2006
€199.70
2ème Cru Classé. The texture is noticeably firm and its not-over ripe fruits holding up nicely.