Ratings & Tasting Notes:

93 points Wine Advocate

Just reaching full maturity, later than initially expected, this is a classy, elegant example of Margaux with a dark ruby/purple color and a moderately intense nose of sweet black currant fruit intermixed with minerals, vanillin, and floral scents. Medium-bodied, with beautifully sweet fruit, this linear, more compressed style of Margaux possesses a good inner core of sweet fruit and a charming, harmonious personality. Robert Parker, December 1997

92 points The Wine Cellar Insider

Light ruby with bricking in the color, the wine is filled with cassis, spice, truffle, coffee and earthy notes. Refined in texture, this medium/full-bodied wine is fully mature, with no reason to age it any longer. Jeff Leve, reviewing a bottle from a case with a perfect fill, called it the best of the twelve.

91 points Wine Spectator

Cult Wines International Notes:

Château Margaux is one of Bordeaux’s great First Growths, its history dating to the 12th century, with vineyards planted into the estate’s grain fields by the 16th century. Its wines were already being exported and prized by the early 18th century — Thomas Jefferson, serving as U.S. ambassador to France, was a noted admirer — and Margaux was one of just four estates recognized as outstanding in the historic 1855 Bordeaux classification. In 1977, the estate entered a new era of ownership under André Mentzelopoulos, who brought in renowned oenologist Émile Peynaud and invested heavily in modernizing vineyard and cellar practices, restoring the property’s exacting standards after a period of decline. The 1979 vintage, made just two years into this renaissance, is an early expression of that turnaround.

The producer itself has described 1979 as a very fine vintage, often compared with 1978, noting the odd relationship between the two years — as one seemed to open up, the other would close again — though 1979’s tannins were consistently softer and more tender than those of its counterpart. The growing season followed a cooler, damp start typical of the era, with conditions firming up later to allow a sound, even ripening. The resulting wine at Margaux is classically linear and elegant rather than powerful: medium-bodied, with a sweet, compressed core of fruit that has aged gracefully and only fully arrived at maturity in recent decades, well after early drinking windows suggested it would.

Bottle Size:

1.5L Magnum

Storage History:

Always stored on its side in a climate-controlled cellar.

Condition:

Please note: The bottle shown is the exact bottle being sold.

Upper shoulder fill level, some capsule corrosion. Color and clarity are excellent. Discounted!

Please bear in mind that the condition has been noted and the bottle discounted. There are no quality guarantees with this bottle.