Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/551222
august 2015 / the tasting panel / 99 wine remaining high, epitomised by the famous 1900, when it was owned by the Parisian banking family Pillet- Will. In the 1920s it was acquired by a consortium of shareholders, the most important being the Ginestet family, who by 1949 had become majority shareholders. The decade of the 1950s saw three vintages written off—1954, 1956 and 1958—and following similar catastrophies in 1963 and 1965, the Ginestets decided to market a non- vintage Margaux, which was not a success. High hopes for the U.S. market after the excellent 1970 and good 1971 vintages (like the Chinese market's reaction to the 2009s and 2010s) were dashed by a rained-off 1972 and the economic downturn from 1973 to 1975. These were very tough years for Bordeaux and the Ginestets, also owners of an important négociant business, were forced to sell up. There was little interest and the entire property and all the stock was finally sold to Greek-born entrepre- neur André Mentzelopoulos for what now seems a ridiculously low price of 72 million francs in 1977. Quoting from Stephen Brook's excellent The Complete Bordeaux (Mitchell Beazley 2007), Corinne Mentzelopoulos recalls: My father went to see Pierre Ginestet and had lunch at the château, which had been unoc- cupied for three years, and after lunch they shook hands on a deal and that was it. He just fell in love with the place and started spending money on it right away, before the boom of the 1980s. He brought in Emile Peynaud and by the time of the great years from 1982 onwards, both the wine and the château had been restored. André Mentzelopoulos died in 1980 and his widow Laure and the young Corinne took over. Here I must declare an interest, for shortly afterwards Corinne took a wine course under Michel Bettane at my Paris wine school, L'Academie du Vin, something she still mentions. In 1982 a temperature-con- trolled underground cellar was built for the second year barrels and the following year the youthful Montpellier graduate Paul Pontallier was hired as Director, a position he retains to this day. Quoting again from Brook's book, Pontallier says: The quality and originality of our wines are still linked to our special terroir and our job is to show its best possible expression. I have said that winemaking is the easy part at Margaux, but I don't want to sound complacent for we have our own research team and we are con- stantly looking at new techniques to do better. Anyone who has tasted the recent "slimmed down" vintages of Margaux's Pavillon Blanc compared to the rather over-blown wines of 2009 and 2010, will recognise the truth in this statement. Rare for a Cru Classé Médoc, about 90% of the present 78 hectares of vine- yard corresponds to those in the 1855 Classification. Three-quarters of the vineyard is on deep gravel and gravelly clay soils, which is ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon. So, of course, are the soils of Latour, Lafite- and Mouton-Rothschild, which makes a comparison of these four first growths in the en primeur tastings so fascinating. I don't think that one could, and one certainly should not, mistake the three great Pauillacs for each other, and as far as the blend of finesse and structure is concerned, there is no mistaking Margaux. The dinner itself, not the only one that Corinne Mentzelopoulos hosted that week but the first and the most prestigious, was preceded, as all the Grands Crus Classés 1855 dinners are, by a tasting of the First and Second Growths of Sauternes from recent vintages. I began with two pairs of Barsacs: a richly textured Doisy- Védrines 2009 and a lighter, typically elegant Doisy-Daëne 2005 (both Second Growths), then the two superb Firsts: a beautifully structured Climens 2008 and a quite exotic, amber-coloured Coutet 2007. Then my three favourite First Growth Sauternes: a striking 2009 Rayne-Vigneau, still very young, and two splendid 2005s, Rieussec and La Tour Blanche, both wonderful now and for the next two decades. The aperitifs were served in front of the château and for dinner the château doors were thrown open and guests walked through into an impressively elegant outside dining room of magnifi- cent proportions, with a fête champetre atmosphere of aristocratic restraint. The menu—soupe d'artichauts à la truffe, brioche truffée; pintade aux girolles, caillette et jus corse de volaille; fromages; vacherin aux fruits exotiques—was conceived and prepared by the famous Parisian three-star chef Guy Savoy. For the first two courses, wines from the 1855 Classification were served au hasard des tables, depending on who were the hosts at each table. I had the great good fortune to be on the table of Martin and Melissa Bouygues, owners of Château Montrose, who four nights later concluded Vinexpo with an unforgettable Fête de la Fleur dinner for 1,500 guests, and Frédéric Engerer of Château Latour, so we were served these two wines from the 2006 and 1995 vintages. 2006 is a classic Médoc vintage, a little overwhelmed by 2005, but still classic and both showed their pedi- gree to perfection, the Latour being smoother than I had expected and the Montrose, Martin Bouygues's first vintage, still firm with a great future. The 1995s were superb, the Montrose fine and beautifully balanced, the Latour remarkably fresh and fragrant, both wines for the collector's cellar. Although these were hard to improve on, Margaux 1985 served from mag- nums did just that. Here is my note: "Extraordinary bouquet with pure elegance, incredible richness and class and full of youth at 30 years old, a truly great wine, the epitome of Margaux." Few disagreed that this was the wine of the week. The meal ended in grandeur with Château d'Yquem 1988, amber in colour, full of energy and astoundingly controlled richness. The guests mingled long after the dinner was over. At Mouton- Rothschilld two years previously there had been a firework display, but not here: this evening at Château Margaux was already engraved forever on our memories. Château Margaux is one of Bordeaux's most memorable private residences. PHOTO: SAISON D'OR/MATHIEU ANGLADA