2006 Château Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux

The 2006 Château Margaux has a sense of airiness and wonderful definition on the nose: wild strawberry, redcurrant, cedar and crushed roses soaring from the glass, but it never strives for the opulence of say the 2006 Château Palmer. The palate is very well balanced with fine and quite firm tannin in the mouth. This seems to be approaching its plateau after a decade. While not a powerful or ostentatious Château Margaux, it epitomizes understatement and refinement in a similar vein to Lafite-Rothschild. It is only after the wine has been swallowed that you appreciate its qualities and you feel urged to go back for another sip.

I was hoping the 2006 Chateau Margaux would turn out along the lines of the 1996, but that is not the case. It appears to be the least of the first-growth Medocs in 2006. The color is a medium dark ruby that lightens at the rim, and the bouquet offers classic, but evolved Margaux aromas of sweet currants, licorice, forest floor, and earth. Medium-bodied with dry tannin in the finish, it does not possess the profound concentration found in the truly sublime vintages of Chateau Margaux i.e., 2005, 2000, 1996, 1990, 1983, and 1982). This mid-weight effort requires 5-7 years of cellaring, and should age for 20-25 years.