Chateau Margaux 2007

The elegant 2007 Chateau Margaux's purity, depth of fruit, and overall equilibrium are impressive. A dark ruby/purple color is accompanied by notes of spring flowers, black currants, and blackberries, a soft, lush, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and delicacy allied to impressive depth, texture, and length. Already drinkable, it should continue to offer exceptional pleasure for 15 or more years. Drink 2010-2025.

No tasting note given.

Tasted blind at the 2007 Bordeaux horizontal in Southwold. The Chateau Margaux 2007 has a stoic, aristocratic bouquet of blackberry, cranberry leaf, graphite and smoke: very well defined and lifted with tobacco notes developing in the glass. Quintessential Pauillac. The palate has an understated entry with slightly degraded fruit, soft raspberry and cranberry, lovely well-integrated creamy oak with fine delineation and poise towards the finish that fades a little. The mouth is sensual compared to the nose.

Aromas of blackberry, black licorice and currant follow through to a medium-to-full body, with fine tannins and a long, sweet fruit finish. Balanced and perfumed. Very Burgundian and pretty

Pretty purplish crimson. More obviously dry and ambitious than the Pavillon Rouge. Some real lift and intention here. Delicate and super charming – really aerien and wonderful dry minerally finish. Great lift and delicacy without being at all thin. All the ingredients came from the core of Ch Margaux terroir. Pontallier: ‘You couldn’t get any stricter. Pure pebbly soils facing the Gironde.’ Very pure indeed yet long. Real class and finesse. Very very delicate. Wonderfully typical of Margaux. ‘Mmm not Wow’, says Pontallier. He doesn’t expect 2007 to close like 05 will and 2001 already has done. Nice dry finish. The low key nature of 2007 seems to suit Ch Margaux.

Bright red-ruby. Wonderfully floral, pure nose offers blueberry, cherry and violet. Juicy, spicy and classic, with berry, floral and spicy flavors that seem to vibrate in the mouth. This boasts remarkable inner-palate perfume. An extremely subtle and discreet wine with excellent balance, very good but not exceptional density, and lovely lingering perfume. The IPT here is a relatively modest 61 (compared, for example, to 78 in 2005 and 73 in 2003). Pontallier compared this to the estate's 2004-"only softer." If it puts on weight in barrel, it should ultimately merit a score at the high end of my range.

The sweet black fruits on the nose are underpinned by fresher red giving a lovely complexity. Rich, ripe and supple on the palate, the cassis is rich and concentrated beautifully balanced by lighter fragrant bilberry. A wine that has real purity and elegance, it seems almost approachable now

Superb colour, nose of crushed red berry fruit, with all the depth but none of the hardness of Cabernet Sauvignon, very long, very pure fruit, a wine of great class that will open up young yet last well. Drink 2012-30. 5 stars.