Château Margaux 2017 is an exceptional First Growth Bordeaux combining elegance, precision, and long aging potential. Crafted from 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, it reveals layers of cassis, black berries, violets, cedar, and subtle spice, framed by silky tannins and a beautifully refined finish. Awarded 99 points by James Suckling and 98 points by Wine Advocate, this vintage captures the timeless class and finesse of Château Margaux.

James Suckling | JS 99
Published: Dec 19, 2019

There is ripeness and opulence to this, in an almost exotic and sassy way. Crushed berries with chocolate and spice. Floral and cashmere undertones. This starts off slowly and just rolls off the palate with beautifully polished tannins and a salty, minerally note to the long, extended tannins. Really brilliant. So classy. Structured. Try after 2025.

The Wine Advocate | RP 98
Published: Mar 17, 2020
Drink: 2024-2060

The 2017 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to reveal alluring notes of blackcurrant cordial, Black Forest cake and black raspberries with suggestions of candied violets, tilled soil, fallen leaves, licorice and espresso plus wafts of underbrush and rosehip tea. Medium-bodied, the elegance and finesse on the palate is simply bedazzling, exuding a quiet intensity of fresh black fruits layered with oh-so-subtle floral and earth nuances. It has a soft, velvety texture and seamless freshness to support the tightly wound flavors, finishing long and perfumed. Beautiful! This grand vin accounts for just 37% of the crop. 

Decanter | D 96
Published: Nov 21, 2019
Drink: 2026-2045

Extremely elegant and finessed spicing on the nose, this has beautiful aromatics, and a seductive lead in. It has added some flesh and creaminess over the ageing, and although you still get fairly high austerity at this point it is becoming well enrobed without sacrificing precision. Good quality and highly enjoyable, this will age effortlessly, fine boned in the 2001 or 2011 sense. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend, a little lower percentage than usual because they felt structure in the wine was already in plentiful supply. 27% of production.

Jancis Robinson | JR 17.5
Published: Sep 16, 2021
Drink: 2027-2042

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Enticing and rich nose of cassis and baking spice – underneath there is class and refinement. Retains cool precision, with soft tannins and a savoury cedar edge. Highly refined and subtle. Incredibly pure and fine to the finish, this will benefit from time, and may warrant a higher score with age. (TP)

Chateau-margaux.com

The quality of Chateau Margaux 2017 comes close to its illustrious predecessors without pretending to rival the generosity of 2015 or the elegance of 2016. Nonetheless, it has a rightful place in the estate's lineage of great vintages: it is profound, complex, intense and long. In some respects, it even surpasses our hopes following September's rainfall and demonstrates yet again to what extent great terroirs are capable of transmitting all their best qualities into the wine.

The initial tastings in the winemaking process offered a moment of astonishment. The Merlot batches are remarkable: the aromas are fruity and soft, a roundness on the palate and rich volume made it possible to include them in a proportion of 8% for the first wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon is always the heart and the framework for Chateau Margaux, accounting for 89% of the blend. Upon tasting, the tannins were perfectly ripe, which reassured us that our decision to wait a few more days before harvesting was the right choice. The wines? structure remains a rare combination of power and refinement. Cabernet Franc (2%) and Petit Verdot (1%) round out the blend for this wine. Chateau Margaux represents 37% of the harvest. (Octobre 2018)

MARGAUX
Climate
After a relatively dry 2016, the first months of 2017 brought the necessary precipitation to keep the water table balanced. Winter temperatures weren?t particularly cold. The vines budded around April 4th, but we weren?t wary enough of the spring-like temperatures and a frost on the nights of April 27th and 28th served as a reminder that, above all, winegrowers are dependent on nature. The choice location of our vineyard plots allowed us to limit frost damage: only 10% of our red vines were affected.

In the whole growth cycle, only the last week of June saw heavy rainfall. The vines had already flowered between May 25th and 30th in the most favorable conditions for efficient, homogeneous pollination. Summer 2017 more or less resembled summer 2016: warm and very dry through July and August. Light rainfall in early September was the only thing that disrupted a rare opportunity to produce a third great vintage after 2015 and 2016; we had just harvested our white grapes when heavy precipitation dashed our hopes of a truly standout year.

We then had to make a crucial decision: to harvest quickly grapes that were not yet ripe enough for fear that Botrytis would ruin them, or wait for the sun?s return and harvest riper, more concentrated grapes later in September. In keeping with our high standards of quality and reassured by optimistic weather forecasts, we chose the latter and harvested the reds between September 12th and October 3rd in exceptionally fine weather conditions.