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Margaux
Bordeaux · Left Bank, Haut-Médoc, France
redDeep ruby
The perfumed, silky side of the Left Bank: floral and fine-grained rather than muscular.
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Line up two to four wines the way you'd say them. The guide covers 127 appellations and styles, and spelling doesn't need to be perfect.
Margaux and Pauillac side by side: structure on the WSET scale, grapes, aromas, drinking window, typical UK price and what to eat with each.
The perfumed, silky side of the Left Bank: floral and fine-grained rather than muscular.
The archetype of Cabernet power: cassis and cedar with firm, long-lived tannin.
The shape of each wine, then each measure on the WSET scale.
These are close in structure; the differences are mostly in grape, aroma and place.
Margaux: Cabernet Sauvignon-led (about 60%), Merlot, a little Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot
Pauillac: Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant (often 70%+), with Merlot
| Margaux | Pauillac | |
|---|---|---|
| Grapes | Cabernet Sauvignon-led (about 60%), Merlot, a little Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot | Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant (often 70%+), with Merlot |
| Climate | Maritime; the most southerly of the four great Médoc communes | Maritime, close to the Gironde estuary |
| Soil | Thin, very free-draining gravel over limestone and clay | Deep gravel mounds over marl |
| Classification | 1855 Classification: 21 classed growths, more than any other commune | 1855 Classification: three of the five first growths |
| Drinking window | 10–30 years | 15–40 years |
| Typical price | £30–£150 (first growth far more) | £40–£200 (first growths far more) |
| Food | Rack of lamb, roast beef, mushroom dishes | Roast lamb, beef Wellington |
| Producers to know | Château Margaux, Château Palmer, Château Rauzan-Ségla | Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Pichon Baron |