Chateau Margaux 2015 0,75L OWC*1

Château Margaux 2015

The Estate

Château Margaux stands as one of Bordeaux’s five First Growth estates, with a pedigree stretching back centuries. Located in the heart of the Margaux appellation, the estate’s 82 hectares of vineyards occupy some of the finest terroir in the Médoc—deep gravel soils that provide exceptional drainage and ideal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Under the direction of Paul Pontallier (1983-2016), Château Margaux achieved unprecedented consistency and quality, producing wines that marry power with extraordinary elegance. The estate’s philosophy emphasizes precision viticulture, rigorous selection, and patient winemaking—aging wines in 100% new French oak and releasing them only when they’ve achieved perfect integration. The result is wines of remarkable finesse, complexity, and longevity that capture the essence of great Margaux: strength wrapped in silk, power married to grace.

Margaux: The First Growth of Elegance

The Margaux appellation produces Bordeaux’s most refined and elegant wines, with terroir centered on deep gravel beds deposited by the Gironde estuary over millennia. These well-drained soils—particularly at Château Margaux—force vines to dig deep, producing small berries with concentrated flavors and exceptional aromatic complexity.

Château Margaux’s vineyards occupy the finest parcels within the appellation: the Plateau de Margaux and surrounding slopes where gravel depths reach 5-6 meters. This terroir creates ideal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon (the dominant grape in the blend), producing wines of extraordinary structure balanced by silky tannins and haunting perfume.

The 2015 vintage showcased this terroir at its finest. Paul Pontallier’s meticulous vineyard management—including parcel-by-parcel harvesting at optimal ripeness—ensured that only the most concentrated, perfectly ripe fruit entered the blend. The result is a wine that captures both the power of a great vintage and the finesse that defines Château Margaux.

The 2015 Vintage

The 2015 vintage in Bordeaux stands as one of the finest of the 21st century. An ideal growing season—warm, dry summer with cooling Atlantic influence, perfect September weather—allowed grapes to achieve exceptional phenolic ripeness while maintaining vibrant acidity. Harvest conditions were optimal across the region.

For the great châteaux of the Médoc, 2015 delivered wines of classical proportions: ripe fruit balanced by fresh acidity, structured tannins, and extraordinary aromatic complexity. The vintage produced wines with both immediate appeal and exceptional aging potential—a rare combination that defines legendary years.

Neal Martin (Robert Parker Wine Advocate) awarded this wine an exceptional 99 points, noting: ‘The 2015 Château Margaux was the final vintage under Paul Pontallier before his untimely passing in April 2017… It has an incredibly perfumed bouquet with pure black fruit, oyster shell, crushed flowers and just a faint hint of black truffle. It is more nuanced than when I tasted it from barrel, taking its time to unfold in the glass with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, almost chiseled tannin and a perfect line of acidity. The Cabernet Sauvignon drives this wine forward and imparts a keen graphite thread from start to finish that lends it a Pauillac-like personality. Think of a more feminine Château Latour and you would be close. It is a long-term Château Margaux that will give pleasure for many decades, a fitting tribute to the man whose name is engraved on the bottle.’

Tasting Experience

• The wine presents an ‘incredibly perfumed bouquet’ of breathtaking complexity: layers of ‘pure black fruit’—cassis, blackberry, black cherry—intertwine with ‘oyster shell’ minerality, ‘crushed flowers,’ and ‘just a faint hint of black truffle.’ The aromatic profile is extraordinarily nuanced, ‘taking its time to unfold in the glass with aeration’—revealing new dimensions with each swirl.
• On the palate, the wine is ‘medium-bodied with very fine, almost chiseled tannin and a perfect line of acidity.’ The texture is simultaneously powerful and refined—what Martin describes as ‘a more feminine Château Latour.’ The ‘Cabernet Sauvignon drives this wine forward,’ providing a ‘keen graphite thread from start to finish that lends it a Pauillac-like personality.’
• Mid-palate depth reveals extraordinary complexity: pure black fruit concentration balanced by mineral precision, with subtle notes of cedar, tobacco, and exotic spice emerging from 100% new oak that’s already beautifully integrated. The wine’s structure is impeccable—power held perfectly in check by finesse and elegance.
• The finish extends with remarkable length and persistence, leaving impressions of black fruit, graphite, crushed flowers, and fine-grained tannins. This is Château Margaux at its most complete expression—’a long-term wine that will give pleasure for many decades.’
• This bottling represents a historic moment: Paul Pontallier’s final vintage and one of the greatest wines ever produced at this legendary estate. The specially engraved bottle serves as ‘a fitting tribute to the man whose name is engraved on the bottle’—a lasting memorial to one of Bordeaux’s greatest winemakers.

Service & Food Pairing

Serve at 17-18°C in large Bordeaux stems to showcase the wine’s perfumed bouquet and chiseled structure. Decant 60-90 minutes before service to allow the wine’s nuanced aromatics to fully emerge—Martin notes it ‘takes its time to unfold in the glass.’ The wine will continue revealing new dimensions over 3-4 hours. This is a wine to savor slowly and contemplate deeply.

Exceptional pairings:

• Premium beef: dry-aged côte de boeuf with bone marrow, beef Wellington with truffle duxelles
• Lamb preparations: rack of lamb with herb crust, lamb loin with black truffle jus
• Game meats: venison medallions with blackberry reduction, wild duck with cherry gastrique
• Rich mushroom dishes: porcini-crusted beef tenderloin, truffle risotto with aged Parmesan
• Aged hard cheeses: mature Comté aged 36+ months, aged Manchego, Parmigiano-Reggiano

Cellaring & Evolution

At 9+ years from vintage, this wine remains in its youth—built for ‘many decades’ of evolution. Château Margaux’s greatest vintages regularly develop for 50-60 years, and this 99-point masterpiece has exceptional aging potential ahead. The drinking window extends from 2025 through 2070.

The wine’s ‘very fine, almost chiseled tannin’ and ‘perfect line of acidity’ provide decades of structural foundation. While approachable now for those who appreciate youthful power and purity, the wine will reward patient collectors with 30-40 years of continued development. Optimal drinking likely begins around 2030-2040.

Store horizontally in a dark, vibration-free environment at 12-14°C with 70-75% humidity. This wine merits the finest storage conditions—it represents both exceptional investment value and historic significance. The original wooden case (OWC) adds both provenance and collectibility.

Collector’s Note: The 2015 Château Margaux represents one of the most important Bordeaux releases of the 21st century—a 99-point near-perfect wine that serves as the final vintage and lasting legacy of legendary winemaker Paul Pontallier. Each bottle bears a special engraving honoring Pontallier, making this both a world-class wine and a piece of Bordeaux history. With production limited and demand extraordinary, this wine offers exceptional long-term investment potential alongside immediate historic significance. Neal Martin’s extraordinary assessment—’a more feminine Château Latour,’ ‘a long-term wine that will give pleasure for many decades’—confirms this as essential for serious Bordeaux collections. The combination of perfect pedigree, historic significance, and exceptional aging potential makes this a once-in-a-generation acquisition opportunity.