Château Margaux, Bordeaux
Arriving at Margaux train station in the late afternoon, the most striking thing was the vast, flat landscape. For an athletic wine walker like me, who loves galloping up hills, this is not ideal.
The other striking thing was that there was no village in sight. My hotel was allegedly 20 minutes walk away. But which way?
Fortunately, I noticed a young school girl. I asked her for directions. She told me to wait. When her father arrived in a car, she convinced him to drive me to my hotel.
One thing I have noticed in my 25 years in France is that French girls find us Anglo-Saxon men to be cutely eccentric. I always try to exploit this misapprehension.
Now Margaux wines, which are mainly red, are exceptional. They are considered by many to be very elegant and aromatic, with silky smooth tannins and are more approachable in their youth than some other regions. While not the most concentrated, powerful, or tannic wines of Bordeaux, they can be the most elegant, sensuous, refined, and perfumed.
The 82 hectare Chateau Margaux vineyard is planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc for the red wine grapes. And Chateau Margaux ages extremely well. In the top vintages, the wines can age and evolve for 50 or more years.
I have consumed Chateau Margaux on a number of occasions. One time, Richard Gibson invited me to his home for a New Year’s dinner, with some of his upper class friends.
Richard pulled a bottle of Chateau Margaux out of his cellar. When he put it on the table, no-one seemed to notice. So I quickly had a few wonderful glasses. Feeling joyful, I proceeded to flirt with a depressive divorcee sitting opposite me, to her great displeasure.
I was punished for my misbehaviour, as Richard never invited me back again. But it was a price worth paying, because the wine was particularly good. I have since learned that the victim of my attention, subsequently perked up and has remarried.
With this episode in my mind, I followed the suggestion of a Portuguese lady working at my hotel, to dine at the local restaurant. Sadly, neither the restaurant’s food, service, nor wine was up to scratch.
The next day my driver confirmed the fall in quality of the Margaux local restaurant. It lost staff during Covid, and has not been able to recover.
After walking around Margaux, I then hired a driver to take me for a drive around the neighbouring Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe vineyards. The terrain is slightly hilly and thus attractive for wine walking. Many of the chateaux are simply extraordinary. And Pauillac sits elegantly on the Gironde River.
So next time, back to Pauillac!