Château Margaux 1979

This wine is just now reaching full maturity, much later than I initially expected. It is a classy, elegant example of Margaux, possessing a dark ruby/purple color and a moderately intense nose of sweet black currant fruit intermingled with minerals, vanillin, and floral scents. The wine is medium-bodied, with beautifully sweet fruit. This linear, more compressed style of Margaux has a good inner core of sweet fruit and a charming, harmonious personality. Although not a blockbuster, it is aging effortlessly and appears to take on more character with each passing year. Anticipated maturity: Now–2010. Last tasted 12/96

It is many years since I tasted the 1979 Château Margaux, so long that it simply possesses the far-off afterglow of what was a lovely wine. Now? It has a slightly deeper hue than I recall. The nose is a little frayed at the edges, but it coheres with a couple of hours of decanting, vestiges of brambly red fruit, old school desk, cedar and pressed rose aromas. The palate has probably lost some cohesion in recent years, though a core of red fruit commingles with cedar, mint and tobacco notes. Judging by this bottle, it is a Margaux that ought to be drunk sooner rather than later, though it still stands up in the context of a mediocre growing season. Tasted at the Complete Bordeaux Tasting dinner at Hedonism.

Light ruby with bricking in the color, the wine is filled with cassis, spice, truffle, coffee and earthy notes. Refined in texture, this medium/full bodied wine is fully mature. The finish ends with cassis and spice flavors. There is no reason to age this wine any longer. It will not improve. This was my last bottle from the case. With a perfect fill, it was also the best of the 12.

Still very dark in colour, dense at the core, with the first signs of maturity at the rim. The bouquet is initially dry, then becomes sweeter, with smoky notes, truffle, prunes, plenty of tobacco, blending with a touch of kitchen herbs (thyme); after a quarter of an hour it shows more freshness, in the form of dried cranberries and minty tones. On the palate it is firm, with good bite, fleshy, supported by still-structuring tannins, and a powerful finish. A Médoc classic, ranking among the best Bordeaux of the vintage.

Drunk more than twenty times. It had an incredibly long fruit phase, only closed up briefly, and by 1991 it was already showing the beginning of its drinking maturity (19/20): an opening nose of fresh truffle (very intense), red-berry, fruity jam without coming across as sweet. On the palate concentrated without being heavy, perfect elegance, very promising, at the start of a long and extremely delightful evolution. In 1997 instantly recognized blind at a tasting. It is currently showing a herbal tone that can also be found in the ’86 Margaux. On the palate, slender elegance with well-supporting acidity. It is only at the beginning of a very long drinking window. Safely on course for 19/20 points! 00: In top form and somehow still only at the beginning of a very long drinking maturity. We drank it alongside a magnum of Pétrus 1979, which stood no chance against what was probably the best wine of this vintage. The color shows little maturity. The fruit is still very primary; above all lingonberries and a glorious Margaux perfume intoxicate the senses on the nose. On the palate slender, silky, elegant and again that stunning sweetness. Great wine, worth more than it fetches at auctions. 02: A magnificently beautiful Impériale bottle at the semester rarities tasting at Haus Paradies in Ftan. The nose is already almost explosive with its combination of herb and fruit notes. On the palate, pure extract sweetness, juicy and dense. Little written, much drunk! 07: At Credit Suisse’s Wine & Dine. Still very dark in color, dense in the middle, showing first maturity at the rim. The bouquet initially dry, then turning sweeter, smoky notes, truffle, prunes and lots of tobacco blending with a kitchen-herb tone like thyme; after a quarter of an hour more freshness appears in the form of dried lingonberries and minty tones. On the palate firm, good grip, fleshy with still supportive tannins, powerful finish. A great Médoc classic, among the best of its vintage! 08: Recognized blind as Margaux but assumed to be ’82. Fine peat notes, lingonberries, red currants. On the palate a bit rustic but balanced by power. (19/20). 12: I had set it aside from the start, but I wasn’t sure how thirsty my guests would be. So it was sort of a stand-by bottle, which then turned out to be urgently needed so as not to sit with long faces next to empty glasses. And this somewhat penalized the enjoyment of this Margaux, because un-decanted it did not taste quite as good as in my best memories. The greatest experience with this wine was exactly 10 years ago. I opened an Impériale at Haus Paradies in Ftan. I have never seen the contents of a large-format bottle disappear so quickly. Back to this standard bottle: bright, fairly dark ruby, just a very fine hint of maturity. The bouquet began dry, a bit of hay, dried thyme, raisin notes from overripe grapes, then turning fruitier; above all you clearly perceive lingonberries in the increasingly sweet nose. On the palate fine muscle play, well-supporting acidity, further tannin reserves. Gains with air, so be sure to decant for two hours. (19/20). 13: Dark, dense wine-red, still looking very youthful. Lots of ripe red plums, light tobacco, a touch of caramel and, for this age, still an incredible amount of vanillin, slightly lactic at the outset. On the palate Burgundian, juicy and very creamy, showing a hint of red capsicum inside. Feels illogically modern and young. The enjoyment guarantee extends for another 20 years. 14: Starts ripe and smoky, dry. On the palate fairly rustic for the first quarter hour. Its concentration is impressive. After half an hour it becomes rounder. It is certainly now at its peak. (19/20). 16: A bottle with mid-shoulder. Slightly oxidative. Woodsy notes, but also with a dry sweetness. Compact on the palate, discreet capsule-like notes. Certainly not an optimal bottle. But it still worked. There was cervelat and cheese with it. (19/20). 17: Intense Bordeaux red with little maturity. Incredibly spicy from the start, suede notes and raisiny tones. On the second pass, dried kitchen herbs, black peppercorns, cold fireplace, all very intense. On the palate concentrated, a bit brittle in its slightly grainy texture, fleshy and perhaps a little rustic. The main thing is that this 1979 ranks among the best of its vintage and is still very present today. (19/20). 20: Medium-dark garnet with the last purple reflexes. Very intense, dense bouquet. A concentrated load of herbs, dried fruits, fine leather and spicy terroir scent. On the second nose a dreamy nuance of magnificently sweet Madeira swings in, without pulling the bouquet into oxidation. Already on the nose it conveys great class. On the palate full, concentrated, more structured than fleshy. Again you find lots of aromas of dried berries, mostly in the red-berry spectrum. This great Margaux is among the very best wines of the 1979 vintage. And unfortunately there aren’t many left. Apart from a few outdated auction results you practically won’t find any offers in Switzerland anymore. A pity – because this great Margaux will hold on for a few more years! (19/20).

Mineral, powerful, elegant bouquet, with various red berries, a delicate hint of iodine and subtle mushroom notes. Dense, elegant, classic structure with fine-grained texture, diverse aromatics, good tannins, long, delicately bitter finish. 18/20 drink up

Following the excellent score awarded to the 1979, to check its structure and quality, I asked to taste this wine again at the estate. There were two bottles, one with a reconditioned cork and the other with the original cork. The reconditioned bottle was fresher and better, but lacked the complexity of the one tasted last June. If there are bad bottles, there are also very good ones.