Chateau Margaux 2002

ROBINSON: "Deep crimson. Majestic essence of Cabernet Sauvignon but with Margaux elegance - quite a feat. There´s no doubt that acidity is marked but this is extremely supple, extremely serious wine made up of 86 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon with just seven per cent Merlot, two per cent Cabernet Franc and five per cent Petit Verdot. Not massive in build but beautifully harmonious. Clean, lively and fresh - a wine to caress the palate. Tannins clean and marked but not painful. Takes blackcurrant juice on to a new plane. Tasted much more impressive, gentler in fact, than Ch Margaux 2001."

WEINWISSER: "Recht dunkles Rubin-Granat, lila Rand. Kompaktes Bouquet zwischen roten Beeren, Grenadine und Rosenduft, helle Edelhölzer, dominikanischer Tabak, Anklänge von Dörrfrüchten, Bananen, extrem dicht und tiefgründig, klassisches Margaux-Nasenbild. Im Gaumen eine burgundische Fülle zeigend, frisch gebackenes Schwarzbrot, reife Beeren im Finale, jetzt schon eine Freude. Wird sich der Wein wieder verschliessen oder seine grossartige Frucht bewahren?"

WINEADVOCATE: "Performing better from bottle than at any time in cask (which of course is the objective of great winemaking, isn’t it?), this wine reveals a dense ruby/purple color in a style somewhat reminiscent of the 1988 but with more power, concentration, and volume. It has a beautifully elegant nose of black fruits intermixed with truffle, flower, and oak. The wine is medium to full-bodied, dense, with wonderful precision, freshness, and a long, full-bodied finish with impressive levels of concentration. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030."

WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "From a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, this medium bodied wine is perhaps slightly more interesting on the nose than the palate. The pleasurable floral, cherry, tobacco, leaf and earthy nose lead you to a wine with some rusticity in the tannins in the crisp finish. More time could soften the wine, but I am not willing to bet the farm on it. If you were lucky like me and bought the wine as a future in 2003 for about $80 US dollars, you did great. But in today´s world, there are better wines to buy."

ANTONIO GALLONI: "Bright, deep red. Classic aromas of boysenberry, black cherry, minerals and lead pencil. Then juicy and penetrating, with cabernet-dominated berry and mineral flavors (there´s a very low 8% merlot in the blend). Finishes with very firm, youthfully tough tannins that will require a good decade of patience. Quite tight today and difficult to assess. "We had a gorgeous September, but it came too late for the merlot," said Pontallier."

WINESPECTATOR: "This has hit its stride fully now, with a lightly mulled edge to the core of plum and blackberry fruit, while dark tea and singed iron notes fill in through the finish. Lovely and lingering dark perfume and charcoal hints gild the finish.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Drink now through 2025. 12,500 cases made."