Chateau Marquis de Terme 2003 - Margaux

Presentation of the Château Marquis de Terme estate

Château Marquis de Terme is located in the heart of the Margaux appellation, on the left bank of the Médoc. Classified as a Fourth Growth in the 1855 classification, the estate has been managed since 2009 by Ludovic David, with a modern approach while respecting tradition. The vineyard covers approximately 40 hectares on deep gravel typical of Margaux. The estate's philosophy aims for elegance, finesse, and balance, the key characteristics of Margaux wines.

Tasting notes Marquis de Terme 2003: Tasted for himself on January 17, 2021, on a cold Valais evening

1st Nose: Powerful, empyreumatic (a complicated word for toasted notes), dominated by Brazil nuts (if you don't know them, try them and you'll see they have the aroma of many great Bordeaux, including Cos)

2nd nose a few minutes later after aeration: The nose makes us salivate, notes of powerful prunes, blackberry jam, and very dark cherry. It is welcoming but warns us, this is a serious wine, the power is barely hidden.

On the palate: The attack is dry, slightly astringent, the tannins are almost melted but very present. Leather, wood, the beast is powerful and still fights well.

We let it breathe for ten minutes in a carafe before returning to it.

Second half and resumption of hostilities. The wine is no longer the same! The prune is back, the palate is round, delicious, fruity and spicy. The length is impressive and continues more than 10 minutes after the last sip with a sweet note of licorice! The sips follow one another frantically. This wine is delicious, harmonious and full.

At WUAT we are purists, we like a Margaux to be a Margaux and a Cabernet to taste like Cabernet. So, to be honest, this wine is not a Margaux, nor a Marquis de Terme. Blind tasting, it would have been very difficult to place it. If you had told me it was a Trévallon, I would have believed you without hesitation.

We didn't know how Bordeaux wines from the heatwave vintages would evolve; we thought the "jammy" quality would make the wines stuffy and unsuitable for aging. We were wrong. This wine certainly doesn't meet the norm. But what a pleasure, what a treat, we highly recommend it.