Chateau Margaux

Perhaps the grandest looking of the first growths, Margaux was already famous in the late 18th century, however it changed hands many times during the 19th and 20th centuries, investment was patchy and quality poor in many lesser vintages. Short of money in the 1970s, the Ginistets, the majority shareholders at the time, were forced to sell and Margaux was bought by Greek born French resident André Mentzelopoulos for a startlingly small amount (around €30m in today’s money). He passed away in 1980 and his young daughter Corinne took the helm and in 1983 employed Paul Pontarlier as technical director, a decision that would help Margaux become the most consistent first growth of the last 40 years. With 82 hectares of red varieties and a dozen of Sauvignon Blanc, the red has a startling perfume backed by silky structure, whilst the white is superb.