86% cabernet sauvignon 10% merlot 2% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc. Vines are planted in 82 hectares of gravel soil with pockets of sand gravel and limestone. The average vine age is 36 years. Gorgeous deep ruby color all the way through. The nose is outstanding with a perfumed array of violet rose petal strawberry blackberry and cassis. What an elegant yet powerful expression of Margaux here. Exceptionally soft and lush on the palate with layers of pretty red fruits followed by light chocolate and essence of rose petal. Already beautiful at this infant stage this is a serious wine to behold. This is the most accessible of all the First Growths. Simply exquisite. Enjoy from 2015-2030.

At first the tannins keep this pretty tight, but as it opens up there is an elegance and finesse, along with a subtle floral expression that is clearer in the Château Margaux than the Pavillon. Juicy on the finish, and as it opens further you get a gourmet, dense expression to the raspberry and cassis fruit. Aromatically it is finely knit and uplifting. The iris and peony aromatics of Château Margaux are really to the fore, it's a great vintage to show off this side of the estate. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 3.6pH. 38% of overall production in the first wine. One of the earliest harvest on record, all finished by end of September which is extremely rare at Margaux.

The 2011 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. It was quite a warm vintage and the earliest harvest since 1893, starting on the 5th of September, with very small, concentrated berries. "Like a young version of the 1995, it needed time for the tannins to soften," commented winemaker Philippe Bascaules. It has a deep garnet color and shoots out of the glass with notes of plum preserves, blackcurrant pastilles, and boysenberry preserves, leading to hints of black tea, star anise, clove oil, and cardamom, with a touch of menthol. The medium-bodied palate is packed with layers of evocative black and red berry preserves, supported by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

(94-95 points) Blending 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, along with equal parts Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, the wine is ruby in color. With delicate, complicated scents of violets, mocha, smoke, truffle, blackberry, cassis and an array of spices, the wine is soft, refined and elegant. It’s lacking the volume and darker berries found in the 2010 or 2009. Yet this is a very suave, fresh, pure, cassis-filled Margaux. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=Ch%C3%A2teau%20Margaux

(NM93-95 points) Representing 38% of the crop the Grand Vin is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon 10% Merlot 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Harvest began 5th September with the earlier ripening Merlot and finished around the 20th. It has a very strict bouquet very linear a no-frills aromatic profile that delivers straight to the senses minerality with touches of graphite and cedar from the intense Cabernet. The palate is medium-bodied with a more understated entry. The Cabernet is very pure right from the outset with blackberry graphite a saline tincture and a touch of black olive. It has a fine framework of taut tannins beautifully composed as usual with a finish that unlike 2009 or 2010 is very precise and linear finishing off dry and abruptly. There is not a great long tail on the finish but that would not suit this style of Margaux one that is more masculine in style.

A solidly structured wine, it is both elegant and intensely powerful. It is disclosing its fruitiness slowly, at the moment dense and concentrated. A restrained edge provides complexity and balance. It will need aging, so don’t drink before 2022.

Fabulous aromas of flowers with hints of strawberries and currants. Extremely aromatic. This is full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a racy finish. It is very finely structured but chewy and austere. I like the tension to this. Try in 2018.

This has a restrained core of steeped plum, blackberry and anise, studded with tobacco and roasted cedar notes. The structure is silky but persistent, with an almost-succulent feel through the finish, while warm bergamot, singed cedar, vanilla and sanguine hints define the finish. Discreet today, but shows the balance and precision to unfold slowly with cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2030.

The renowned Chateau Margaux’s 2011 boasts a dark ruby/plum color as well as a fragrant perfume of spring flowers, sweet, supple, well-integrated tannins, medium body, and the elegance and nobility expected from a great first-growth. Although it is not as powerful or concentrated as the 2009 or 2010 (no 2011s are), it possesses finesse, elegance, purity and suppleness. The wine is surprisingly approachable already yet should keep for 15-20 years. - Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The 2011 Château Margaux has a more open-knit bouquet with brambly red fruit than its peers with notes of sage, leather and tobacco, perhaps a little more animally than its peers? The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins on the entry, plenty of tobacco-stained black fruit, pencil box and white pepper, fanning out with confidence on the finish that has just a little dryness. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting. -- Neal Martin