Château Margaux's grand vin accounts for 35% of production in this vintage. It stood out as a potential wine of the vintage during en primeur and it is more than living up to its promise. The concentration is stunning, with a fruit structure that is darker, tighter and more insistent than Pavillon. It's so fresh, there is an opulence here, a dense silkiness to the tannins that is fleshed out across the palate, building to a big finish with menthol freshness. This is classically-styled Margaux with aromatic acrobatics and tannins so fine that the stitching is seamless and perfectly pulled together. Even though extremely ripe, there is freshness too - the acidity measures 3.6pH. The 100% new oak is barely perceptible even now, fresh out of the cask. One to savour over the long term. Bottled in August 2017.

This is a haunting young wine that shows you a subtle and hidden strength on the nose with rose petals, currants, currant leaves, stones and plums. Wonderful ripeness yet brightness, too. Takes your breath away with the intensity and structure. Full-bodied, powerful and muscular, yet there's an agile undertone to the whole thing. Compact and condensed. A new legend for Margaux. The 1961 that didn’t happen. Try in 2024.

Expansive, fleshy raspberry and damson fruits that narrow through the palate as the minerality, slate and crushed rock texture comes to the fore. Expertly put together, showing beautifully at the 10 year point but with a long life ahead, this is exceptional, the definition of soft power. The bottle is engraved with Hommage à Paul Pontallier, as this was the final vintage for Margaux's legendary director (it also marked the opening of the new cellar, although the second vintage for vinifying within it). This was a 100 point for me En Primeur and continues to deliver at the highest level. 100% new oak for ageing.

The grand vin is the 2015 Château Margaux and it’s as good a wine as I’ve ever tasted. Coming from just over one-third of the total production and a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot, brought up in 100% new French oak, its deep ruby/purple-tinged color is followed by a thrilling bouquet of crème de cassis, toasted spice, hints of toasty oak, and cedar wood. Incredibly elegant and finesse-driven, yet packed with fruit, depth, richness, and structure, it has as much class as you can fit inside a glass. While the vintage provides plenty of upfront charm, this is a wine to cellar for at least a decade, and enjoy over the following 40+ years.

Deep, shiny, dark ruby in color, this rocks as soon as the wine is out of the gate, or should I say out of the bottle and into your glass. Cherry blossoms and lilacs make it seem as though you are in a flower shop. On the palate, the wine is rich, full bodied and concentrated, yet the wine is light on its feet. There is a purity in the fruit that is off the hook. There is a sensuous, textural quality that makes it so you cannot help but take another sip, to make sure the experience is real, and because it is so good! The wine is a testament to Paul Pontallier, as this is in some ways, a culmination of his life's work. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=2015+Chateau+Margaux+

Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine shows a wonderful black-currant purity on the palate, along with intense, vibrant acidity. The background is all tannin, which speaks to its aging potential. This wine is the last vintage produced by Paul Pontallier, who was general manager from 1990 until his death in 2016. It's a memorable wine and one for aging. Drink from 2027.

The 2015 Chateau Margaux was the final vintage under Paul Pontallier before his untimely passing in April 2017 and a specially engraved bottle has been made to honor the gentleman that did so much for this first growth. Nevertheless, one must be objective about the wine. It was so impressive in barrel, perhaps the finest from the left bank. Would it match up in bottle? The answer is an unequivocal affirmative. It has an incredibly perfumed bouquet with pure black fruit, oyster shell, crushed flowers and just a faint hint of black truffle. It is more nuanced than when I tasted it from barrel, taking its time to unfold in the glass with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, almost chiseled tannin and a perfect line of acidity. Continuing from its showing in barrel, the Cabernet Sauvignon drives this wine forward and imparts a keen graphite thread from start to finish that lends it a Pauillac-like personality. Think of a more feminine Château Latour and you would be close. It is a long-term Château Margaux that will give pleasure for many decades, a fitting tribute to the man whose name is engraved on the bottle.

The 2015 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Medium garnet-purple colored, the nose features oh-so-seductive notes of warm blackberries, cassis and black forest cake with touches of forest floor, sandalwood, anise and cigar boxes plus a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers taut, muscular, densely packed black fruits and exotic spice flavor layers supported by a very firm backbone of grainy tannins with oodles of freshness and a long, savory finish. It is tightly knit and a little reticent at this very youthful stage; afford it at least 15 years in the cellar, and it will open out into a classic Chateau Margaux of incredible proportions. Readers may be interested to know that this wine is beautifully packaged in a special commemorative bottle honoring winemaker Paul Pontellier, who passed away in 2016. The gold-etched black bottle bears the message, “Hommage à Paul Pontellier” at the bottom. This 2015 is an achingly beautiful swan song from an incredibly gifted winemaker, taken from us too soon. In my view, this alone makes this vintage more than worth the investment for the many lovers of history in a bottle. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Sublime, with captivating sandalwood, black tea and mesquite aromas that infuse the core of gently steeped red and black currant and raspberry fruit. The structure is seamless and thoroughly embedded throughout, letting warm tar, lilac, juniper and iron notes display themselves at will through the finish. The finish is about as long as it gets, with echoes of fruit and warm earth that should prove haunting when this reaches full maturity. Best from 2030 through 2050. — J.M.

Chateau Margaux 2015 has a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot and is deep garnet in color. It is very closed and shy to begin, eventually opening out to beautiful warm cassis, black raspberries, and notes of dried mulberries, followed by hints of tobacco leaf, crushed rocks, and dried lavender, with a touch of Ceylon tea. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and seductive, featuring grainy tannins and bright, bold acidity, finishing epically long and layered. The tannins are just a touch "al dente" compared with the 2016, but this is nonetheless gorgeous. This vintage is packaged in a beautiful commemorative bottle honoring winemaker Paul Pontellier, who passed away in 2016. The gold-etched black bottle bears the message, “Hommage à Paul Pontellier” at the bottom. This 2015 is an evocative swan song from a gifted winemaker, taken from us too soon.

The 2015 Château Margaux, which comes in a quite stunning engraved bottle, has an equally stunning bouquet with blackberry, pencil box and light sous-bois scents, less minty than I noticed a few years ago. The palate has exquisite balance and poise, fresh red and black fruit commingling, curry leaf and light tobacco notes emerging toward the poised, almost understated finish. Utter class. Tasted at the 2015 Ten-Year-On tasting at Bordeaux Index. -- Neal Martin

(19/20) Great breadth and savour on the nose. Lovely freshness and sophistication. Lots of fine tannins. Very aérien. Really flies! Perfect Margaux. A great welcome for the new chai and memorial for Paul Pontallier. Still tight but nothing out of balance. Very Margaux. Very classic claret. Quite brave because there is nothing showy about this wine, but it could truly be described as beautiful.