Overall critical consensus (2023 Château Margaux)
The 2023 is widely described as a highly refined, floral, classically styled Margaux with strong aging potential. Across critics, it generally falls in the mid–high 90s to near-perfect range, depending on the reviewer and stage of sample.
It is typically characterized as:
- More elegant than powerful
- Silky, floral, Cabernet-driven
- One of the standout First Growths of the 2023 Bordeaux vintage
Key professional ratings (2023 vintage)
Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
- 97–100 points (barrel sample)
- Notes: Seamless, polished texture with classic Margaux refinement and sensual balance.
James Suckling
- 99–100 points
- Notes: Highly aromatic, floral, and among the top wines of the vintage.
Jeb Dunnuck
- 96–100 points
- Notes: Cassis, blue fruit, graphite, and a full-bodied yet seamless structure.
Wine Advocate (William Kelley)
- 95–97 points
- Notes: Structured, refined tannins with cassis and violet-driven aromatics.
Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux)
- 98 points
- Notes: Vibrant, floral, and precisely sculpted with excellent winemaking precision.
Aggregate score range
- Overall range: 95–100 points
- Most common range: 97–99 points
- General consensus: consistently very high first-growth level performance
Style and tasting profile
Common descriptors across critics include:
- Cassis, blackcurrant, violets, rose petals
- Graphite, cedar, subtle spice, sandalwood
- Silky, fine tannins
- Medium to full body with emphasis on finesse rather than weight
- Highly aromatic and perfumed expression of Margaux terroir
Overall assessment
The 2023 Château Margaux is considered a top-tier First Growth in the vintage, emphasizing elegance, aromatic purity, and precision over density or power. It is widely regarded as having strong long-term aging potential, typically estimated at 20–40+ years under proper cellar conditions.
89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
98-100pts James Suckling
The aromas in this young Margaux are so primary, reminding me of grape must fermenting in the vat, then turning to perfumes and flowers. Violets and roses. Full-bodied but it comes across as so agile and bright, with vivid acidity that makes the wine crunchy and linear. As Alexis, one of the owners of Margaux said, this really shows the DNA of the estate. Weightless. One of the wines of the vintage. 3.6 pH. Blend of 89% cabernet sauvignon, 5% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.
98-100pts Wine Cellar Insider
In competition for wine of the vintage, with a single swirl, you find roses violets, lilacs, black, with red cherries, espresso, cocoa, and boysenberries in the haunting aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is silky, velvety, energetic, and lively. Instead of the weight and intensity found in the 2022, the 2023 focuses on its purity, refinement, length, vivacity, and sensual textures. The seamless finish resonates for 60 seconds, leaving you with lingering waves of incredibly sweet, and pure cherries. Part of the reason for the success of the vintage at Margaux is due to the combination of the amount of rain, and even more importantly, the timing of the rains, which helped the vines reach a better level of maturity. It is interesting to note that macerations were slow, and easy, with some vats taking 28 days due to the lower ABV levels. The wine blends 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. 13.1% ABV. 3.61 pH, 15% press wine. 41% of the crop was placed into the Grand Vin. Picking took place September 11-October 6. The length of the harvest was due to intermittent periods of rain during the harvest, so picking stopped and started, which is another key to the success in 2023. Drink from 2030-2065.
99 Points Jeb Dunnuck
The Grand Vin 2023 Château Margaux is based on 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc and was aged 21 months in 100% new French oak. Deep purple-hued and opaque, it offers sensational aromatics of crème de cassis, mulberries, flowery incense, blue fruits, graphite, and smoky tobacco on the nose. It's full-bodied on the palate and has a broad, layered, seamless mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It's not far off the style of the 2020 and is shockingly good! Will it shut down? Time will tell, but this is a sensational effort that deserves a solid decade of bottle age. Drink 2035-2073.
97-100pts Vinous
The 2023 Château Margaux is fabulous. Sensual, silky and exceptionally polished, the 2023 Château Margaux is shaping up to be a classic. Seamless, silky tannins wrap around a core of dark red/purplish fruit. Hints of spice, new leather, menthol, licorice and rose petal fill out the glass. There's a bit of new oak peeking through today, but that won't be an issue in a few years' time. Only Bordeaux can produce wines that offer so much flavor intensity at low alcohols. Margaux is the least showy of the First Growths, but it is often the most refined. The 2023 is sublime.
-Antonio Galloni
96-100pts Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Château Margaux is clearly one of the greats in the vintage, and it actually reminds me a touch of the 1996, if not better. Revealing a deep purple hue, it has an incredible bouquet of cassis and blue fruits interwoven with classic Margaux floral, sandalwood, spice, and graphite aromatics. It's hard to find a wine in 2023 that has this much density and depth, with sweet tannins and so much charm. The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, all of which will see 20 months in new barrels. Not enough can be said about the genius of Philippe Bascaules and the Mentzelopoulos family, who continue to produce sensational wine after sensational wine.
97-99pts The Wine Independent
The 2023 Chateau Margaux, accounting for 41% of this year's crop, is deep garnet-purple in color. A little shy to begin, it needs some swirling before notes of black cherries, blackcurrant pastilles, and anise emerge from the glass, leading to suggestions of fragrant soil, lilacs, and cardamom with a touch of iron ore. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly crafted, with fabulous tension creating an exhilarating sense of energy in the mouth, offset by firm fine-grained tannins to support the vibrant red and black berry layers, finishing long and perfumed. So fragrant and graceful, this could only be Chateau Margaux! The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.60. "There is a little more Cabernet Franc this year. More and more has been making it into the First Wine. We have been grafting over some vines to Cabernet Franc and planting more."
97-99pts Vinous
The 2023 Château Margaux, which contains 15% vin de presse, is quintessential Château Margaux. It immediately blossoms in the glass with irresistible crushed violets on the nose, instantly demanding attention- you will gladly give it. Exquisitely defined and very focused with supremely well integrated oak, this is blessed with laser-like precision. The palate is silky smooth on the entry, perhaps a little feistier than expected thanks to a liberal sprinkling of black pepper. Quite structured (like the Pavillon Rouge) and gentle, you can almost overlook its grip. It finishes with a concentrated, graphite-tinged finish that lingers long in the mouth. The First Growth will require ten years in the bottle to really show what it is capable of.
-Neal Martin
98pts Jane Anson
Vibrant peony and ruby red colour, this hums with movement and energy through the palate, a complex bloom of lavendar and white rose flowers, fresh and dense at the same time. Classical Margaux, with the savoury quality of the best wines of the year, a ton of fine tannins with a reserved sculpted architecture. The drinkability of this vintage is such a welcome return, and this is exceptionally good quality, and a real pleasure to taste. Superb winemaking from Philippe Bascaules. 41hl/h yield (compared to 25hl/h last year), 41% of the production in this 1st wine.
98pts Decanter
Quite a herbal nose, full of blackcurrant leaf and bramble fruit, dark chocolate, violets - subtle, not shouting, but interesting. Round and ripe, a nice weight in the mouth, silky, but also like crushed velvet, mouthwatering acidity, so juicy and clean, a lovely texture in the mouth. Not chewy at all, but there’s depth here, a cushioning to the palate with incredible juiciness. Charming, gentle yet lively. It's is just so appealing but this will benefit from oak ageing too. Carefully made, tannins are wonderful and the acidity doesn’t stick out. You also don’t sense the heat, but the fruit is ripe, with freshness all the way through. A wonderful wine in 2023. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend with 4% Cabernet Franc, the highest percentage ever in the blend. 41% grand vin production. 3.6pH, 15% press. Officially certified organic as of 2023. Ageing 100% new oak, 18 months.
95-97pts Wine Advocate
The 2023 Château Margaux shows considerable promise, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis, violets, spring flowers and sweet tobacco, framed by a deft touch of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's taut, concentrated and classically structured, with sweet, refined tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. It's a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that attained 13% alcohol.
History
Château Margaux, a Premier Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux, is one of the most famous wines in the world. Care has been lavished on the property by a line of owners with an abiding concern for the reputation of the estate.
For more than five hundred years, season after season, generations of vineyard-workers, grapeharvesters, cellar-workers, coopers and many other craftsmen have all played a part in making Chateau Margaux what it is today: a wine with an incomparable personality, reflected in the elegant Palladian building which adorns its label. In 1977, the estate was purchased by the late André Mentzelopoulos, and it is now run by his daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos.
