Margaux AOC

One of the six communes (alongside Listrac-Médoc, Moulis, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien) within the French Haut-Médoc region that are independent appellations and are allowed to bear the place name on the bottle label. Margaux is the most famous and largest commune in the centre of the Médoc. The appellation also includes the four communes of Arsac, Cantenac, Labarde and Soussans.

Vineyards

The vineyards cover around 1,300 hectares of vines. The soils consist of a shallow layer of coarse gravel over a subsoil of fine gravel mixed with limestone. The red wines produced there are among the best in the Médoc. The writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was a great lover of the wines. His eldest granddaughter was named Margaux Hemingway after this place and this wine, although her name was Margot Louise.

Grand Cru

Margaux is home to 21 of the 61 châteaux that were included in the Grand Cru list in the famous Bordeaux classification in 1855. Their vineyards account for over a third of the cru classé area of the Médoc. These include the famous Château Margaux, classified as Premier (1st rank), the five Château Brane-Cantenac, Château Durfort-Vivens, Château Lascombes, Château Rauzan-Gassies and Château Rauzan-Ségla, classified as Deuxième (2nd rank), as well as Château d'Issan, classified as Troisième (3rd rank), among others (see the complete list under Médoc). Margaux is the only commune in which all five classes are represented.

Cru-Bourgeois & Cru Artisan

There are also well over 20 estates classified as Cru-Bourgeois, such as Château Labégorce-Zédé and Château Siran, as well as a number of estates classified as Cru Artisan. The dominant Cabernet Sauvignon variety usually has the largest share in the red wines, which often last for decades, but the Merlot variety usually has a higher share compared to other large communes in the Médoc. This gives the tannin-rich Margaux wines a typical, somewhat smoother and softer flavour.

Map: By Domenico-de-ga from the German-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Modifications from the original by Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer June 2017