Margaux AOC

One of the six communes (along with Listrac-Médoc, Moulis, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien) within the French Haut-Médoc area that are independent appellations and may bear the place name on the 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. The vineyards cover around 1,300 hectares of vines. The soils consist of a shallow layer of coarse gravel over fine gravel subsoil mixed with limestone. The red wines produced there are among the best in Médoc. A great lover of the wines was the writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). His eldest granddaughter was named Margaux Hemingway after this place and wine, although her name was Margot Louise.

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. They 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), and Château d'Issan, classified as Troisième (3rd rank), among others (see the complete list under Médoc). Margaux is the only commune where all five classes are represented. 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 variety Cabernet Sauvignon usually has the largest share in the red wines, which can often be stored for decades, but Merlot mostly has a higher share compared to other large communes in the Médoc. This gives the tannic Margaux wines a typical, somewhat smoother softer note.

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