TheWineForum Château Margaux Dinner. 24 January 2012 The Waldhuus Hotel Davos, Switzerland IN VINO CARITAS

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1 TheWineForum Château Margaux Dinner 24 January 2012 The Waldhuus Hotel Davos, Switzerland IN VINO CARITAS

Contents Welcome to The Wine Forum 1 Dinner and Wines 2 Château Margaux 4 Wine Guide Paul Pontallier 10 For Your Notes 12 Welcome to TheWineForum It is with great pleasure we present to you The Wine

2 Contents Welcome to The Wine Forum 1 Dinner and Wines 2 Château Margaux 4 Wine Guide Paul Pontallier 10 For Your Notes 12 Welcome to TheWineForum It is with great pleasure we present to you The Wine Forum s 2012 Château Margaux Davos Tasting and Dinner. The Wine Forum is an independent organisation originating from a series of tastings held at the World Economic Forum s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland in Wine Forum Members share three attributes: they are global leaders in their fields; they deeply appreciate fine wines; and they avidly pursue philanthropic interests. The Wine Forum operates a non-obligatory Wine Buying Club where every participant pledges to donate to charity an equivalent amount to the wines they purchase. During the recent 2010 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, members purchased US$1.2 million of wine. The Wine Forum also arranges exclusive events in the most prestigious venues such as the Waldhuus hotel in Davos. Tonight we celebrate Château Margaux, a first growth of undisputed stature. However, the reputation this wine now commands and the standing it now enjoys does not mean that Château Margaux has always had an easy ride. Between ownership changes, social revolutions, bug infestations and economic depressions, Château Margaux has seen its fair share of crises over several hundreds of years. However, since the early 1980s, a first-class owner-management team comprising Corinne Mentzelopoulos and Paul Pontallier, has passionately moved the Château from strength to strength and capitalised on the unique terroir in which the vines grow, to fully realize the property s potential. We are lucky to have Paul Pontallier, the famous general manager, to guide us through some extraordinary vintages of the recent past, followed by a dinner with yet more wines. It is always a pleasure and privilege to present Château Margaux, not only as a superlative wine, but as an institution that understands how to manage long-term, multi-generational change in a world that tends towards myopic, short-term gain. The results, we think, speak for themselves. We hope you enjoy tonight as much as we enjoyed preparing it. David Spreng Co-founder The Wine Forum Vidhi Tambiah Co-founder The Wine Forum 24 January 2012 iii 1

3 Dinner and Wines The Menu Wine Tasting Pavillon Blanc 2009 Pavillon Rouge 2008 Château Margaux 2008 Dinner Menu Wines Notes from Robert Parker Château Margaux 2004 Château Margaux 1999 Château Margaux 1996 First Course: Carpaccio of Bresaola with regional cheese and field salad served with Pavillon Blanc 2003 Main Course: New Zealand lamb with olive served with Pavillon Rouge 2000 Cheese Course: Cheese plate served with Château Margaux 1995 Dessert: Apple fritters with vanilla foam Coffee Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 2009 The 2009s tend to be less classic than 2007, but more exotic, honeyed, and higher in alcohol, with compelling richness. The 2009s will probably have a shorter evolutionary curve, but these wines tend to last a long time, even in a vintage such as this. They are fascinating dry white wines. Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 2003 (dinner wine) The 2003, which is not a great vintage for most dry white Bordeaux (because of the heat), is somewhat soft and flat. It reveals honeysuckle, pineapple and more exotic fruit characteristics than the classic Pavillon Rouge 2008 The 2008 Pavillon Rouge is an elegant, berry-scented, spicy, soft Pavillon Rouge with good depth, sweet tannins and an attractive finish. It can be drunk now or cellared or years. Pavillon Rouge 2000 (dinner wine) The 2000 Pavillon Rouge, exhibits a medium/dark ruby color with some lightening at the edge, notes of cedar, spice box, black cherries, and currants in a very evolved style at full maturity. Drink it over the next 4 5 years Château Margaux 2008 This is a stunning Château Margaux, made in a sexy, up-front, elegant style, with deep crème de cassis fruit intermixed with spring flowers, a solid inner core of richness and depth, but again, very sweet tannins as well as striking minerality and elegance. One of the most seductive Château Margauxs given its recent bottling, this blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot should drink beautifully for the next years. Remarkably, a mere 36% of the entire production was selected for the 2008 Château Margaux. Château Margaux 2004 The supple-textured 2004 Château Margaux is reminiscent of the 2001 or It exhibits a superb blue/purple color to the rim as well as sweet aromas of flowers, blueberries, crème de cassis, licorice and smoke, superb fruit intensity, medium body, classic elegance and silky, sweet tannin in the long finish. This beauty can be drunk now or cellared for two decades or more. Château Margaux 1999 The sexy, dark plum/purple-colored 1999 Margaux is already revealing complex aromatics. This surprisingly charming and round offering is reminiscent of a vintage such as Although neither a blockbuster nor a heavyweight, it grows in the mouth revealing tremendous length as well as purity. Administrator Paul Pontallier prefers it to the more austere 1998, as do I. This is an archetypical Château Margaux of richness, finesse, balance and symmetry. It can be drunk young, but promises to age nicely for two decades. Extrapolating backwards, it would probably have something in common with the underrated 1962 Médocs. Château Margaux 1996 The 1996 Château Margaux, which was bottled in September 1998, is undoubtedly one of the great classics produced under the Mentzelopoulos regime. In many respects, it is the quintessential Château Margaux, as well as the paradigm for this estate, combining measured power, extraordinary elegance and admirable complexity. I tasted the wine on three separate occasions, and in short, it s a beauty! The color is opaque purple. The wine offers extraordinarily pure notes of blackberries, cassis, pain grille and flowers, gorgeous sweetness, a seamless personality and full body, with nothing out of place. The final blend (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) contains a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It tastes complete and long, although backward. My instincts suggest this wine will shut down, but at present it is open-knit, tasting like a recently bottled wine. The fruit is exceptionally sweet and pure, and there are layers of flavour in the mouth. I do believe this wine will develop an extraordinary perfume, and possess a high level of richness. Anticipated maturity: Château Margaux 1995 (dinner wine) Bottled very late (November 1997), the 1995 has continued to flesh out, developing into one of the great classics made under the Mentzelopoulos regime. The color is opaque ruby/purple. The nose offers aromas of licorice and sweet smoky new oak intermixed with jammy black fruits, licorice and minerals. The wine is medium- to full-bodied, with extraordinary richness, fabulous equilibrium and hefty tannin in the finish. In spite of its large size and youthfulness, this wine is user-friendly and accessible. This is a thrilling Margaux that will always be softer and more evolved than its broader-shouldered sibling, the How fascinating it will be to follow the evolution of both of these vintages over the next half century. Anticipated maturity:

Château Margaux Early History The history of Château Margaux stretches back to the 12 th century, although this predates the construction of the building that we see today by about seven hundred

4 Château Margaux Early History The history of Château Margaux stretches back to the 12 th century, although this predates the construction of the building that we see today by about seven hundred years. At this time it was in the ownership of French nobility, and was known as La Mothe de Margaux; La Mothe comes from motte, meaning a small rise in the land, yet another example of the seemingly infinite different number of words that describe such hillocks on the Médoc. Perhaps of more pertinence, this also predates the arrival of viticulture at Margaux, the land more commonly being employed in the production of sugar beet, as was common across much of this part of Bordeaux. It was not until the Lestonnac family took possession of the estate in the 16 th century that it began to resemble the Château Margaux that we know today. In the ten years that followed 1572, Pierre Lestonnac, in anticipation of a widespread change from arable agriculture to viticulture on the Médoc, made his mark in a most dramatic fashion. By the beginning of the 18 th century, the estate at Margaux covered an impressive 265 hectares, of which one third was devoted to viticulture. The estate as it is today has changed very little in size or layout since that time. Material for this section is sourced from thewinedoctor.com. Of all the first growths, Margaux is certainly a strong contender for being the most splendidly presented: its imposing 19 th -century château which peers over the chai, barrel cellars and other buildings easily visible from the D2, and the road that snakes up the Médoc past the front doors of many of the classed growths. It stands proud, surrounded by several broad sweeps of vines, the only visual challenge being from Château Palmer, which is visible in the distance with its witches-hat turrets stretching skywards, in marked contrast to the more reserved style of the château at Margaux. It is a regal château indeed, and certainly fitting in view of the quality of the wines that have been made here over the last couple of decades. The early 18 th century saw more improvements of considerable significance at Château Margaux, led principally by the estate manager Berlon. These changes may at first seem surprising, as today they sound like common sense, but at the time these were brave new ideas. Berlon counselled against picking wet grapes, so as to avoid dilution; he recognised that certain plots produced better fruit than others, recognising the varied terroir of his estate; and he began to vinify red and white grapes separately they had previously all been vinified together. The wine improved in quality dramatically, as demonstrated in 1771, when it was the first claret to ever be sold at Christie s. In addition, Thomas Jefferson, the American ambassador, oenophile and later President, was an acolyte and purchased the Margaux was on a high, and successive owners kept quality to the fore at Margaux, including Joseph de Fumel and Elie du Barry, but Margaux saw an end to its good fortune when the latter saw his end under the guillotine following the Revolution. The estate came to the citizen Miqueau who paid it little attention, and it fell into disrepair. It was subsequently rescued from total dilapidation by Laure de Fumel, Joseph s niece, but she was soon forced to sell, and in 1801 the estate was purchased by the Marquis de la Colonilla, Bertrand Douat. 4 5

5 The Marquis de Colonilla Builds a House Colonilla had little interest in wine or Margaux, and lived in Paris rather than Bordeaux. He was a Basque, and arrived in France having already made his fortune; for him, ownership of such a grand property was intended to assist his social advancement. To that effect, the manor house which had already replaced the original fortified building was deemed inadequate, and it was torn down and replaced with the grand château, as designed by the leading architect of the day, Louis Combes. This building, which still stands today (pictured on the cover and on the last page of this programme), was Colonilla s only major contribution to Margaux, and it is one that he saw little of himself. Work began in 1810, when Colonilla was already in his eighth decade, and he died 26 years later, before the château was completed. His death once again prompted the sale of the estate, as his descendants had little interest in taking it on. The new owner this time was the Marquis de la Marismas, Alexandre Aguado, another Spaniard. Unlike Colonilla, Aguado regarded Margaux as a residence and he had a deep interest in the estate and its wines. Aguado and his family saw the estate through the powdery mildew crisis of the 19 th century, and the 1855 classification, when it should go without saying that Margaux was comfortably ranked as a first growth. The Aguado family subsequently sold Château Margaux to Frédéric Pillet-Will, and it was he who was in charge when phylloxera ravaged the estate, not to mention the rest of Bordeaux and all French vineyards, in the late-19 th century. The solution was to replant on American rootstock which, when this became widely accepted, was a task Pillet-Will undertook. The quality of the wine thereafter, for many possible reasons, was not always as good as might be expected, and it was at this time that a second wine, the forerunner of today s Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux, was introduced. Frédéric s good intentions meant little to his children, however, as after his death the estate suffered serious neglect. Nevertheless, a group led by Pierre Moreau, a trusted friend of the late Pillet-Will, formed a committee of purchasing shareholders in order to take over the ownership and running of Margaux. This arrangement worked well, and they tended the estate through the first half of the 20 th century, their most significant contribution to the Margaux of today being the introduction of château bottling, contemporaneous with the exact same change being implemented by Baron Philip de Rothschild at Château Mouton-Rothschild. This era of committee-led ownership came to a gradual end in the first half of the 20 th century, however, as Fernand Ginestet and his son, Pierre, gradually acquired more and more of the available shares in Margaux; finally, with the financial backing of Boylandry, Mayor of Saigon, they purchased the property outright in Sadly for the Ginestets, however, they had taken on too much. Château Margaux was trading on its reputation, and the intrinsic quality of the wines fell off dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s. They held onto the reins here for a little over two decades, but the Bordeaux crisis of the early 1970s, with several disastrous vintages, forced them into selling Château Margaux. This is the point at which the Mentzelopoulos family enters the fray. The Mentzelopoulos Era Greek by birth, André Mentzelopoulos had travelled far, and had become a wealthy man on the back of trading cereals in India, Pakistan and the Far East. Upon arriving in France in 1958, he purchased a small chain of grocery stores, and he proceeded to build the company into the Félix Potin supermarket chain, with more than 1600 outlets. In 1977, when Margaux had already been languishing on the market for two years, he bought it from the Ginestet family. In a time of economic depression for Bordeaux, it was testament to Mentzelopoulos commitment that he invested heavily with no expectation for short-term reward. He installed new drainage and replanted vines, reintroduced the use of a second wine to aid quality, constructed a new underground cellar, a remarkable achievement in the flat landscape of the Médoc where few cellars are truly subterranean, and purchased new oak barrels. The Corrine Mentzelopoulos Paul Pontallier 6 7

so soon after he had set Margaux on the road to recovery and before he could even take a taste of the full fruits of his labours.

6 château was also renovated. What a tragedy then that André Mentzelopoulos, whose arrival in the region as an outsider had caused mutterings of controversy only for him to be gladly accepted into the Bordeaux fold, died in 1980, so soon after he had set Margaux on the road to recovery and before he could even take a taste of the full fruits of his labours. The family business, and Château Margaux, came to his daughter, Corrine Mentzelopoulos, at a very tender age. With the aid of general manager Philip Barré, and esteemed consultant Professor Emile Peynaud, she and the Margaux team continued with the programme of improvements. In 1983, they were joined by Barré s replacement, Paul Pontallier, who has also been instrumental in the quest for even greater wines from the hallowed terroir that surrounds the château. The reward for wine drinkers has been exceptional; today, Margaux is no longer an under-achiever. Corinne has also been amply rewarded; in 2003, she was able to purchase the majority stake in Margaux held until that time by the Agnelli Group, and thus she became the sole owner of a very successful firstgrowth estate. Vineyard and Vinification Today the estate is spread over 262 hectares, with 87 hectares entitled to the Margaux appellation; 82 hectares are under vine. Many of the vines lie on gravelly terroir, although there are also patches of sand and small seams of limestone and clay in some areas. The areas of this extensive estate committed to the vine have changed little since the 18 th century, so unsurprisingly many of them surround the château in a large walled vineyard, but there are other patches, including some to the south opposite the cellars, a plot on the right of the D2 as you drive north away from Margaux, and also a 12-hectare plot further inland which is given over solely to white grapes and which is notable for the anti-frost system installed there. All four common red Bordeaux varieties are planted, these being Cabernets Sauvignon (75%) and Franc (about 3%), Merlot (20%) and Petit Verdot (about 2%), whereas the white vineyards are planted solely with Sauvignon Blanc. The vines average 36 years of age. The soils are gravelly, with a clay subsoil known as Calcaire de Plassac. Although a grand estate with a long heritage, Pontallier does not shy away from new developments in both vineyard and chai, although with any change he makes he will undoubtedly be looking to preserve the combination of finesse and grandeur that is the core feature of Margaux. New practices in the vineyard are being developed all the time. There is nothing striking about green-harvesting and deleafing, nor a shift towards organic methods, as these are techniques and philosophies that can be found all over Bordeaux these days. But changes in canopy management, in response to warmer temperatures and rising potential alcohols in the wines, is certainly not something you will hear discussed at many estates. The changes Pontallier put into place in the vineyard were largely a response to alcohol levels in the white wine, which in 2008 and 2007 was 14% and 15.5% respectively, whereas in the considerably warmer 2009 vintage this was controlled more effectively in the vineyard, the result being a Pavillon Blanc with a final alcohol level of 13.9%. The wines are fermented in large 150-hectolitre oak vats, with the very recent addition of a range of stainless steel vessels in a range of sizes to facilitate fermentation of smaller plots on an individual basis. After fermentation, the wine is then run off into barrels, the latter being constructed on-site in the Margaux cooperage, which is situated next to the barrel cellars in the buildings that surround the château. The red wines see an élevage of between 18 and 24 months in oak, the whites up to six months, and they are fined using egg whites prior to bottling, the bottles subsequently laser etched to act as a marker of authenticity and traceability. There are generally 12,500 cases of the grand vin, Château Margaux, produced each year. The second wine, Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, has a greater production, typically 16,500 cases, although in some recent years these figures have been even more remarkable, with the grand vin accounting for just one-third of the production in some vintages. As for Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, which is harvested at about 30 hl/ha, this very admirable wine has a typical production of just 2,750 cases. 8 9

Wine Guide Paul Pontallier Paul Pontallier was born in 1956 in Bordeaux into a family of wine growers. Paul studied agronomy and viticulture, respectively in Paris and Montpellier.

A few months later, Paul left for Chile. During eighteen months, he taught Oenology at the University of Santiago while on military service.

7 Wine Guide Paul Pontallier Paul Pontallier was born in 1956 in Bordeaux into a family of wine growers. Paul studied agronomy and viticulture, respectively in Paris and Montpellier. In 1978, he came back to Bordeaux to study for a Doctorate in Oenology at the renowned Institute of Oenology. He wrote his thesis on the barrel aging of red wines and graduated in A few months later, Paul left for Chile. During eighteen months, he taught Oenology at the University of Santiago while on military service. He returned to France in 1983 and he was immediately hired by Corinne Mentzelopoulos in replacement of Philippe Barré who was retiring. Alongside Corinne Mentzelopoulos, Paul Pontallier manages the estate with a long-term view and the highest standards of quality at all levels. Paul lives in Bordeaux. He is married and has four children

8 For Your Notes 12 13

9 For Your Notes 14 15

10 Thank you for attending The Wine Forum s Margaux Dinner in Davos. We aim to attain the highest standards in everything we do. We will be delighted to hear your feedback on how we might improve for next time and what you enjoyed the most. Next events: Bordeaux En Primeur Trip April 2012 Piedmont, Italy September 2012 Please contact vidhi@thewineforum.org or david@thewineforum.org for more details. The Wine Forum is an independent, notfor-profit society of very senior private and public sector leaders who share a passion for fine wine and philanthropy. Our events feature the best wines from the most renowned producers and take place in discreet, unique settings. Our members come from many different cultures, religions and political philosophies and set aside two or three days a year to attend our events.

TheWineForum Château Margaux Dinner. 21 October 2011 The Crown Wine Cellars Hong Kong SAR

IN VINO C AR ITAS TheWineForum Château Margaux Dinner 21 October 2011 The Crown Wine Cellars Hong Kong SAR Contents Welcome Welcome to The Wine Forum The Menu Château Margaux Wine Guide Thibault Pontallier