Margaux

Vines were grown here in Gallo-Roman times, but estates (bourdieux) appeared only from the sixteenth century, led by great Bordeaux families. After Dutch engineers drained the land under Louis XIV, vines took over the gravel rises; by about 1760 the vineyard on the Belleyme map differed little from today's. In the early eighteenth century the future Château Margaux was already sold by name in London at three times the price of ordinary claret, and the registers of the broker Abraham Lawton for 1742–1775 show the five parishes supplying a little over a quarter of Médoc volume and over a third of its value. The name was used for a wider area until lawsuits fixed its limits: a Bordeaux court judgment of 3 December 1923 named five communes, and the AOC decree followed on 10 August 1954.

Margaux lies on the left bank of the Gironde on gravel terraces between 6 and 33 m, laid down by the Garonne in the Plio-Quaternary and Quaternary. Since Margaux and Cantenac merged it covers four communes, and it is the largest communal appellation of the Médoc. The oldest, highest terrace, found only in the south of Arsac, is sandy clay with gravel and pebbles no larger than 35 mm, called graves dragées. The lower and middle terraces, left by meltwater floods, are much coarser, with pebbles often over 80 mm. Beneath lie late Eocene clays or Eocene limestones and marls. Landes sand covers the plateau to the west, and silty-clay palus below 5 m lines the estuary. A dense network of streams drains the rises.

The specification describes intense red wines for long keeping, marked by finesse and fruity aromas. Cabernet Sauvignon covers nearly 60 % of the vineyard and gives structure, bouquet and ageing potential; Merlot rarely exceeds 30 % of a blend and adds roundness and complexity; Cabernet Franc brings elegance and subtle spice, and Petit Verdot colour, fruit and tannin. The rules root the quality in the complementary soils and their position near the estuary, which protects the vines from extremes; the first cadastres of 1826–1830 already taxed the gravel of the lower and middle terraces at the highest rates. The Bordeaux wine council calls Margaux the most "feminine" wine of the Médoc, with a delicate texture and smooth tannins.

The appellation is red only, from the six Bordeaux red varieties with Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. The 2023 rules also admit Castets, on trial for its late ripening and mildew resistance, for up to 5 % of an estate; the Bordeaux wine council reports a first experimental harvest in 2025.

In the 1855 classification Margaux received 21 classified growths, more than any other appellation and the only one with every rank from first to fifth. In 1787 Thomas Jefferson had already placed Château Margaux among the first growths. The Crus Bourgeois list of 1932 added 16 Margaux properties.