Margaux
Maritime
The Médoc's most perfumed and delicate appellation, with the most classified estates of any commune and the First Growth Château Margaux.
Overview
About Margaux
The Margaux appellation spans five communes on the southern Haut-Médoc — Margaux, Cantenac, Soussans, Labarde and Arsac — and has 21 estates in the 1855 Classification, more than any other. Château Margaux is its First Growth, and Palmer, Rauzan-Ségla and Brane-Cantenac are among its best-known names.
The thin, light gravel soils give a lighter, more scented Cabernet Sauvignon than Pauillac, often with violet and floral notes and a silky texture. The appellation's reputation is for finesse rather than force.
Margaux is marked on the map.
France
Shaded: Gironde. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Maritime
Maritime and mild, with the estuary close by. The thin soils drain fast, so vines can suffer in a very dry summer and benefit from steady, moderate rainfall.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
The thinnest, lightest gravel of the four famous communes, over limestone and clay subsoils. The poor, free-draining soil restricts vigour and yields fine, aromatic Cabernet.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Margaux is a communal appellation whose châteaux are ranked in the 1855 Classification, which is by château rather than by vineyard.
First Growth
Château Margaux.
Second Growths
Rauzan-Ségla, Rauzan-Gassies, Durfort-Vivens, Lascombes and Brane-Cantenac.
Third to Fifth Growths
Including Palmer, Kirwan, Giscours, d'Issan and Malescot St-Exupéry among the Third Growths.
AOC Margaux
Red wine only, from the Bordeaux red varieties, from the five communes above.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.