The vineyard of Château Margaux stands as the producer of one of the world's greatest and most sought-after red This article is about the beverage. See WINE for an article about the software of the same name. Wine is an alcoholic beverage resulting from the fermentation of grapes or grape juice. The word comes from Greek Fοινος through Latin vinum, (both wine and the... wines. One of only five wines to achieve First Growth (French Premier Cru) status refers to the greatest wines of the Bordeaux region. According to the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, only five red wines were assigned the status of Premier Cru, four from Médoc and one from Graves. In addition, eleven of the sweet white... First Growth status in the oft-cited For the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for Frances best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a châteaus reputation and trading price... 1855 Bordeaux Classification, its vintages command a consistently high premium and are stored and traded over periods of many decades.

The château lies in the commune of Margaux is a village and commune in the Gironde département of south-west France, famed for its production of red wine. Population: 1,358. Geography The village lies in the Haut Médoc wine making region on the left bank of the Garonne estuary, north west of the city... Margaux in the great wine-producing region of The Médoc is one of the most famous of the French This article is about the beverage. See WINE for an article about the software of the same name. Wine is an alcoholic beverage resulting from the fermentation of grapes or grape juice. The word comes from Greek... Médoc in the département of Gironde Missing image Blason_france_Gironde_petit.jpg Coat of Arms de la Gironde Details Information Number 33 Region Aquitaine Prefecture Bordeaux Subprefectures Blaye Langon Lesparre-Médoc Libourne Population  - Total (1999)  - Density Ranked 9th 1,287,334 129 /km² Area 10,000 km² Arrondissements 5 Cantons 63 Communes 542 President... Gironde, benefiting from the area's celebrated terrain on the left bank of the The Garonne (Latin: Garumna, Occitan: Garona) is a river in southwest France, with a length of 575 km (357 miles). The river rises in the Val dAran (Spanish Pyrenees), flowing via Toulouse towards Bordeaux, where it flows into the Gironde, a sea arm of the Bay of Biscay. In... Garonne estuary.

History

The estate has been occupied since at least the 12th century, but it was only with the arrival of the Lestonnac family in the 16th century that wine production became of particular importance, and in the 1570s Pierre de Lestonnac cleared many of the Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a grain, technically a caryopsis). Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities worldwide than any other type of crop and provide more food energy to the human race. In some developing nations, cereal grains constitute practically... cereal fields to make way for Grape Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Vitales Family: Vitaceae Genus: Vitis Species Vitis acerifolia Vitis aestivalis Vitis amurensis Vitis arizonica Vitis x bourquina Vitis californica Vitis x champinii Vitis cinerea Vitis x doaniana Vitis girdiana Vitis labrusca Vitis x labruscana Vitis monticola Vitis mustangensis Vitis x... grapes. By Years: 1697 1698 1699 - 1700 - 1701 1702 1703 Decades: 1670s 1680s 1690s - 1700s - 1710s 1720s 1730s Centuries: 16th century - 17th century - 18th century 1700 in literature 1700 in music 1700 in science List of state leaders in 1700 List of religious leaders in 1700 Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian... 1700 the estate covered its present area of 265 hectares, and the 78 hectares devoted to vines has remained essentially unchanged since then.

As with most of Médoc's great châteaux, the 18th century saw the wine develop from a pale watery drink that faded within only a few years, to the dark, complex liquid that has been stored in dusty cellars ever since. At Château Margaux this transformation was largely due to a manager named Berlon who revolutionised techniques of wine-making by introducing novel ideas such as forbidding harvesting in the early morning to avoid dew -covered grapes, and acknowledging for the first time the importance of the For the heavy metal band see Soil (band) Soil is the layer of minerals and organic matter, in thickness from centimetres to a metre or more, on the land surface. Its main components are mineral matter, organic matter, moisture, and air. Soils differ in the ratio of these components. Contents... soil quality.

By the 19th century, the estate's wine was firmly established among the very best in The French Republic or France ( French (Français) Spoken in: The French Republic or France ( French (Fran ais) Spoken in: France and 53 other countries Region: Europe Total speakers: 128 million Ranking: 11 Genetic classification: Indo-European  Italic   Romance    Italo-Western   ... France, with Thomas Jefferson Order: 3rd President Term of Office: March 4, 1801–March 3, 1809 Preceded by: John Adams Succeeded by: James Madison Date of birth: April 13, 1743 Place of birth: Shadwell, Virginia Date of death: July 4, 1826 Place of death: Charlottesville, Virginia First Lady: Martha Jefferson Political... Thomas Jefferson placing it number one in his carefully-studied classification, and in Years: 1852 1853 1854 - 1855 - 1856 1857 1858 Decades: 1820s 1830s 1840s - 1850s - 1860s 1870s 1880s Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century 1855 in art 1855 in literature 1855 in music 1855 in rail transport 1855 in science 1855 in sports List of state leaders in 1855 List of... 1855 the famous classification ordered by Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (April 20, 1808 - January 9, 1873) was the son of King Louis Bonaparte and Queen Hortense de Beauharnais; both monarchs of the French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. He was the nephew of the Emperor Napoléon I of France. During his youth, he... Napoleon III confirmed its status, with Château Margaux the only wine to be awarded 20/20 in the blind-tastings of Bordeaux's finest wines.

The estate's château itself was built in Years: 1807 1808 1809 - 1810 - 1811 1812 1813 Decades: 1780s 1790s 1800s - 1810s - 1820s 1830s 1840s Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century 1810 in art 1810 in literature 1810 in rail transport 1810 in science 1810 in music 1810 in sports List of state leaders in 1810 List of... 1810 when the Marquis de la Colonilla comissioned one of France's foremost architects, Louis Combes, to create a building worthy of the wines that were made on the site. The result was Combes' masterpiece, a palace in A villa with a superimposed portico, from Book IV of Palladios I Quattro Libri dellArchitettura, in a modestly priced English translation published in London, 1736. Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). The term... neo-Palladian style that has been called the ' Versailles: Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance cour dhonneur, later copied all over Europe The Château de Versailles — often called the Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles — is a royal château, outside the gates of which the village... Versailles of the Médoc'.

In the 1970s, after a series of low-quality vintages, the owners Ferdinand and Pierre Ginestet, owners of the estate since Years: 1947 1948 1949 - 1950 - 1951 1952 1953 Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century 1950 in topic: Arts Architecture - Art - Film - Literature - Music Science and technology Aviation - Rail transport - Science - Television Other topics Canada - Sport Lists of leaders: State leaders - Religious... 1950, were forced to sell Château Margaux. The successful buyer was French grocery and finance group Félix Potin, headed by Greek André Mentzelopoulos. Mentzelopoulos transformed the vineyard through well-chosen investment in the wine-making process and by his death in 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Years: 1977 1978 1979 - 1980 - 1981 1982 1983 Decades: 1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century 1980 in topic: Arts Architecture - Art - Film - Literature - Music Science and technology Aviation - Rail transport - Science - Television Other topics... 1980 Château Margaux was back among the region's very finest wines. More recently, the estate has changed hands via complex deals between Perrier bottles have a peculiar, instantly recognizable shape. Here, a one-liter bottle. Perrier is a brand of bottled mineral water made from a spring in Vergèze in the Gard département of France. Perrier is carbonated; its gas content is reinforced with the gas emanating from the spring... Perrier and This article is about Fiat the automobile manufacturer. Fiat is also an English word meaning the exercise of authority; see Fiat money and military fiat. The Latin word fiat means let it be. Fiat S.p.A. is an automobile manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin, northern Italy... Fiat, but the management remains in the hands of Mentzelopoulos' daughter Corinne Mentzelopoulos.

Vines

As is predominantly the case in Médoc, the majority of the vines are Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety of red grape mainly used for wine production, and is, along with Chardonnay, one of the most widely-planted of the worlds noble grape varieties. The principal grape in many Bordeaux wines, it is grown in most of the worlds major wine regions... Cabernet Sauvignon, with its vines covering 75 percent of the vineyards. Next comes This article is about the Merlot wine grape. For other meanings see Merlot (disambiguation). Merlot is a variety of wine grape used to create a popular red wine. Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Most connoisseurs consider it easy to drink when... Merlot at 20 percent, with Cabernet Franc is a red wine grape variety similar to and a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. A cross of it with Sauvignon Blanc resulted in Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc tends to be softer and has less tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon, although the two can be difficult to distinguish. Sometimes the... Cabernet Franc and Petit verdot is a variety of black grape used in the production of red wine, principally in blends with cabernet sauvignon. The fact that it ripens much later than most of the other varieties of grape means that it cannot successfully be grown in many of the French regions, and... Petit Verdot making up the rest. Around 30,000 cases are made annually, with production divided between the famous Premier Cru and the additional 'Pavillon Rouge'. A small amount of Sauvignon Blanc is a white wine grape probably originating in the Bordeaux region of France that is now planted in much of the worlds winelands producing a crisp dry refreshing white varietal wine. Depending on climate, its flavors can range from aggressively grassy to sweetly tropical, although perhaps the most... Sauvignon Blanc is also grown to make the 'Pavillon Blanc' wine.

Greatest Vintages

The finest vintages of Château Margaux are listed below, with particularly strong years given in bold.

1900, 1934, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1983, 1986, 1990, 1995, 2000

External Site

• Château Margaux (http://www.chateau-margaux.com/)