Margaux, Third Growth
Jane Anson: 94/100
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc.
Château Marquis d'Alesme is a Third Growth located in the prestigious appellation of Margaux. The chateau can trace its history to the 1585 and vines were first planted there in the early 17th century. Today, the vineyard stretches over 15 hectares of silica-gravel soil, a portion of which is largely clay, and is planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. Owned and managed by the Perrado family since 2006 (also owners of Château Labegorce), Château Marquis d'Alesme has undergone a period of renewal and investment, resulting in increased quality of its wines.
Jane Anson: 94/100
Grip and tension, with tomato leaf, peony, lemongrass, slate, pummice stone, spiced plum and damson fruit, not the ink of the Cabernet in the northern Médoc, but caressing and full of fragrant pleasure. 45% new oak for ageing, and proof again that this estate is becoming one of the quiet scene-stealers of the Margaux appellation.
Antonio Galloni - Vinous: 93-95/100
The 2023 Marquis d’Alesme Becker has a well-defined bouquet like its sibling Labegorce. It unfurls more slowly in the glass, revealing perfumed iris and violet scents interwoven into the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very pliant tannin. Slightly powdery in texture, it possesses fine weight and an expressive, lightly spiced finish. This is a well-crafted, modestly endowed Margaux, though this year I am more smitten by the Labegorce.
The 2023 Marquis d’Alesme Becker has a well-defined bouquet like its sibling Labegorce. It unfurls more slowly in the glass, revealing perfumed iris and violet scents interwoven into the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very pliant tannin. Slightly powdery in texture, it possesses fine weight and an expressive, lightly spiced finish. This is a well-crafted, modestly endowed Margaux, though this year I am more smitten by the Labegorce.
James Suckling: 92-93/100