Château Margaux brings Bordeaux’s best to Manila

There are wines, and there is Château Margaux. Alex Lichaytoo, one of the brothers behind Bacchus International, declared Château Margaux to be "the best wine I ever tasted." To the media who were recently given the opportunity to have a taste of Château Margaux’s line of wines, it was indeed an experience. Bon vivant Maurice Arcache described the sensation of quaffing a glass of its 1989 vintage as being "smooth as silk." We could only add that if the 1989 Château Margaux wine we tried were a young maiden, knowing her would have been a crime.

Corinne Mentzelopoulos, Château Margaux managing partner, emphasizes that the appreciation of wine depends, not on a knowledge of the complexities behind its production nor the varieties of wine available but, on its enjoyment.

"I think we should reassure people that they should just drink wine and enjoy it," says Mentzelopoulos. "They should not be intimidated by wine. They should just enjoy it, if they like it."

We all agreed that once tasted, the memory of Château Margaux will haunt us when faced with ordinary wines. Of course, this wine house produces not just the eponymously named Château Margaux, which has been given the label of premier grand cru classé, but also Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, the wine house’s second wine, and Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, a limited line of white wine.

What distinguishes Château Margaux is its pedigree. It hails from Bordeaux, France, acknowledged as the region in the world where premier wines are made.

In a recent tasting by James Suckling, the European bureau chief of Wine Spectator, Château Margaux was named among the 10 top wines of vintage 2000. The article, which came out in late March, listed the wine house along with such lofty names as Cheval-Blanc, Cos-d’Estournel, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Lafite Rothschild, Léoville Las Cases, Léoville Barton, Latour, Lynch-Bages and Vieux-Château-Certan.

Suckling was emphatic in naming Château Margaux as "the wine of the vintage." He explained: "I can still smell the violet and raspberry aromas, with hints of spices. The full-bodied wine has thick and polished tannins that bring you back for more. It is incredibly fine and classy. I wish I could taste it again as I write these words."

We couldn’t have said it best.

Mentzelopoulos says Filipino wine lovers should realize that wine is a part of daily life in France. Wines were traditionally made by farmers as a by-product of their vineyards. Wines supplemented their diet, to be taken with meals or for special occasions. It was only in the 19th century that the tradition of winemaking was codified, following the incentive of Napoleon III who introduced the best wines of Burgundy in the market. The framework to winemaking, its processes, classification, labeling and other similar details, emanated from this period.

"Winemakers do not have a style," she emphasizes. "We have a tradition, based on the soil and climate, that we take to year after year. This tradition is not passive . This know-how is passed from generation to generation."

This tradition is still followed today, although modern science and technology has introduced a number of innovations in the process of winemaking. However, Châteaux Margaux is a conservative wine house.

She explains that she speaks, not just for the company that controls the wine house, but also for the farmers and the tradition that governs winemaking. "Winemaking is a centuries-old tradition at Château Margaux," she says.

"We will try new things, but I believe it is more prudent to take things one thing at a time. The winemaking tradition in France is so old, that the wines have been good for a long time. We will push our team to try things, but we will not be moving that fast."

Andre Mentzelopoulos, Corinne’s father, acquired management of the wine house in 1977 and in a couple of years turned around what was a floundering enterprise. When he died in 1980, Corinne took over and steered the company to its present success.

The work is exhausting, but the fact that a harvest will have to be measured against past vintages can take so much on the wine house’s reputation.

She looks up to past vintages as inspiration for Château Margaux’s future. "If we can produce something even resembling the 1961 wine vintage, we would be worthy of the past. We would improve our heritage if we can produce wines as good as the 1961 wine vintage," she says.

"We are actually intimidated everyday by this tradition," she explains. "When I taste the older wines, like the 1961 vintage, I realize the history that goes with Château Margaux. People before you are just as good as you are."

Lichaytoo believes the Philippine wine market has big potential. "Filipinos love to drink," he says. "They love life. They are such happy people. What really matters is education more than anything else."

He says the Philippines lags behind Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong in wine consumption in the region. However, since the appreciation of wine started in the country five years ago, there has been an annual 10 percent rise in wine imports.

This is still just a drop in a wineglass when compared with the figures for wine consumption in Hong Kong, he adds. Compared with that country, the Philippines only represents two percent of total wine consumption in Hong Kong.

All that is set to change. With the availability of Château Margaux in the local market, local wine lovers now have the opportunity to sample the best wine available. That is if they will not be overwhelmed by the price tag. The Pavillon line retails at around P4,000, while the Château Margaux goes for about P20,000 per bottle. It might be pricey, yes, but the experience is incomparable.

"Château Margaux was the first grand cru that I tasted," says Lichaytoo. "That made it for me. It spoiled me forever."