Château Durfort Vivens 2014

Critic scores

• Wine Enthusiast94
• Vinous90

The 2014 vintage in Margaux

Vintage benchmark: 90/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A gloomy summer redeemed by an Indian summer: the cabernets are radiant and the freshness is true to the Médoc.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Margaux. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

Château Durfort-Vivens 2014 stands out for its great richness, seen in its brilliant, intense ruby color and its complex, deep bouquet. The nose impresses with its purity, intensity and brilliance. The nuances of black fruit sit in harmony with floral, mineral and spiced notes. The ageing is already remarkably well integrated into the bouquet, with subtle notes of coffee bean and vanilla pod. On the palate, richness, freshness and balance dominate. The texture is lush and fleshy, with just enough minerality to preserve the elegant freshness one is entitled to expect from a great Margaux. The finish, though powerful and very long, seduces with its harmony and smoothness.

Blend of the 2014 vintage

Figures from the 2014 sheet

• 13 % vol.Alcohol
• 32 hl/haYield
• 25 yrsVine age
• 120,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

After 2011, 2012 and 2013, when vinification had to adapt to sometimes

incomplete ripeness, the richness and homogeneity of this year's harvest gave the winemaker full

freedom to make the most of it.

Extractions are more thorough, with higher temperatures than in recent

years and longer maceration periods.

With malolactic fermentation complete, the wines are rich, unctuous and highly aromatic.

Ageing

Château Durfort-Vivens 2014 was aged in barrel for 18 months, with a proportion of 50% new casks.

Food pairings

Pairing it with flavorful, generous cuisine such as a beef-cheek pot-au-feu or an osso buco, and of course a plate of charcuterie or cheese, will bring out the richness, openness and power of this vintage.

Terroir

Situated in the communes of Margaux, Cantenac and Soussans, the Durfort-Vivens vineyard puts down its roots on deep and particularly poor gravel rises. These gravels were deposited by the successive beds of the Garonne in the Quaternary era. This great terroir gives Cabernet Sauvignon an early and optimal ripeness, allowing it to express fully the finesse and silkiness of its tannins, the guarantee of the freshness and elegance characteristic of the great Margaux wines. At Château Durfort-Vivens, the constant search for a natural balance between the vine and its terroir is reflected in traditional cultivation practices. In 2012, 80% of the vineyard was farmed biodynamically and 20% under integrated production