Vinous Media 93-95 points.
In the Modern Age, a woman’s options of what to do with her life were very limited. In reality, there were only two socially accepted options: marriage, or dedication to God. In both cases the woman, regardless of her social class, had to give a dowry. That is, a series of assets with economic value that could help with the burdens of marriage. Although these items, which could be houses, land, cash, clothing, furniture or household goods in general, were the property of the woman, they were always managed by the husband. This is how the estate belonging to the family of Mademoiselle Ledoux d'Emplet became Château Marquis de Terme when she married the Marquis de Terme François de Peguilhan in 1762. Included in the Medoc Classification of 1855 as “Quatrième Cru Classé” of Margaux, since then the estate has had many owners with the aim of improving the its wines. However, finally in 1935 the Marseille wine merchant Pierre Sénéclauze repurchased the property and transferred it to his sons, Pierre-Louis, Phillipe and Jean, the current owners who, with the help of Ludovic David, general manager of the château since 2009, have taken over the vineyard and modernised the winemaking equipment to create a limited production of exceptional value to any Bordeaux enthusiast.
Their flagship wine, Château Marquis de Terme comes from the estate’s 40 hectares. This is a blend made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. These vines are planted in a unique soil of gravel, sand and limestone (Quatrième Cru Classé within the Bordeaux classification for Médoc red wines) and are cultivated using organic methods without herbicides, with extensive planting of trees and hedging, and limiting production to 47 hl/ha. When the grapes reach optimum ripeness, they are harvested and selected by hand and, once in the winery, vinification takes place with fermentation using native yeasts in stainless steel tanks and a long maceration lasting five weeks. The wine then remains in oak barrels, a third of which are new, for an average of 18 months to achieve the opulence, seduction and balance that so characterise the wines of this château.
