Since the creation of the R&D department in 1999, we have conducted numerous trials that are now focused on several areas: adapting to climate change, reducing inputs, and continuously improving our practices and the quality of our wines. These trials take place in the vineyards, in the cellar, and during wine storage. The majority of these experiments are then bottled to be tasted regularly over the years, and sometimes even decades, by the entire technical team.

Each year, around thirty tasting sessions are organised, allowing the tasting of three to four wines per session.

These tastings take place in a controlled environment, following a precise and standardised protocol, in order to limit bias associated with this complex and subjective exercise:

– The bottles from the selected tastings are collected and completely anonymised after verifying the wines are all in good condition.
– Tasting stations are set up (glasses, numbering, spittoon, scoring sheet) with a different order of presentation for each station to avoid any influence.
– The wines are served 5 minutes before the tasting, in perfectly equal quantities.
– A brief presentation / overview of the trials and their procedures is given before the individual tastings start.
– The scoring sheets of all tasters are collected.
– A first brief discussion about the tasting is held with all the tasters (quality of the wines, key points, conclusions, and planned follow-up).

After each session, reports and summaries are systematically produced for each test and sent to the technical team. The tasting results are then cross-referenced with the technical data from the test in order to draw solid conclusions on the different methods studied and their impact on the quality of the wines.

News

2016

Philippe Bascaules appointed Managing Director of Château Margaux

End of the harvest!

The arrival of our large team!

The end of the white's harvest