Margaux
Encyclopedia
Margaux is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...

 department in Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...

 in southwestern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Geography

The village lies in the Haut Médoc wine making region on the left bank of the Garonne
Garonne
The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of .-Source:The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret , the Ratera-Saboredo...

 estuary, northwest of the city of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

.

Population

Wines

Margaux is the name of the wine appellation d'origine
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

, Margaux AOC, that encompasses the village and the neighbouring villages of Arsac
Arsac
Arsac is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

, Labarde
Labarde
Labarde is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:...

, Soussans
Soussans
Soussans is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:...

 and Cantenac
Cantenac
Cantenac, sometimes Cantenac-Margaux, is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.It is located near Bordeaux.-Population:-Wine:...

, and is the most southerly of Médoc
Médoc
The Médoc is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe...

's appellations. The commune makes almost entirely red wine.

The 1855 classification
Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world...

 contained more wines from Margaux than from any other appellation, and its best-known vineyard, Château Margaux
Château Margaux
Château Margaux, archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine, and was one of four wines to achieve Premier cru status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expensive...

, was one of only four wines to be awarded the Premier Cru status.

Cultural references

Margaux was mentioned in the movie Thank You for Smoking
Thank You for Smoking
Thank You for Smoking is a 2005 black comedy film written and directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, based on the 1994 satirical novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley...

(2006) by the main character Nick Naylor.

The well known singer-songwriter and oenologist Al Stewart
Al Stewart
Al Stewart is a Scottish singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician.Stewart came to stardom as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s, and developed his own unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history.He is...

 released an album of songs involving wine in 2000 called Down in the Cellar
Down in the Cellar
Down in the Cellar is the fourteenth studio album by Al Stewart. Released in 2000 in Europe by EMI, it was to have been issued in the United States through the independent label, Miramar, but shortly after making the deal for distribution, Miramar filed for bankruptcy putting the album in legal...

, of which one track is entitled "Waiting for Margaux."

Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 6 "The Handmaiden's Tale" - in the final scenes, Nate's mum speaks about opening a bottle of Margaux to celebrate winning a contract.

See also

  • French wine
    French wine
    French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...

  • Bordeaux wine
    Bordeaux wine
    A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...

  • Plan Bordeaux
  • Bordeaux wine regions
    Bordeaux wine regions
    The wine regions of Bordeaux are the area around the city of Bordeaux within the Gironde department of Aquitaine. The region is naturally divided by the Gironde River into a Left Bank area which includes the Médoc and the subregions of St-Estèphe, Pauillac, St.-Julien, and Margaux and a Right Bank...

  • Communes of the Gironde department
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