02 Chateau Margaux, Margaux

Tough in its femininity--like some hypothetical love child of David Bowie and Iggy Pop--this, my first first growth, is an icon of both subtlety and force. The aroma balances smoked chocolate chips with very ripe, floral citrus flavors. The acid-driven finish plays well against the young fruit, juicy with cassis and broth, underpinned by stony minerality. It's an effortless wine, more poetic than intense, that delivers little of the hubris I'd expected. Yet the finish is eternal. "I may be quiet," it says, "but what I've told you, you won't soon forget."