Château Malescot St. Exupéry is a 3ème Grand Cru Classé of Margaux with a long, storied past and a distinctly modern present. The name reflects a 19th-century owner from the Saint-Exupéry family (ancestors of the author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), while today the estate is run by the Zuger family, who have overseen a steady rise in quality since the 1990s. The vineyards sit on classic Margaux croupes of deep Garonne gravels with threads of sand and clay—prime Cabernet ground that delivers ripeness without heaviness and a cool, mineral line.
Plantings are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot at the core, with smaller shares of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot for lift and spice. Farming is parcel-focused: low yields, careful canopy work to protect perfume and freshness, and hand harvesting by block. In the cellar, lots are vinified separately for definition; extraction is measured for long-grained tannins rather than bulk; and élevage runs in French oak with a confidently high proportion of new barrels—used to polish and lengthen the wine rather than dominate it.
Stylistically, Malescot St. Exupéry marries Margaux perfume to generous texture: violet and rose over cassis, blackberry and dark cherry; cedar, graphite and cocoa nib shading the mid-palate; a finish that’s savoury, dry and persistent. Warmer seasons bring a velvety, plush feel; cooler years emphasise florals, redder fruit and chiselled detail—always recognisably Margaux, yet with the estate’s signature depth.
The range is clearly tiered. The grand vin carries the château’s name; La Dame de Malescot is the second wine, offering an earlier-drinking window into the same elegant, Cabernet-led idiom. Recent vintages have underlined the château’s form: vivid fruit, fine tannins and oak that reads as cadence and length, not flavour.
Cellaring is rewarding. La Dame typically shines from 3–6 years after the vintage; the grand vin opens from 6–8 years and, in strong seasons, evolves gracefully for 15–25+, trading primary cassis and violets for cedar, tobacco, truffle and dried-rose complexity while the Margaux line stays clear. Serve at 16–18 °C and give young bottles a brief decant to let the aromatics bloom. For anyone scanning “Malescot St. Exupéry Margaux,” expect silken perfume wrapped around a Cabernet spine—refined, expressive and built to age.
