MESSAGE ON A BOTTLE
2015 Grand Cru, by Château Margaux
Exquisite wine and architecture have
always gone hand in hand at Château
Margaux, so it’s only fitting that
the celebrated Médoc winery’s latest
release – the first one-off bottle
created by the estate since its
establishment in 1815 – is a celebration
of both. The special bottle of Château
Margaux’s 2015 Premier Grand Cru
Classé marks not just one but three
momentous occasions: an exceptional
vintage year; the bicentenary of the
winery; and the inauguration of a new
building by Norman Foster, who was
commissioned by Château Margaux’s
owners, the Mentzelopoulos family,
to design a cellar, vinothèque and
research and development centre
(see W*195). Featuring an enamelled
image combining the estate’s original
neo-Palladian pile and Foster’s new
build, the black bottle is also an
homage to the late Paul Pontallier,
Château Margaux’s legendary
winemaker, who joined the estate
back in 1983 and oversaw the 2015
vintage in his final season.
Château Margaux 2015 Premier Grand Cru,
price on request, chateau-margaux.comGREAT WALL
Point Leo Estate, Australia
Located on the tip of Victoria’s Mornington
Peninsula, the Point Leo Estate has been
a private retreat for the last 25 years. Now its
owners, the Gandels, have opened its doors
to the public, who can explore its 134-hectare
vineyard and park, dotted with over 40
sculptures by leading artists such as Anthony
Pryor and Tony Cragg. At its heart, perched
on the estate’s highest elevation, is a new
building by Melbourne practice Jolson. Its
façade is a serpentine 6m-tall concrete wall
(pictured), with hand-burnished concave
curves that mimic the curvature of a wine
barrel. The wall twists and turns to create
a circular courtyard with a solitary Australian
bottle tree in its centre, and a forecourt that
perfectly frames a steel arch by Inge King.
The sculptural structure conceals a cellar
and two restaurants with expansive glass
windows opening on the vineyards beyond.
3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, ptleoestate.com.auWOOD NOTES
Wine cellar, by Raphael Navot
Over the course of his career, the Parisian
designer Raphael Navot has developed
a distinctive aesthetic, combining wooden
surfaces and textures to dazzling effect. His
latest effort is a geometric wooden mosaic
that forms the backdrop of the new wine
cellar at La Grande Épicerie. Just opened on
Paris’ Right Bank, it is the second outpostof the gourmet food hall of the Le Bon
Marché department store. Working closely
with the retail emporium’s own architecture
team, Navot created a curved wall and
circular floor for the cave, where the store’s
most exceptional grands crus are displayed
in a seemingly floating arrangement.
80 rue de Passy, lagrandeepicerie.comWRITERS: ROSA BERTOLI, DIMITY NOBLEPhotography: Anson Smart
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