| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Margaux's second wine is made from a serious selection process that takes place at this First Growth Chateau. There is also a third wine called Margaux de Margaux (that is not sold En Primeur) and a fourth wine that is sold off in bulk. In 2018 Pavillon Rouge represents 30% of the total production (the grand vin is 36%).
Given that Margaux's second wine contains plenty of fruit that made it into the grand vin just a decade or two ago, great things are to be expected from this bottling. Yet I was nonetheless taken aback by the quality of the 2019 Pavillon Rouge. Wafting from the glass with aromas of raspberries, plums and cherries mingled with rose petals and sweet spices, it's medium to full-bodied, sensual and concentrated, with beautifully refined tannins, racy acids and a long, penetrating finish. This is an exquisite Pavillon Rouge that is well worth seeking out. I confess that I don't buy many second wines, but I did purchase a case of this, with alacrity, right after tasting it. Drink Date 2025 - 2050
From: Bordeaux 2019: The Southwold Tasting (Feb 2023)
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge has a more austere bouquet than its peers, nuanced yet still well-defined, taut with black fruit laced with pencil shavings and freshly rolled tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, pliant and rounded, smooth and harmonious though not satin-like…there is still a bit of grit on the finish. It builds and opens nicely in the glass - a serious and quite compelling Deuxième Vin. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
- By Neal Martin on January 2023
Drink 2026-2045
Fresh tobacco, currant and earth, opening up to forest flowers. It’s rich in tannins, but very soft and beautiful. Layered, with lots of fine fruit and a velvety texture. Blackberry and chocolate in the finish too. 27% of the crop and a blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon and 19% merlot, the rest petit verdot and cabernet franc. Delicious already, but give it at least six years of bottle age. Better after 2027.
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux is deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly emerges from the glass with an alluring perfume of lilacs, fragrant soil, and cinnamon stick, over a core of warm cassis and wild blueberries. The medium-bodied palate is super-intense, with exquisitely ripe tannins and bold freshness, finishing very long and perfumed. Gorgeous!
Classically balanced Pavillon Rouge, fairly restrained in its fruits, good tannic structure, very much on the plum and bilberry fruits. There is a lovely balance here, with freshness, less exuberant than the 2018 yet with a quiet sense of building and delivering momentum. As it opens, rose petal and peony aromatics begin to hover above the glass, enticing you in. There is a lot going on here, and it's a successful wine with juicy perfumed fruit. 27% of total production, 47hl/ha yield.
Tasted blind. Glowing crimson. Creamy texture, buttery nose. Round fruit, which really grabs the palate and brain, and almost disguises the tannic power behind it. Really nice wine! Accessible. Long. 14%
Drink 2026
– 2043
Made from 27% of the crop this year with a further 20% going into the third wine and 15% sold off in bulk. 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, aged in 60% new oak. 14.2% abv. Deep ruby in colour with a floral and open nose of summer pudding, tempered by some savoury cedar and dried flowers. The palate is sumptuous and soft, with silky tannins gently framing an expansive core of fresh fruit. The approachable and fleshy fruit shines through, just as it should on a second wine. There are hints of violet, baked vanilla and hedgerow than linger on a pure, elegant finish. This will be delicious from an early stage.
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. 27% of the production. Barrel sample.
Quite rich and ripe with an almost raisined note to the fruit. A little more robust than usual, the fruit dense and gourmand, the tannins plentiful, firm and grainy behind. A touch of freshness on the finish pulls it together but a bit of chew at the end. (JL) 14.2%
Drink 2025 – 2035
Made from 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Pavillon Rouge is deep garnet-purple colored. It springs forth with vibrant black and red cherries, mulberries, and cassis notes, plus suggestions of menthol, spice cake, and cardamom. Medium-bodied, it is elegant and fine with a racy backbone and loads of mineral sparks, finishing long and lively.
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is certainly more immediate on the nose compared to the sample I tasted chez moi last year. It now bursts from the glass with black fruit and crushed violets, maybe less of the seaweed-like tincture I noticed from barrel, but beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit on the entry, hints of licorice infusing the black fruit, fine salinity, and a well-defined, structured, graphite-tinged finish. It will still require four to five years in bottle but should drink well for 12 to 15 years. 2025 - 2040
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is definitely one sample that repays aeration, initially very tight and unresponsive. It then begins to unfurl, revealing introverted black fruit laced with sea spray and light Japanese nori scents. It is well defined and detailed, yet never becomes as expressive as some of its peers. The palate is very well balanced with very fine tannins. This is clearly more "open for business" and what I really admire is that tang of salinity towards the finish, almost as if compensating for the bashful aromatics. Very fine, though it will require four or five years in bottle. 2025 - 2040
Succulent and gorgeous with such supple tannins, yet it’s full bodied and very rich. It’s very savory, too. Dense, yet polished on the palate, showing fresh, minerally and salty notes. You want to drink it already. 27% of the crop and a blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon and 19% merlot, the rest petit verdot and cabernet franc.
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, accounting for 47% of the crop. The alcohol came in at 14.2%, the IPT was 75, and the pH was 3.66. Deep garnet-purple in color, it begins a little closed and broody, soon unfurling to offer notes of tar, black licorice, cracked peppercorns and woodsmoke over a core of Morello cherries, boysenberries and warm cassis plus an earthy touch of forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant, refreshing and wonderfully refined, with beautifully ripe, plush tannins and impressive freshness lifting the black fruit and earthy layers with a long finish. It should age beautifully!
Packed with spice and fruit on the nose, this grips you and lifts off. A great mid palate with juicy, enrobed tannins and seductive fleshy fruit in the mouth. Makes you smile, enticingly creamy and yet with sappy slate on the finish. One of the best Pavillon Rouge for years. 27% of overall production in Pavillon. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. A yield of 47hl/ha, (compared to 30hl/ha last year). Tannin index of 75 IPT so higher than 2009, 2010, 2016 (only 2018 higher). Drinking Window 2025 - 2040
