2023 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux

79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. 30% of the production. Cask sample.

Perfumed, floral with silky tannins. Less power but more ‘Margaux’ than 2022. Soft attack, freshness and decent length. Overall good balance. 13%

Drink 2030 - 2042

Representing 30% of the crop, the 2023 Pavillon Rouge has a very pure and floral bouquet, with crushed violets and blue fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly grainy tannins and moderate depth, quite linear and structured in style with white pepper and a touch of brine on the saline finish. There’s good length, even if it’s missing the amplitude of the previous vintage.

Drink 2027 - 2042

The 2023 Pavillon Rouge is a deep, intense wine. Bright acids drive a core of dark red-toned fruit, spice and flowers. There's a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, which makes structural elements stand out, but the tannins are on the lower side analytically. I would give this a few years to come together. Pavillon Rouge represents 30% of the château's production.

Drink 2025 - 2043

The second wine of the château is the 2023 Château Margaux Pavillon, which is based on 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Representing 30% of the production, it's a beautiful second wine offering classic cassis and raspberry-like fruit as well as graphite, freshly sharpened pencils, and spicy nuances. More red fruit-driven, medium to full-bodied, and ripe, with chalky, velvety tannins, it's well worth seeking out and will drink well for two decades.

The 2023 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux accounts for 30% of this year's production. Deep garnet-purple in color, it pops from the glass with vibrant notes of red and black currants followed by hints of rosebud tea, crushed rocks, dried Provence herbs, and Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate delivers an impressive mid-palate of ripe, juicy red and black berry flavors with soft fine-grained tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing with a spicy lift. The blend is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, with pH 3.60.

Drink 2028 - 2042

Somewhat reminiscent of a cooler-fruited version of the lovely 2019, Château Margaux's 2023 Pavillon Rouge wafts from the glass with aromas of cassis, raspberries, licorice and pipe tobacco, deftly framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a sweet core of fruit, ripe tannins and a lively, succulent profile, it's a blend 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc that attained 13.3% alcohol.

Subtle aromatics, dried flowers, pot pourri, rose, blackcurrant and raspberry. Deep purple colour to the rim, vibrant but intense, some graphite and herbal Cabernet notes on the nose too. Bright and sharp, quite linear and a touch austere at this point, lean and straight - well defined and focussed with lovely fruit intensity and purity. Not fleshy, but there's lots of energy and precision to this. Very classic and will round out nicely. 14% press wine. 60% new oak. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 68 IPT, 3.6pH, 30% second wine production.

Drink 2027 - 2041

An aromatic punch of white and red roses, feels very much in the DNA of the estate, with perfume, richly nuanced cassis, bilberry, tobacco leaf, cigar box. Fine tannins, with energy and clear - and this is a 2nd wine that elevates the possibilities of the 2023 vintage. September 11 through to October 5 for harvest, 30% of the production in Pavillon.

Drink 2029 - 2042

Very Chateau Margaux, with perfumed violets, currants and other berries, as well as oranges. Medium body with fine, caressing tannins that are tight and vivid. Racy and refined. Brightness and beauty to this second wine. Succulent. Refined. One of the best Pavillon Rouges in a while. 30% of the production. 79% cabernet sauvignon, 14% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc.