Press review

Jean-Marc Quarin (3/1/2010) : 16,5-17 (92)

My best rating ever given to this wine during futures campaigns Dark, lovely color. Superb nose of rose, so fresh, so fine, subtle. Yes! We are here in Margaux. And what class in the mouth! What brilliance! it is not like wine, it is quite another thing and it is especially unspittable. Alcohol 13 5, pH 3.8; IPT 77. Blend 67 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. Selection, 41% of the harvest. This is the greatest Pavillon Rouge that I know.

Le Point, Guide Jacques Dupont # 1964 (5/21/2010) : 16,5/17

Parker # 199 (2/29/2012) : 93 Maturity: -2032

The estate-s second wine, the sexy 2009 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, offers lots of black raspberry, cedar and foresty/underbrush notes in its round, generous, full-bodied, seductive embrace of black fruits interwoven with floral notes results. This seamless second wine is one of the finest Chateau Margaux has made to date.

The New Bordeaux (Jane Anson) (4/1/2010) : 93-94

Paul Pontallier was as word perfect as ever: ‘The grapes given perfect conditions to ripen, and we were given perfect conditions to harvest them.’ This is particularly good. Some wonderful fresh fruit, and a beautiful balance of structure and lightness of touch. The thing about 2009 is that you don’t really how dense it is, because the tannins are so soft. Pontallier agrees: ‘What makes it so extraordinary is the highest density we have ever had, with the suppleness.’ They have been stricter on selection than usual, and made the lowest proportion of Pavillon Rouge ever, and probably one of the best ever produced. 36% into 1st wine. 41% into Pavillom Rouge. 23% into the third wine –13.5% alcohol. A great success.

The Wine Doctor (3/1/2010) : 17-18+/20

The second wine of Margaux, accounting for 41% of the harvest. A glossy hue, not too dark, dark cherry, blue-pink rim. Fine purity of fruit here, crystalline red plum, just a little black cherry coming in, sweet-edged but not extravagantly so. Beautifully clear, fruit essence, compact with a savoury shell. Moderate weight on entry, then starting to broaden out, showing beautifully balanced fruit and texture on the palate. Finely ripened tannins, softly caressing the palate. Fine, crystalline again, fresh. Tannins are very nicely covered by the gentle, supple fruit. Fairly good length too. A stonking Pavillon Rouge.

The property in brief

The second wine of Château Margaux first appeared in the 19th century and took on its present name, Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, in 1908. After vanishing from the scene between the 1930s and the 1970s, its production was started up again as soon as André Mentzelopoulos took over the estate in 1977, and has continued to grow in order to improve the quality of the first wine. For the last few years, a third wine has in turn appeared to enhance the quality of Pavillon Rouge. It is made from wines which were not selected at the blending to go into Château Margaux.