PAVILLON ROUGE de Chateau Margaux, Margaux 2018 Bottle

Description

As the highly prestigious second wine of the legendary First Growth Château Margaux, Pavillon Rouge offers a brilliant reflection of the estate's celebrated terroir and uncompromising standards. The 2018 vintage is widely recognised as an exceptional year in Bordeaux, and this wine masterfully marries the opulent power of the warm growing season with the hallmark grace and elegance expected from the Margaux appellation.

In the glass, it reveals a deep, brilliant ruby hue. The nose is wonderfully aromatic and complex, offering a captivating bouquet of ripe crème de cassis, crushed blackberries, and spring violets, layered with sophisticated notes of cedarwood, graphite, and a hint of dark chocolate.

On the palate, the 2018 Pavillon Rouge is exceptionally polished and medium to full-bodied. A predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon blend, it delivers a concentrated core of dark fruit beautifully framed by silky, perfectly ripe tannins and a fresh, uplifting acidity. The texture is undeniably velvety, leading to a remarkably long, fragrant, and layered finish.

This is a wine of striking purity and pedigree with excellent ageing potential. It serves as a magnificent accompaniment to classic dishes such as roast rack of lamb, beef Wellington, or rich, earthy mushroom risottos.

JAMES SUCKLING 95-96 points
Fantastic depth of ripe fruit with currant and dark-berry aromas. Hints of citrus and dry earth. Full body and round, velvety tannins that are melted into the wine. Very intense and fruity.

WINE ENTHUSIAST 95 points
This second wine of Château Margaux, grand in its own right, is powerfully dense. It displays its own style and balance between rich black fruits and the acidity that shines through the structure. The wine will age well, its ripeness and concentration likely to soften as it matures. Drink from 2026. — Roger Voss

VINOUS 94 points
Drinking window: 2024 - 2038
The 2018 Pavillon Rouge is a powerful, brooding wine with huge fruit and equally imposing tannins. Time in the glass brings out elements of château Margaux finesse to balance things out. In 2018 the Pavillon has some lots that tend to go into the Grand Vin, but that were deemed too tannic for that wine.
Antonio Galloni. Tasting date: March 2021

DECANTER 93 points
Tasted by: Jane Anson (at Bordeaux, 10 Nov 2020)
Drinking Window: 2026 - 2042
Tight, bright firm fruits, packed with finely tuned tannins, with a clear velvety texture. The highest tannin levels they have ever produced in Pavillon Rouge, close to the levels in 1996. There is an austerity to the wine right now. You get the spice of the Petit Verdot - also at the highest level to date - giving cushion and complexity to the blackberry, raspberry and bilberry fruits. Even this second wine should be given at least eight to 10 years to really soften because of these tannins, and it is set for the long term. 3.61pH, with 30% of the overall harvest in Pavillon Rouge in 2018. Bottled July 2020. 3% Cabernet Franc makes up the blend, with 13% press wine. 60% new oak ageing.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 93 points
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Drink Date: 2023 - 2039
The 2018 Pavillon Rouge is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, with 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with vivacious scents of chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and blackcurrant pastilles with suggestions of bay leaves, pencil lead, tapenade and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a generous amount of black fruit at the core with loads of earthy and savory accents and a soft, approachable frame, finishing long with an herbal lift. It is approachable now but should be a lot more expressive with a couple of years in bottle and drink nicely over the following 15 to 18 years or more.