France

Sauvignon Blanc

Savagnin Blanc

Ch. Margaux

Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux

Bordeaux

The 2023 Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of fresh grapefruit, pineapple, and white peaches leading to hints of honeysuckle, orange blossom, and coriander seed with a waft of yuzu. The medium-bodied palate has vivacious citrus and tropical fruit flavors with a racy backbone and long chalky finish. This is delicious! The yield was 37 hl/ha and the pH 3.15.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

White peach flesh on the opening gives an opulent start that quickly narrows inwards to flint and steel. An exceptional white wine, with sculpted charm, showcasing citrus, lime zest, green apple, anis and sage. Harvest August 23 to 30, yields 37hl/h compared to 15h/h in 2022.

Inside Bordeaux

Passion fruit and grapefruit notes jump from the glass, followed by hints of chalk dust, elderflower, and gooseberries. The light to medium-bodied palate has a satiny texture with fantastic tension and intense tropical and citrus fruit flavor layers, finishing long and minerally. So good.

The 2022 Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, with very tiny yields this year of only 14 hl/ha. It waltzes out with gregarious notes of fresh peaches, green mango, and lime cordial with fragrant wafts of jasmine, chalk dust, and sea spray. The medium-bodied palate is coated with citrus and tropical fruit layers with expressive chalky sparks and a long zesty finish.

Aniseed, quince, fennel, sage, lime zest and slate grip, this slides along the palate, building to mouthwatering finish. A great white wine that pulls you up short, it was brilliant En Primeur, and is better now. Intense cut grass and steel, just enough tension to kick up a little drama, stretching out over the palate, with plenty of lees stirring over ageing to round out the mid palate. One of the wines of the vintage. September 7 to 13 (unusual in recent years for white harvest to start in September rather than August).

The 100 year anniversary vintage of Pavillon Blanc, this has touches of honeysuckle on the nose, with luscious white peach and apricot showing the concentration of the vintage, balanced by plenty of green apple, citrus and lime blossom giving foccus and grip - helped by old vines that are well able to resist a dry vintage, although yields were right down to 22hl/h. Tasted alongside the 2021 which is extremely different in expression, showing far more citrus and pear - delicate where this is gourmet. Harvest August 24 to September 1, 55% of overall white yield selected for the Pavillon Blanc.

High Sauvignon Blanc aromatics, with gunsmoke and flint reduction on the first nose, opening to juicy white peach, white pear, nuanced pumice stone minerality. Pavillon Blanc is one of the most structured white wines of Bordeaux, and reveals its complexities slowly, but already the texture tells you just what an exceptional vintage it is. Subtle yet unmissable.

A vintage where you appreciate the work and skill that goes into delivering this level of quality. The team at Château Margaux selects the freshest, most sculpted parts of the juice to make Pavillon Blanc, and they have produced here a wine that is all apricot and nectarine flesh, well textured and juicy with a smoky edge together with brilliant balance and grip. When I tasted this in bottle last year I described it as having just the right amount of fleshy mouthfeel and knife-edge freshness, and that is still true today. An early harvest of August 27 to 30, ensuring the grapes kept freshness in what was the warmest year since the beginning of the 20th century, with tempeatures 1.8C above the national average, with record-breaking temperatures in the last ten days of June and the first ten days of August, more than 3C above the 30-year average. You see that in the 17hl/h yield, but not in the flavours which have kept their juice. 3.05ph, same as 2017.

A stunning wine that is full of finesse, with depth and concentration. The fruit majors on white peach, apricot and nectarine, slowly building and shot through with grilled spice and mouthwatering acidities. Grip and control throughout, but also generosity and just so much pleasure. I gave this 100 points in bottle and I stand by that now that it is 5 years old. A yield of 20hl/ha. 50 year old vines. 20% new oak. Philippe Bascaules director.

Category	White wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Margaux
Vintages	2023
Country	France, Bordeaux
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	%
Acid	%
Sugar	g/l

Packaging
Cork type
Selection
Wholesaler
Carrier