2007 Pavillon Blanc
$185 (2012)
France
Margaux, Médoc
Bordeaux
White
Sauvignon Blanc (2022 vintage)
00
2007
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2022
2026 - 2037
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“I was a bit disappointed by our yields” Estate Director Philippe Bascaules told me. “We had a bit of rain in August, 25mm to be exact. I thought we would get 30 hectoliters per hectare, but in the end our production was closer to 25. Unlike 2018, we observed no stress in the vineyards, which I have no rational explanation for. There was not much malic acid in the grapes, but the tartaric acid was maintained. We have wines above 14.5% in alcohol, but with higher acidities than in 2018. These are the most concentrated wines we have ever made.”
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2022
2024 - 2034
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2021
2023 - 2038
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2021
2024 - 2030
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2021
2027 - 2041
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“We had some frost issues, but not a lot of mildew pressure,” explained Managing Director Philippe Bascaules. “Dry extract numbers were pretty much in line with 2019, although the chemistry of the wines is different. We saigneed some lots and chaptalized others lightly, as needed.” One of the more pragmatic administrators in the Médoc, Bascaules is quite adamant about a flexible farming regime that allows the vineyard team to intervene as needed. As for the wines, they are absolutely gorgeous.
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2021
2025 - 2040
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It was a gorgeous sunny day when I called in at Château Margaux, where I tasted with Philippe Bascaules, Corinne Mentzelopoulos and her son Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, who appears to be taking a much more prominent role in the running of the First Growth. “We had some frost, so we had to work many nights spraying water on some blocks and also using wind machines,” Bascaules explained. “We lost around 1.5-hectares on the white, more than 10%, and five-hectares of the red, fortunately not the best blocks. So, it did not really affect the Grand Vin or either Pavillons. Spring was rainy with a difficult May and June, so we had to treat many times using copper and sulphur (18 times) including weekends and Bank holiday. It was not a late vintage. Flowering was 1 to 6 June, and véraison was around the beginning of August. Fortunately, it was quite dry in the summer. After the picking of the white, we had 45mm of rain, so we started to pick the Merlot on 24 September and finished the Cabernet Sauvignon on 14 October. More vigorous blocks showed a bit of rot, but we were able to wait and were happy to pick when we wanted. Fermentations were less complicated than recent years because of alcohol levels, the yeast was able to finish the fermentation easier. Also, the extraction was slower and could be controlled. We stopped doing some remontage two or three years ago with respect to the Petit Verdot and Cabernet, so it was about the same, but we did a little more saignée to compensate for the size of the berry. The surprise is the concentration of the wines in terms of tannins, which is at the same level as the 2019 vintage. The yield is 36hL/ha, which is pretty good for the region; 36% is in Château Margaux and 30% in Pavillon Rouge, so volumes are the same as last year.”
00
2020
2027 - 2037
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2020
2023 - 2030
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2020
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2019
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2019
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2019
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2018
2022 - 2040
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2018
2021 - 2028
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2018
2022 - 2040
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2018
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"We try to work as sustainably as possible," explained Managing Director Philippe Bascaules at Château Margaux. We started with natural copper and sulfur treatments. Disease pressure was extremely high in early July. Our owner, Corinne Mentzelopoulos, told us she was not prepared to lose half the harvest, so we intervened with synthetic products, and that ultimately saved our crop. Yields are still down about 30%, which is to say 30 hectoliters per hectare as opposed to the 40-45 we prefer to see." Readers will get a good sense of the style of the year by tasting the Pavillon Rouge, which is quite a bit richer and racier than it usually is. The Grand Vin carries plenty of intensity, but it does so with the inimitable style that makes Château Margaux so unique.
00
2017
2022 - 2030
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2017
2021 - 2036
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2017
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2017
2021 - 2035
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In 2017 the vines at Château Margaux were not spared. “Frost affected eight hectares,” estate manager Philippe Bascaules told me. “At the end of June there was more than 100mm of rain that helped with the drought. Summer was very dry in July and August. There was around 70mm of rain in September that changed the view of the vintage, then there was a bit of rain over the following days. Therefore we saw some botrytis in mid-September and we decided to wait a little, during a sunny period. We began picking the Merlot on 18 September but we stopped the harvest on 22 September and started again on 25 September with the Cabernet Sauvignon, each picker sorting in the vineyard. We were surprised by the concentration. The Grand Vin represents 37% of the total production this year, the Pavillon Rouge 22%.” Those last figures demonstrate the draconian selection at Château Margaux these days, a majority of the fruit now ending in either the second or recently introduced third wine.
This pure Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best that I have encountered in recent years, though I remain more parsimonious in my score compared to others I have seen since I do not find it possesses the longevity of the greatest white Pessac-Léognans.
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2016
2021 - 2036
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2016
2021 - 2035
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2016
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This is a stunning set of wines from Château Margaux. I must admit, it's a bit strange to see newly arrived managing director Philippe Bascaules at Margaux. The first time I met Bascaules was in October 2011, when he had just arrived at Inglenook, and here we were tasting again together just as he had returned to Margaux. But the 2016s are the work of technical director Sébastien Vergne and the Margaux team headed by deputy managing director Aurélien Valance. In 2016, the harvest stretched over four weeks, the longest on record at the château. The quality and sheer purity of the vintage is evident from the Pavillon Rouge, but all three wines are absolutely stellar. I tasted the 2016s twice, at opposite ends of my spring trip to Bordeaux.
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2015
2019 - 2026
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2015
2020 - 2030
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2015
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I was not at all looking forward to my appointment at Château Margaux this year. The news of Paul Pontallier's passing at just 59 a few days before the en primeur tastings were about to get started shocked the wine community. I had seen Pontallier just a few months before, and, then, suddenly he was gone. As it turns out, I tasted the 1983, Pontallier's first vintage at Margaux, a few days before this visit. The 2015s will turn out to make a fabulous bookend to a legendary career that was tragically cut short, but not before Pontallier succeeded in elevating the quality of the wines here in a meaningful way. Château Margaux remains arguably the First Growth with the deepest family values. One the day I tasted, proprietor Corinne Mentzelopoulos stood next to her team as she welcomed all of her visitors with her inimitable blend of charm and wit.
00
2014
2018 - 2026
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2014
2020 - 2044
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I confess that I still have a hard time visiting Château Margaux. The untimely passing of Paul Pontallier is impossible to ignore when walking through the property. Later this year Philippe Bascaules will return to Margaux from his stint at Inglenook, which will at least ensure some measure of continuity. As for the 2014s, they are gracious and polished, pretty much as they were from barrel.
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2014
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You have to pay attention when Paul Pontallier speaks, as his understated demeanor and wry sense of humor can sometimes hide what are very pointed observations. "Anyone who describes 2014 as a 'miracle' simply speaks from inexperience," says Pontallier, who describes 2014 as a "classic" vintage similar in style to 1978, 1979, 1983, 2004, 2006 and 2008. "People say that 2014 is better for Cabernet Sauvignon than Merlot in the Médoc, but that is often because the best parcels are planted with Cabernet, as is the case here." The Grand Vin accounts for 36% of the red wine production, while 28% was used for the Pavillon Rouge and the rest for the entry-level appellation wine. As for the 2014s, they are super-polished. When all is said and done, the Pavillon Blanc could turn out to be the best of these three 2014s.
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2013
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2013
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Paul Pontallier told me he has never seen a vintage like 2013, but adds emphatically that drawing parallels to the past is a waste of time because everything has changed in Bordeaux, from viticulture to winemaking. The fruit was brought in at 12.5% natural alcohols and chaptalized a half degree up to 13%. About 38% of the production was used for the Grand Vin, while 21% was used for Pavillon Rouge. The 2013 reds at Margaux are some of the most impeccable and polished wines of the year.
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2012
2017 - 2032
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2011
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2011
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2010
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2008
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2006
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2006
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"A great classic vintage for us in cabernet sauvignon," said Paul Pontallier. Because he considered the merlot to be less worthy, the grand vin contains a very high 90% cabernet sauvignon and just 4% merlot. Pontallier compares the new vintage to the '86, which he says had a similar level of tannins. "But 1986 was a classic in the context of the wines of 20 years ago, while 2006 is a modern classic, with greater purity and riper tannins. The vintages that have closed down in bottle are those that were picked with unripe tannins, like '86, '88 and '95." Incidentally, 2005 brought the highest IPT (indice de polyphenols totaux) ever measured at Margaux, and Pontallier noted that due to the combination of the tannins and very high alcohol he was even more careful with the extraction in '05 than he was with the 2006.
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2005
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2004
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I don't yet find quite the density in the 2004 Margaux that estate manager Paul Pontallier does, but there's no arguing with the wine's dark color and lovely aromatic precision. Pontallier told me that 2004 was one of the estate's best vintages for merlot since 1995, but then emphasized that "only cabernet sauvignon makes great wine here." The cabernet sauvignon was harvested here between October 11 and 21. Incidentally, the 2003 Margaux has the highest-ever IPT at this estate (73); just a step behind in total polyphenols have been 2004, 2000, 1995 and 1986, all measuring about 70. Margaux's 2004 white wine is a knockout.
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2002
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The 2002 Margaux features 86% cabernet sauvignon, the highest ever for this great first growth, according to estate manager Paul Pontallier. "What about the 1986?" I asked. "In '86 the cabernet was so powerful we needed the merlot to balance it," he responded. Pontallier describes the 2002 as "classic, pure Margaux, but not extraordinary. It's more structured, with tighter-grained tannins, than the '01."
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2001
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The huge 2000 Margaux is a wine with a tendency to erase anything tasted next to it, but until I put the 2000 in my mouth I certainly enjoyed my young sample of the 2001. Estate manager Paul Pontallier describes the 2000 as "extraordinary and flamboyant; from the start the wine exploded in the mouth." The 2001, according to Pontallier, "doesn't pretend to be extraordinary. It's in a more linear style but it may be as long as the 2000." For the first time ever, the 2001 features more petit verdot (7.4%) than merlot (7.3%), as the former grape was exceptionally ripe in 2001. The trio of outstanding reds I tasted at Margaux did not overshadow a freakishly dense and rich 2001 Pavillon Blanc, made from a yield of just 28 hectoliters per hectare.
00
1999
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Chateau Margaux's grand vin is an outstanding example of 1999, with power lurking behind the sweetness and roundness of the vintage. According to manager Paul Pontallier, this estate declassified a late-ripening parcel of cabernet sauvignon that's usually included in the first wine, and used saignee to reduce the volume of several of its other parcels by 10% to 12%. The result is a particularly dense '99, and a stronger-than-usual Pavillon Rouge, as concentrated as—and perhaps more expressive than—the '98 a year ago.
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