2012-PAVILLON-ROUGE-du-Château-Margaux

PAVILLON ROUGE

2012 du Château Margaux

Grapes Petit Verdot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Merlot
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Margaux
ABV 13%

As Paul Ponatllier noted - 25 years ago, all the Pavillon rouge would have been in the Grand Vin. Spicy oaky nose, with a supple juicy palate and granular tannins which are a nice tonic counterpoint. Meaty mid-palate, savoury and succulent. Very attractive, very appetising. Rating: 92+ L&S (Apr 2013)


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Attractive sweet and smoky character to the raspberry fruits. This is generous, with subtle caramel and smoked cedar, a delicious Pavillon that is approachable and open, ready to drink but absolutely no rush, it will stay at this level for at least another decade. 30% of overall production. Rating: 91 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Mar 2022)

A blend of 33% Merlot, 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the Pavillon Rouge takes time to settle down in the glass. Small dark cherries, a touch of blueberry and iodine that unfold with time. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, ripe, quite solid tannins. There is a higher density here than I expected. There is a good weight here, perhaps less expressive than previous vintages at this point with a grippy, quite powerful finish. Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2013)

Composed of 30% of the production, the 2012 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Fragrant, flowery, red and black fruit notes intermixed with notions of dusty, loamy soil are found in this medium-bodied, silky, enormously charming 2012. Enjoy it over the next 10-15 years. Only about one-third of the total production made it into the 2012 Chateau Margaux, which is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Like many Medoc first-growths in this vintage, this estate-s aim was to make an elegant, supple-styled 2012 that emphasized the fruit, charm and delicacy of this terroir rather than pushing extraction and going for a powerhouse, which would have been difficult to produce in a vintage like 2012. The natural alcohol is 13%. 2013 - 2028 Rating: 87-89 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Apr 2013)

Château Margaux

1855 classification - Premier Grand Cru Classé

Margaux, originally La Mothe de Margaux, has a long history dating back to at least the 12th Century. By the 17th Century, Château Margaux was widely recognised for the quality of its wines - in 1771 it was the first wine sold by Christies, and Thomas Jefferson bought some Margaux when he was Ambassador to France. The French Revolution was a turbulent time for Margaux but, by the turn of the 19th Century, the estate was in the hands of the Basque Marquis de la Colonilla whose singular contribution was to build the château that we see today. Margaux's reputation was recognised by the 1855 classification which placed it among the elite group of Premier Grand Cru Classés.

By the 1960s, however, Margaux was trading as much on reputation as anything else and a run of poor vintages in the 1970's led Margaux to be sold. This was its salvation, for the purchaser was André Mentzelopoulos who, despite some rumblings of discontent locally at such a grand property falling into 'foreign' hands, poured in investment, replanting the vineyards, building a new underground cellar and renovating the château. Also more than renovated was Margaux's reputation as one of Bordeaux's leading estates, a reputation it now richly deserves, still under the benevolent eye of the Mentzelopoulos family. André's daughter Corinne ran the property for an astonishing 43 years, but in 2023 handed over to her son Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos. Corinne's daughter Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos will work alongside her brother. Alexis is firmly committed to continuing the family objective of making Château Margaux one of the greatest wines in the world. The managing director is Philippe Bascaules, who took over from the much-missed Paul Pontallier in 2016.

Château Margaux is a large estate, running to 262ha, although under vine there are only 87 hectares of red and 12 hectares of white. For red wines the vines are Cabernet Sauvignon 75%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Petit Verdot 3%, Merlot 20%. Barrels are made in the château's own cooperage, the reds spending eighteen months to two years in new wood. In recent vintages the proportion of Cabernet in the Grand Vin has increased significantly.

The second wine of the estate is Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux which has been produced since the 19th Century, making it among the longest established of such wines, and there's now a third (since 2013) and even a fourth wine.

Château Margaux also produce a very successful white wine - Pavillon Blanc de Château Margaux - 100% Sauvignon Blanc, aged in wood for six months. This is classified as AOC Bordeaux as there is no appellation for white Margaux.

Aprroximate annual production is:
Château Margaux: 120,000 bottles
Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux: 100 000 bottles.
Margaux du Château Margaux: 60 000 bottles.
Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux: 10 000 bottles.

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
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