PAVILLON ROUGE
2019 du Château Margaux
Intense and exciting. Dark though, a serious edge to the fruit. Damson and sloe and some mulberry - then nicely ripe dark raspberries too. Lots of seasoning here - some toast and some cracked peppercorns. This leads to a more mineral stony line a thread of undergrowth and hedgerow - with elderberry and a waft of very dark, salted chocolate. The feel is broad and richly weighted - but still quite well bound up. We tasted this throughout the afternoon and it loosened up the rich tannins softening slowly - the juice getting more generous and inviting over time. A seriously serious second wine! What a delight this will be to revisit in 10 or more years' time. Bravo!L&S (Jun 2020)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge has a more austere bouquet than its peers, nuanced yet still well-defined, taut with black fruit laced with pencil shavings and freshly rolled tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, pliant and rounded, smooth and harmonious though not satin-like…there is still a bit of grit on the finish. It builds and opens nicely in the glass - a serious and quite compelling Deuxième Vin. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2026 - 2045 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is shockingly opulent and creamy. Silky, ripe tannins give the 2019 such a gorgeous sense of immediacy. Succulent red cherry, red plum, spice, new leather and incense are pushed forward. There is terrific energy here and yet the 2019 is already incredibly delicious and approachable. Drinking range: 2024 - 2039 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is certainly more immediate on the nose compared to the sample I tasted chez moi last year. It now bursts from the glass with black fruit and crushed violets, maybe less of the seaweed-like tincture I noticed from barrel, but beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit on the entry, hints of licorice infusing the black fruit, fine salinity, and a well-defined, structured, graphite-tinged finish. It will still require four to five years in bottle but should drink well for 12 to 15 years. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
Classically balanced Pavillon Rouge, fairly restrained in its fruits, good tannic structure, very much on the plum and bilberry fruits. There is a lovely balance here, with freshness, less exuberant than the 2018 yet with a quiet sense of building and delivering momentum. As it opens, rose petal and peony aromatics begin to hover above the glass, enticing you in. There is a lot going on here, and it's a successful wine with juicy perfumed fruit. 27% of total production, 47hl/ha yield. Drinking range: 2028 - 2048 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jan 2022)
Delivers a gorgeous velvety mouthfeel, with cassis, warmed plum and blackberry preserve flavors infused with black tea and incense. Features a fresh minerality that echoes through the suave finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2035. —J.M. Rating: 93 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2022)
A gorgeous wine, the 2019 Pavillon Rouge represents 27% of the crop. All of the radiance of the year is on display. Super-ripe red cherry, red plum, spice, cedar and new leather are all kicked up a few notches, with silky tannins that wrap it all together. Even with all of its obvious richness, the 2019 possesses notable energy as well as freshness. Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, accounting for 47% of the crop. The alcohol came in at 14.2%, the IPT was 75, and the pH was 3.66. Deep garnet-purple in color, it begins a little closed and broody, soon unfurling to offer notes of tar, black licorice, cracked peppercorns and woodsmoke over a core of Morello cherries, boysenberries and warm cassis plus an earthy touch of forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant, refreshing and wonderfully refined, with beautifully ripe, plush tannins and impressive freshness lifting the black fruit and earthy layers with a long finish. It should age beautifully! Rating: 92-94+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jun 2020)
The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is definitely one sample that repays aeration, initially very tight and unresponsive. It then begins to unfurl, revealing introverted black fruit laced with sea spray and light Japanese nori scents. It is well defined and detailed, yet never becomes as expressive as some of its peers. The palate is very well balanced with very fine tannins. This is clearly more "open for business" and what I really admire is that tang of salinity towards the finish, almost as if compensating for the bashful aromatics. Very fine, though it will require four or five years in bottle. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
Quite rich and ripe with an almost raisined note to the fruit. A little more robust than usual, the fruit dense and gourmand, the tannins plentiful, firm and grainy behind. A touch of freshness on the finish pulls it together but a bit of chew at the end. 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. 27% of the production. Barrel sample. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 16.5 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Jun 2020)
Starting with the second wine of this great estate, the 2019 Château Margaux Pavillon Rouge reveals a saturated purple color as well as young, unevolved notes of blue and black fruits, unsmoked tobacco, chocolate, and spring flowers. It has a wonderful freshness and purity yet is still a rich, powerful wine. Full-bodied, concentrated yet seamless, it's an incredible second wine and possibly the finest Pavillon Rouge I've tasted. Rating: 94-96 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Jun 2020)
Packed with spice and fruit on the nose, this grips you and lifts off. A great mid palate with juicy, enrobed tannins and seductive fleshy fruit in the mouth. Makes you smile, enticingly creamy and yet with sappy slate on the finish. One of the best Pavillon Rouge for years. 27% of overall production in Pavillon. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. A yield of 47hl/ha, (compared to 30hl/ha last year). Tannin index of 75 IPT so higher than 2009, 2010, 2016 (only 2018 higher). Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jun 2020)
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.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.