CHÂTEAU PAVIE MACQUIN

Both opulent and restrained, with layers of creamy blueberry and blackberry fruits, concentrated espresso and cocoa bean, tingles of mandarin peel, a brilliant wine that sings of the appellation and terroir. 15ha estate on superb limestone soils, Stephane Derenoncourt consultant, Nicolas Thienpont director, 31hl/ha yield. Drinking range: 2027 - 2046 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2023)

The 2020 Pavie-Macquin has a ripe nose with black cherries, blueberry and violet scents, quite opulent in style, missing the precision of the best vintages from this estate. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, fine acidity, lightly spiced on the entry with candied orange peel infusing the red fruit. Quite plush on the finish, this is a fine Pavie-Macquin that is just a little heady for its own good. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

Very expressive, with a lovely violet and cassis set of aromas and flavors that spill forth, though this keeps focus and form, as subtle minerality and a very fine-grained structure allows this to flow gracefully through the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. —J.M. Drinking range: 2028 - 2040 Rating: 95 The Wine Spectator, www.winespectator.com (Dec 2022)

Lovely, generous, perfumed, long and ripe and the oak is nicely balanced, too. I wish I could write this more about wines from this vintage, but it is not the case, so I am happy to reward those wines which look smart and also complete. Rating: 17.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Pavie Macquin is one of the most exotic Saint-Émilions of the year. Inky red fruit, lavender, rose petal, mint, plum and kirsch all open in the glass. Succulent and racy to the core, the 2020 possesses mind-blowing intensity yet remains fresh, vibrant and full of energy. It is one of the most alluring and complete recent vintages I can remember tasting. In a word: dazzling. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 95-98 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Pavie-Macquin has a boisterous, attention-grabbing bouquet of opulent blueberry and kirsch scents, a touch of orange pith developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet entry, certainly one of the most exotic wines from the estate in recent years, and a luscious finish, where I would like to feel more of the Cabernet Franc. This needs a very prudent élevage. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

This cooler, limestone terroir has created a gorgeous 2020 Château Pavie Macquin displaying the classic, pure, elegant style that’s common from this address. Inky colored, with incredible cassis fruits as well as notes of white flowers, candle way, tobacco leaf, and charcoal, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless balance, and a great finish. I love this wine, which has a monster of a mid-palate yet stays tight and focused on the palate, with riveting precision. Based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, it’s going to need a good decade of bottle age but will be incredibly long-lived. Tasted twice. Rating: 95-97 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)

The 2020 Pavie Macquin has an opaque purple-black color, exploding from the glass with an intoxicating perfume of violets, Ceylon tea, forest floor and eucalyptus over a core of blackberry preserves, Morello cherries and stewed plum, plus wafts of crushed rocks and unsmoked cigars. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with energetic red and black fruit layers and loads of floral and earthy sparks, framed by exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and amazing tension, finishing with a long-lingering perfume of black fruits. A real head-turner! Drinking range: 2025 - 2055 Rating: 96-98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)

There is a richness here, a powerful spread of black fruits, that grabs you from the start. Perhaps less razor precision than the Larcis Ducasse (also part of the Nicolas Thienpont stable) but more width and depth of flavour. This has texture and brambled power, sappy saline on the finish, touches of austerity, graphite laced through with grilled cassis and aniseed. Some reduction at this point, will clear over barrel ageing. Tasted several times, and each time the pumice stone and chalk of limestone grips on and will not let go. A yield of 31hl/ha. Drinking range: 2028 - 2044 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Dark purple. Very supple nose. Round fruit and all but imperceptible tannins until the very end. A savoury yeast-extract note on the fumey finish. Sappy and appetising. Acidity much more important than sweetness in this wine – which is no bad thing. Settled, comfortable finish. Long and reverberant. Drinking range: 2028 - 2044 Rating: 16.5+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)