PAVILLON BLANC
2021 du Château Margaux
The 2021 Pavillon Blanc is fascinating to taste next to the 2020, as the two wines represent total stylistic opposites. Bright citrus, mineral and saline notes are at the heart of the 2021, a Pavillon Blanc that sizzles with tension an energy. Drinking range: 2024 - 2030 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
* 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.
Since I reviewed the 2020 last year, I tasted the bottled 2021 Pavillon Blanc during my visit. The nose is a little stubborn at first, opening with discrete white peach and yellow plum scents, a touch of jasmine. It's certainly less flamboyant than the barrel sample. The palate is well balanced with a lively entry, citrus fresh with lemon verbena, menthol and pineapple notes. Strangely, it's got something…Chardonnay about it! Vibrant, maybe a little exotic compared to previous vintages, full of joie-de-vivre on the finish. Drinking range: 2023 - 2038 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
100 Sauvignon Blanc | 25% new oak | Lees stirred for a few months. | Will be bottled in June 2022. | 13.3% alc | pH 3.04 lowest ever pH | This wine represents 52% of the harvest. Superbly defined and Ninja-like with its expressive fruit and combative acidity, this is as keen-edged as Pavillon gets, and it is seriously challenging with brittle acidity and amazing deft citrus flavours over lighter moments of lantana and honeysuckle. Crisp pear, ginger and white peach notes swirl, but citrus holds fort making this a superstar in 2021. Rating: 19 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2022)
This is a really serious white. Vibrant and tangy with fantastic energy. Plenty of lime zest, pineapple, crushed stone, cedar, anise and white lavender. Grapefruit, too. Medium body. So much tension at the end. Focused and precise and it just keeps on going. The pH is 3.04, yet it has intense ripeness. A masterpiece of sauvignon blanc. The chateau says it is the best Pavillon Blanc ever. 100% sauvignon blanc. Rating: 99-100 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2022)
Fresh acidities, higher than the last few years. It has a lot in common with the brilliant 2017, but is a little more intense in its cut grass and steel notes, without the exotic fruits you can find in a riper year. Instead this majors on white peaches, pear, quince, grated ginger, lemongrass. Clear persistency and one of the wines of the vintage. Harvest September 7 to 13, 52% of overall production in this wine. Drinking range: 2023 - 2036 Rating: 97 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2022)
The 2021 Pavillon Blanc, picked between 7 and 13 September, before the rains, has a well-defined bouquet with scents of pineapple, kumquat, touches of white peach coming through with time. The palate is very concentrated with sour lemon that counterbalances the fatness and density. Touch of lemongrass on the finish. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2022)
The 2021 Pavillon Blanc is a fabulous example of how compelling the vintage is for the best dry whites. It marries the nervy freshness that has characterized the Blanc of late and yet also has quite a bit of textural richness. I was pretty shocked by its weight, to be honest. Lemon confit, white flowers, sage and mint gradually unfurl in the glass. Quite simply, the 2021 is one of the finest Pavillon Blancs in recent memory. Drinking range: 2027 - 2041 Rating: 94-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2022)
Fresh acidities, higher than the last few years. It has a lot in common with the brilliant 2017, but is a little more intense in its cut grass and steel notes, without the exotic fruits you can find in a riper year. Instead this majors on white peaches, pear, quince, grated ginger, lemongrass. Clear persistency and one of the wines of the vintage. Harvest September 7 to 13, 52% of overall production in this wine. Drinking range: 2023 - 2036 Rating: 97 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2022)
The 2021 Pavillon Blanc is one of the finest recent vintages of this cuvée, combining complete maturity with incisive acids to striking effect. Offering up aromas of confit lemon, citrus zest, crisp orchard fruit and wet stones, it's medium to full-bodied, chiseled and tensile, with striking concentration and chalky structuring dry extract, concluding with a long, mineral finish. It was picked between September 7 and 13 and attained 13.3% natural alcohol. Rating: 94-96 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (May 2022)
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, Margaux was widely recognised for the quality of their wines - in 1771 Château Margaux 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 who's 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 1960's, 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 Mentzelpoulos 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 Mentzelpoulos family. After 43 years, Alexis, supported by his sister Alexandra, has taken over from his mother Corrine. Alexis state he is "firmly committed to continuing the family objective of making Château Margaux one of the greatest wines in the world." Château Margaux is a large estate, running to nearly 265ha, although under vine there are only 82ha. For red wines the vines are 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot with smaller plantings of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Wines are fermented and aged in barrels made at Margaux's own cooperage, the reds spending up to two years in wood. 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. 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.
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 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. 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 2026. 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.