Red Pavilion - Château Margaux - Margaux 2009 4df5d4d9d819b397555d03cedf085f48

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

byNeal Martinthe1/1/2013

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Pavillon Rouge '09 has a high-toned bouquet with lavish dark cherries, creme de cassis and blueberry notes. It settles down with a few swirls and becomes increasingly refined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins. Harmonious and silky smooth, this is not a powerful Margaux 2009, but it is very well crafted and has a lovely saline finish. Tasted January 2013.

Wine Spectator

91 / 100

byJames Molesworththe3/31/2012

Very sleek, with a lovely winey edge to the plum, cassis and blackberry fruit, laced with roasted apple wood, lilac and singed iron notes. Tangy and lengthy, with ample depth, but also nearly approachable now. Best from 2013 through 2023. –JM

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/29/2012

The estate's second wine, the sexy 2009 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, offers lots of black raspberry, cedar and foresty/underbrush notes in its round, generous, full-bodied, seductive embrace of black fruits interwoven with floral notes results. This seamless second wine is one of the finest Chateau Margaux has made to date. Enjoy it over the next two decades.

Jamessuckling.com

95 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2012

This is wonderful to taste, with plums, berries, strawberries, and flowers. It's full and creamy textured, with gorgeous ripe tannins and a long, long finish. Such balance. Amazing tannin quality. Second wine of Margaux. One of best Pavillon Rouges ever. Try after 2018.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

90-92 / 100

byIan D'Agatathe6/30/2010

a blend of 67% cabernet sauvignon, 29% merlot, and 4% petit verdot; represents 41% of the total estate production, which is 10% less than usual) Bright ruby. Knockout nose melds violet, red cherry, milk chocolate and menthol. Wonderfully concentrated and primary, with a soft texture and captivating inner-mouth perfume to the red cherry and mineral flavors. An impeccably balanced wine with impressive vinosity and grip. Finishes with sweet tannins and excellent length. This very dense wine is probably the best Pavillon Rouge ever made and is my candidate for the best second wine of the year along with Le Clarence of Haut-Brion. Pontallier believes this is the first Pavillon ever that can rate with some less successful Chateau Margaux bottlings of the past.

Le Figaro

94-96 / 100

byBernard Burtschythe6/30/2010

Second vin de Château Margaux. Le vin profite de l’extrême rigueur qui a procédé à l’élaboration du grand vin et il hérite de très beaux restes. Soyeux, dense, concentré, il est remarquablement réussi.

timatkin.com

93 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe6/30/2010

13.4% alcohol. 67 CS, 29M, 4PV Paul Pontallier is considering the possibility of a third wine in 2009, such (in his view) is the quality of his second wine, Pavillon Rouge. This has a delightful elegance to it: silky and fresh, with red and black fruits intermingled on the palate and grainy tannins. The 60% new barrels are a little too prominent at the moment, but should fade into the background with time. 10+ years.

Le Point

16,5-17 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/6/2010

67% cabernet sauvignon, 29% merlot, 4% petit verdot. Cerise, floral, bouche délicate, tendre, soyeuse, fraîche, élégante, suave, très frais, fruité; digne d'un Château Margaux d'autrefois. O= 2016 G=15 ans

Falstaff

92-94 / 100

byPeter Moserthe4/30/2010

Feinwürzig-pfeffrig unterlegte Zwetschkenfrucht, etwas Nougat, dunkle Beerenfrucht. Elegant, rund und saftig, herrliche Extraktsüße, sehr harmonisch, reife Zwetschken, wirkt bereits sehr zugänglich, mineralisch, gute Länge, gut wie selten.

TAST

18 / 20

by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2010

Le vin a reçu l’appoint de très grands merlots et atteint une dimension inégalée jusqu’ici aussi bien en matière de vigueur de constitution que de classe de la saveur. Mais on peut trouver Alter Ego encore plus frais et plus sensuel. Ceux qui ne pourront s’offrir le grand vin (99,99 % du commun des mortels) auront quand même avec Pavillon Rouge plus qu’un lot de consolation !

Wine Advocate

92-94 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/30/2010

Tasted at the chateau. 67% CS, 29M% and 4% PV and includes 13-14% of vin de presse. This has a lucid purple colour. A plush, sensuous nose with black cherry, cassis and violets: very pure, in some ways reminding me of a combination of the 1996 and 2006 but with more panache and vigour. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, quite edgy on the entry, very good acidity here, a certain symmetry that perhaps has been missing in recent vintages. The finish is very natural, showing very fine minerality and poise. This is superb. Tasted March 2010.

Wine Enthusiast

92-94 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/30/2010

Well balanced wine, the spiced wood integrating well with the rich plum and berry juice fruits. Firm, but generous.

Wein Wisser

18 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe4/30/2010

67 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 29 % Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. Tiefes Purpur. Parfümiertes Bouquet von hellroten Rosen, Himbeerrispen und feinen reifen Merlot- Schokonoten. Sublim im Gaumen, zart in den Tanninen und cremig im Fluss, seidiges, gebündeltes Finale und bereits perfekt ausgelegt. Paul Pontallier sprach bei der Vorstellung des Jahrgangs auf Château Margaux von dem möglicherweise besten Pavillon Rouge, den er je begleiten durfte. Er hat recht! 2013–2024

Wine Advocate

91-93 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/28/2010

The dark ruby/purple-hued 2009 Pavillon Rouge de Chateau Margaux offers a big, sweet kiss of spring flowers intermixed with blueberries and blackberries, a silky texture, and a dense, concentrated, but seamless mouthfeel. This glorious wine should drink well for 20 or more years. (Tasted once.) Paul Pontallier told me they had never had such levels of concentration and tannin as they did in 2009, exceeding anything they ever produced since the Mentzelopoulos family purchased this property in 1978. Pontallier believes 1996 is the closest stylistically, but 2009 is significantly more concentrated than that vintage. I do not disagree because tasting the second wine, Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, demonstrates that the 2009 is far superior to almost every Chateau Margaux made in the fifties, sixties, and seventies, except for the 1961 and 1953. Drink 2010-2030.

Periodic Review of Wine

92-94 / 100

byAlan Duranthe4/28/2010

A substantial wine offering an opaque purple colour followed by stunning notes of spice-mix, blackberries, crème de cassis, pencil-dust, and blue flower. Medium to full-bodied and dense, with a fabulous richness, an impeccable mouth-feel, and a more muscular size than usual. This vintage could very well be the finest Pavillon Rouge I have tasted. Its longevity could reach 20-23 years due to the gobs of silky tannin! Maturity perdiod 2014-2029.

Anthony Rose

92-94 / 100

byAnthony Rosethe4/26/2010

67% cabernet sauvignon, 29% merlot, 4% petit verdot, 13.4% alcohol,, 50% new oak. Classic Margaux nose, very perfumed, intensely so, with lovely cherryish aromas and subtle oak vanillin spice, super-voluptuous sweet black cherry and mulberry fruit concentration, and fine fresh acidity, with good firm backbone but nicely done thanks to some succulent tannins, integrated oak and fresh acidity. 92-94+

Wine Spectator

90-93 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/9/2010

Love the strawberry and ripe raspberry aromas. Full-bodied, with superrefined tannins, berry, flower and rose petal. Fresh finish. Harmonious.

Decanter Magazine

18 / 20

bySteven Spurrierthe4/9/2010

Fine deep colour, great purity of Cabernet on the nose, a really beautiful wine, pure Margaux, perfect balance and unexpected length. Drink 2014-24.

Jancis Robinson

17 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/7/2010

41% of the crop. 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, 29% Merlot. Pontallier says: 'We were tempted to make a Pavillon better than ever. Luscious but light. Stricter selection for Pavillon than usual.' Bright crimson. Very fragrant, like the Issan. Quite low key. Very sweet palate entry and light and just a little herbaceous on the palate. Some chew as though the lots with the least ripe tannins went into this. Deep throat warming finish though. Very pure. 13.3%. Drink 2016-2025