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Producer	Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux
Country	France
Region	Bordeaux
Subregion	Margaux
Varietal	Bordeaux Blend
Vintage	2003
Sku	23180
Size	750ml

The production of a second wine probably goes back to the beginning of the XVII century because it is inseparable from the search for excellence which started at that time.

Sold under the name of “Château Margaux 2nd wine”, it took its permanent name of Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux in 1908. After an eclipse between the thirties and the mid-seventies, its production restarted on the arrival of André Mentzelopoulos in 1977 and at first greatly increased in order to improve the quality of the first wine. From the mid – 1990s, the creation of a third wine in its turn, allowed for a more and more rigorous selection for Pavillon Rouge. For a few years now, a third of the harvest has gone into the first wine, barely 30% into the Pavillon Rouge, and the remainder is divided between the third and fourth wines.

The quality of Pavillon Rouge has become very close to that of the first wine because all the plots involved contributed to the blending of Château Margaux not so long ago. Of course there isn’t the same complexity, the same depth, the same “magic” but the flavours are close and the balance in the mouth leads to the same subtle senses of power and softness. In general it is ready to drink a little earlier whilst retaining an excellent potential to age largely beyond 30 or 40 years.

2003
This exceptional vintage produced one of the best Pavillon Rouge so far. As usual, there are a number of different reasons for this success, but we feel it is important to stress the equal success of our four grape varieties. The high quality of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Petit Verdot is not surprising in such a vintage, which enabled all the grapes, even those in the latest-ripening plots, to ripen with no problem. It was the quality of the Merlot which surprised us the most. We feel that they were the best Merlot grapes we have had since 1985. During the blending it was a really difficult to find the less good batches to make up the third wine…

The Pavillon Rouge 2003 is a monumental wine, richer in tannins than any Château Margaux produced over at least the last 40 years, until 2005 (which is even more concentrated!). This unusual power is fortunately balanced, as in the first wine, by a delicacy and smoothness which almost makes one forget the impressive tannic structure. It is delicious to drink today and for many more years to come. (October 2018)