Wine Advisor
Pavie Macquin 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Inky bluish/purple in color, Pavie Macquin produced a prodigious effort from St.-Emilion in 2005. Its crushed, chalky rock minerality, massive body, and high tannin make for a wine to forget for another decade. Super-loaded, concentrated and powerful, this wine should turn out great, but patience will be required. The blackberry and cassis fruit are there in abundance, but so is a massive structure. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2035.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As of 2006, Pavie Macquin is one of St.-Emilion’s new Premier Grand Cru Classes, although the 2006 reclassification of St.-Emilion has been suspended by a Bordeaux judge because of a pending lawsuit from three estates that were demoted (justifiably in my opinion.) Their 2005 may be the finest wine they have yet produced – even better than their brilliant 2000 and 1998. From a 37-acre vineyard, this blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon is fermented in open top tanks with pigeage, malolactic in barrel, aging on its lees, and batonnage, all a la Burgundy. It achieved 14.5% natural alcohol, which must be an all-time record at this estate. Over 4,000 cases will be produced. A fascinating wine that reminded me of a top vintage of Ausone, it represents the essence of its terroir as well as richness. Black/purple to the rim with an extraordinary, intense nose of crushed rocks, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries, creme de cassis, licorice, and camphor, it possesses superb depth, huge tannin, and massive concentration as well as freshness (from acidity and definition). This legendary effort should be drinkable in a decade, and last for 35+ years. Out of this world!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A gorgeous floral nose with blueberry, violets with superb definition and crispness. The palate has fine balance with superb acidity. Cherry, wild strawberry laced with iodine. Very focused and just seems better and better the longer it remains in the mouth. Crisp finish. An outstanding Pavie-Macquin.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Looking more like a young vintage port than a Bordeaux, Pavie-Macquin’s inky/purple-colored 2005 exhibits notes of graphite, melted licorice, espresso roast, crushed rocks, white flowers, blackberries, and creme de cassis. Packed and stacked and stuffed with extract, power, and tannin, this 75% Merlot/20% Cabernet Franc/5% Cabernet Sauvignon blend’s technical numbers are unprecedented. It should enjoy a remarkably long life of three decades or more. The 2005 is capable of challenging this estate’s brilliant 2003 and 2000.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
It appears consumers can’t go wrong with any 2005 with the word “Pavie” in its name. This outstanding terroir, elevated to Premier Grand Cru Classe status in St.-Emilion’s reclassification, is run with impeccable attention to detail by Nicolas Thienpont, who is assisted by winemaking guru, Stephane Derenoncourt. The 2005 Pavie Macquin may turn out to be this duo’s finest wine to date. This is a moderately large vineyard (37 acres) for the area, and the blend tends to be 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. A black/purple color is accompanied by aromas of charcoal, burning embers, crushed rocks, sweet, pure, blueberries and blackberries, chocolaty creme de cassis, and licorice. It possesses massive concentration, phenomenal levels of tannin, and good acidity, but it is even more backward than either Pavie or Pavie Decesse. A modern day elixir that should prove to be monumental in 15-20 years, it will last for 40+ years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted single blind at Southwold. Again like the Larcis -05, there is a lot of extraction on the nose: plum, iodine and a touch of liquorice. Moderate definition. Sweet black fruits, high extraction but lacking some backbone and structure on the linear palate. Ripe plum and blueberry, a touch of black olive on the finish. Well crafted but not memorable. This has closed down and should be cellared for five years or more. Mean scoring here, but I have no doubt it will show better down the line. Drink 2013-2020+ Tasted January 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
I find that there is a touch of over-ripeness and brettanomyces on the nose of this Pavie-Macquin: sloes, liquorice, mulberry and dark plum smudged by alcohol. The palate is ripe and decadent on the entry and then it ebbs away as if it has been tapped on the shoulder and reminded that Bordeaux should be elegant. Ergo, I much prefer the refined finish compared to the unruly entry. Give it a few years to coalesce. Tasted December 2012.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2005 Pavie Macquin opens with a burst of sweet red cherry/red plum fruit. Cedar, sweet pipe tobacco, mint, spicecake and dried flowers add layers of nuance. Even with all of its luscious fruit, the tannins remain pretty imposing. The 2005 needs a good bit of aeration to be at its best. I don't find 2005 to be an especially distinguished vintage for Pavie Macquin.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2005 Pavie-Macquin is powerful, dense and also surprisingly tightly wound. There is not much pleasure to be had, at least not today. Time in the glass releases hints of dark fruit, chocolate and spice, but the 2005 is never quite as expressive as I would have hoped. Readers will want to cellar it further or give it quite a bit of aeration. My impression is that the dry conditions left the wine with hard tannins that may never fully soften. To be sure, there are quite a few vintages of the same era that are more compelling.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(14.8% alcohol; 3.39 pH): Fully saturated deep ruby-red. Brooding aromas of cassis, plum, violet, minerals and aromatic herbs hint at knockout depth and purity. Dense, rich and multi-layered, showing great precision and a seamless texture to the painfully young blackberry, cassis, truffle and mineral flavors. Finishes rich, pure and long, with hints of cocoa and balsamic vinegar. This Pavie Macquin is developing at a snail's pace. The product of a very gentle extraction and a longer cuvaison than usual, this is an absolutely memorable, outstanding wine.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby-red. Superripe, perfumed nose dominated by griotte cherry, raspberry and cocoa. Lush, smooth and impressively concentrated, with enough acidity and minerality to leaven the wine's almost port-like ripeness (the pH here, always low, is barely 3.55 in 2005, according to Nicolas Thienpont). Very deep flavors of sweet cherry and dark berries carry through on the mounting, palate-saturating finish. A massive example of Pavie-Macquin whose thick coat of baby fat is currently making the wine hard to view. This one is going to require a minimum of a decade of patience.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby-red. Captivating aromas of black raspberry, cocoa and licorice. Opulent and silky on entry, then wonderfully full and sweet without any undue weight. This is actually a bit youthfully closed today but already displays lovely inner-mouth perfume. Offers a superb combination of concentration and finesse. This is likely to require at least a decade of bottle aging, and will be long-lived.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(still a trace of malic acidity remaining; includes 15% cabernet sauvignon) Deep, saturated purple-ruby. Wild blackberry, licorice, violet and truffle on the nose. Densely packed, juicy and tight, with penetrating flavors of black cherry, blackberry, minerals, licorice and violet. But the wine's superb sweetness is already plain to see. This mounts impressively on the back half, finishing with tannins that dust the entire palate and superb vibrancy of fruit and focus.
About the Producer
Located in the Saint-Emilion region on the right bank of the Bordeaux coast, the Chateau Pavie Macquin has been a Premier Grand Cru Classe B in Saint-Emilion since 2006, and its wines are highly sought after for their consistency. Since 1887, Albert Macquin has acquired a number of châteaux, acquiring some 26 hectares of land, thus giving shape to the Château de Berfet-Marcet. Albert was a pioneering agricultural engineer who pioneered and promoted the grafting and transplanting technique when phylloxera was sweeping through France, making a remarkable contribution to the fight against the spread of phylloxera and gaining acclaim in Saint-Emilion and throughout France. Today, the winery is managed by his grandsons Benoit Corre, Bruno Corre, Marie Jacques Charpentier and their children. In 1990, Stephane Derenoncourt, the famous winemaker, joined the estate as a consultant winemaker. A specialist in terroir, Stephane was considered to be the next Michel Rolland, and his wines were often highly regarded. In 1994, Nicolas Thienpont was recruited to run the Château de Pape Marquet. Nicolas comes from the Thienpont family, a well-known Bordeaux wine family with a strong background in winemaking and winery management, and now oversees both Chateau Beausejour Heritiers Duffau Lagarrosse and Château Las Dugas. He is also the owner of two first class B estates, Chateau Larcis Ducasse and Beausejour Heritiers Duffau Lagarrosse. Under the leadership of Stephane and Nicolas, Château Beausejour Heritiers Duffau Lagarrosse has progressed to become a First Growth of Saint-Emilion in 2006. The vineyard is situated at an altitude of 65-100 metres above sea level and covers 15 hectares of land adjacent to the three Grand Crus of Saint-Emilion - Chateau Pavie, Chateau Troplong Mondot and Chateau Trottevieille - and has a privileged terroir. The terroirs are covered with a limestone clay soil with a water-holding layer of stellate limestone 20-150 cm thick, producing fresh, full-bodied, powerful wines with a distinctive mineral flavour. Depending on the terroir of each plot, 84% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon are planted on the estate, with an average age of over 30 years. The vineyard is managed with respect for the terroir, using organic farming methods, planting companion plants and installing drainage systems to maintain soil vigour and ecological balance. In addition, the vineyard staff keep a close eye on the health of the vines, replanting those that have failed, and strictly controlling the planting density to ensure the production of quality fruit. In addition, the winery team carefully selects old vines and uses their cuttings to grow new vines, thus promoting genetic diversity while maintaining the good characteristics of the old vines. Château Lafite Marquet believes that wine is a joint crystallisation of the soil and the vines, and that it should reflect the delicate balance of the ecological environment, the variability of the vintages and the continuity of the local terroir. For this reason, the winery controls each step of the winemaking process with precision, producing individual grapes from different plots of land to create a wine that reflects the characteristics of the terroir. The grapes are hand-picked, optically screened and destemmed, and then fermented in large open-topped oak barrels for some of the grapes, and in concrete tanks for others. During the fermentation, the winemakers extract the pigments and phenolics from the skins in a gentle pressure cap process. After the alcoholic fermentation, the wine is transferred to oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and is then matured in 60% new French oak barrels for around 18 months, including 6 months of sludge ageing, resulting in a wine with silky tannins, intense and concentrated flavours, freshness and distinctive mineral characteristics. The result is a wine with silky tannins, intense flavours and a fresh, mineral character.
1989(1)1995(1)1998(4)2000(3)2003(7)2004(8)
Package Size
12 x 75cl
