Wine Advisor
Pavie Macquin 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2020 Pavie Macquin is performing well in bottle, unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of orange zest, violets, spices, bay leaf and vine smoke. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's deep and fleshy, its ample core of fruit framed by youthfully firm, chalky tannins. As usual, it's more structured than Larcis Ducasse, and it remains a bottling that will demand some patience, even if the Thienpont team have subtly eased off on extraction over the last few vintages, a welcome trend that I hope will be pushed further.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
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!
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2020 Pavie Macquin is sensational. Rich, dark and explosive, the 2020 balances the natural richness that is such a signature of the estate with a level of energy and vibrancy I have not seen here in the recent past. The result is a towering, imposing Pavie Macquin that hugely delivers. In this vintage, regisseur Nicolas Thienpont did not use the Cabernet Sauvignon, so the blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with the Franc lending aromatic presence, energy and depth. What a total knock out!
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
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.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
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.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
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.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
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.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Sweet-berry and orange-peel aromas with hints of stone and oak on the nose. Medium-bodied with firm tannins and a fine-grained finish. Restrained plushness to this. Reserved.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
I have never had a Pavie Macquin like this. It’s so fresh and vivid with black cherry, currant and raspberry character, as well as citrus. Some mineral and spice. Salt, too. The palate is full and linear with a verticality that takes you so deep and long. Endless. Transparent. Drink after 2028.
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.
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Package Size
1 x 3L
