Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc 2018

As mentioned during my barrel tasting of this wine, the 2018 Pavillon Blanc is made of 100% Sauvignon Blanc that was picked at the end of August. The vines here are 40-50 years old, going some way to helping them cope with periods of extreme heat and drought, as was the case in 2018. The nose begins a little reticent, requiring a fair bit of swirling to unlock youthful, pristine notes of freshly squeezed limes, lemon tart and fresh grapefruit with touches of sea spray, green mango and acacia with a waft of crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate delivers a seriously racy backbone of acidity, supporting the super intense citrus and chalky flavors layers, finishing long with great purity. It will require a good 4-5 years in bottle to emerge from this shell and should drink for a good 15 years or more beyond that.

“I think September made the vintage,” Managing Director Philippe Bascaules told me. “But we had to take time. Time is important for full ripeness of tannins. We started the Merlot harvest September 17 and finished on September 24. Then we waited until October 4th to begin harvesting the Cabernet. We have a lot of tannin this year. The extraction was huge in the early days. The very small berries made the extraction so easy. So, we changed the winemaking a little bit. Made it softer. We followed the maceration every day.” The grand vin this year is off the charts incredible. Exotic, flamboyant, totally decadent—but what I particularly love is a freshness and brightness that comes not just from acidity (in fact, the acid is relatively low this year) but from bright red fruit and floral sparks in the wine that provide a seamlessness. Potentially perfect—bravo!