Pavillon Rouge

 

 

Pavillon Rouge

The second wine of the famous Chateau Margaux was re-introduced under the guidance of Émile Peynaud, the late taster, scientist and teacher best known for his pioneering consultancy work that was to shape the face of modern Bordeaux in the latter half of the 20^th century.

The Peynaud mantra, while commonplace today, was new at the time: continuity, in quality and style.  Better selection, only ripe grapes, distinct parcels vinified separately, temperature controls. All that was applied to the Grand Vin was applied to Pavillon Rouge and a redefined Pavillon Blanc. 

In turn, these innovations at Margaux came about with the – at the time controversial – entrance of one of the first foreign owners of a Medoc chateau, André Mentzelopoulos.  Mentzelopoulos bought the chateau in 1978 only to meet an early death in 1980.  This, following the initial alarm at his arrival, was greated with much worry by the Bordelaise as, in those 2 short years, no owner ever had nor has had a more profound role in the illustrious history of Chateau Margaux. His daughter Corrine Mentzelopoulos took the helm and was joined in 1983 by talented young winemaker Paul Pontallier, an agricultural engineer with a doctorate in oenology.  The policy of investment and practices set out under her father was pursued, which laid the foundations for the continuity of quality in the wines of Margaux.

 

Style

Pavillon Rouge is an elegant mix of power and silk, displaying dark cassis berries, wild violet and tobacco aromas of much purity.

 

Top-rated vintages

Vintage	RP	JR	market price £	£/ Parker points
2009	91-93	17	1,600	17.39
2003	92	14.5	1,575	17.12
2005	91	17	1,575	17.31
2004	89	16.5	1,500	16.85
2000	89	17	1,650	18.54
1995	89	16	1,550	17.37
2008	88	16	1,625	18.54
2007	88	16.5	1,450	16.47
2002	87	16.5	1,450	16.67

as per June 2011

 

Market

The market for second wines has existed, among the top chateaux at any rate, for at least 250 years with the basic decision-making on their evolution and position within the market remaining unchanged. Which plots, vine-age, percentage in relation to the Grand Vin etc.  Following virtual abandonment during the terrible years of the 20^th century, when it was hard enough to sell the Grand Vin, the market has changed considerably from 1982 on.

Second wines have grown exponentially with 60% of the top 200 chateaux now producing one.  Viticultural practices are better than ever before and the First Growths in particular, have begun in earnest with the repositioning of their second wine as a noble wine in its own right, applying as exacting a standard to its cultivation and production as with their first wine.

Until very recently the prevailing wisdom was that second wines had no investment value. However, like the opening of the US market in the 1950s, which saw prices for the first growths shoot up 50%, the expansion of the market to include a new and more global rich would seem to herald a new era for the second wines. 

The ability of Chateau Margaux to produce what is quite often the wine of the vintage places their second wine, Pavillon Rouge, in an excellent position to take advantage of these new changes.

Liv-ex Power 100 ranking

2010	total score	2009	move
27	228	new	new

The Liv-ex Power 100 is a list of the top performers over the previous year and their position starting the current year.  The indice traces the movement of chateau and other wines using a sophisticated weighting system based on average prices, production, notional availability and Parker Points.

 

Release price evolution

Vintage	ex Negociant € / btl	London release price £ / cs
2009	50.00
2008	26.00	299
2007	36.00	372
2006	36.00	325
2005	36.00	450

 

Pavillon Rouge at a glance

Commune: Margaux

Soils: the warmest area in the Medoc, large deposits from the river in the Quaternary era over the predominantly limestone bedrock of the Tertiary era.  Mainly gravely soils, in a series of outcrops shaped by erosion, slope gently down towards the river.  Several meters thick in places, consists of gravel and stones of varying shapes and sizes clayey and sandy matrix. Thin soil cannot hold water, forcing the vines deep into the soil.

Climate: maritime, moderated by the Gironde estuary and Atlantic Ocean, pine forests provide insulation from strong winds off the ocean and help to lessen summer temperatures.

District: Medoc

Classification: 1st Cru Classe – second wine

Owner: Corinne Mentzelopoulos

Winemaker: Paul Pontallier

Vineyard: 80Ha/198 acres of vine planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and portions of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc for the red wine with 12Ha/29.65 acres of white grapes, mostly Sauvignon Blanc.

Production: 18,000 cases