A spectacular and deeply expressive Saint-Émilion from the limestone plateau, the 2020 Pavie Macquin captures both intensity and precision. Aromas of black cherry, raspberry, and currant mingle with citrus zest, rose petals, and mineral spice. The palate is vertical, vibrant, and endlessly long, with fine chalky tannins and superb freshness. Sensual yet disciplined, it balances plush fruit with savory depth and saline energy. A benchmark vintage that combines structure, transparency, and elegance.

JamesSuckling.com | JS 98
Published: Nov 19, 2023

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.

Decanter | D 97
Published: Jan 2, 2023
Drink: 2026-2046

Vivid and vibrant nose, full of rose petals, lilac floral edges, strawberries and black cherries. Forward, expressive, perfumed, alive. Sensual on the palate, smooth, velvety soft, intense but well balanced with a gorgeous plush, mouthful of ripe tannins. Really very good with the right intensity, structure and push. Powerful but controlled, poised yet plush, wild and raw yet pretty too with tons of energy and St-Emilion glamour. Has a core of juicy, bright red fruits with a grainy, herbal edge to the strawberries, a lovely bitterness, and edges of liquorice, slate and wet stone - nuanced and aromatic. I love this, they haven't pushed too far and the acidity is brilliant. Clean and precise.

The Wine Advocate | RP 95+
Published: Apr 06, 2023
Drink: 2030-2050

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.

This 15-hectare vineyard, perched on the edge of Saint-Émilion's limestone plateau above Château Pavie, is a labor of love for Nicolas Thienpont and Stéphane Derenoncourt. It was here, in the 1990s, that they pioneered biodynamic farming, then considered eccentric. And it's here that their viticultural ideas have been put into practice: cover crops, high canopies and higher planting densities are all the order of the day. The vineyards are gradually being restructured, with Cabernet Franc displacing Cabernet Sauvignon and some Merlot (it will augment to around 25% of the blend in the years to come), and Merlot being repositioned to more appropriate locations, generally higher up the slope. In the cellar, winemaking displays more refinement than a decade ago—when pushing the boundaries, one sometimes exceeds them. There's less saignée (tank bleeds) these days, though I wonder if, given the quality of the site and its farming, any are required at all? Extraction is already perceptibly gentler, and oak is better integrated. 

Jancis Robinson | JR 17
Published: Jan 24, 2024
Drink: 2030-2045

Tasted blind. Deepest crimson. Reluctant on the nose, very dark, slightly charry but vibrant fruit underneath. Rich, deep and harmonious for a long future. Firm but rounded tannins, masses of fresh fruit and great length. Powerful and balanced.