The 2009 Pavillon Rouge is rich and plush, with ripe blackberry and cassis flavors, smooth tannins, and a long, elegant finish. It’s drinking well now but still has plenty of life ahead. A classic, balanced wine showing great softness despite powerful tannins. Perfect with a steak or to cellar a bit longer.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 95
Published: Feb 07, 2019

Very ripe for a second wine this is now delicious thanks to the rich blackberry and cassis fruit, full supple tannins and long finish that's simultaneously dry and creamy. Where is that porterhouse steak? Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

The Wine Advocate | RP 93
Published: Mar 14, 2019
Drink: 2019-2033

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux features an expressive, beautifully floral nose of dried roses and candied violets over a core of kirsch, Black Forest cake and fragrant earth with touches of black tea and cigar box. Medium-bodied, the palate is soft, plush, elegant and open-knit with an effortlessness to its character and a perfumed finish.

Decanter | D 93
Published: Feb 7, 2019
Drink: 2019-2036

This is an absolutely killer combination of vibrant, plush red fruits and finely-wrought tannins that are still working hard on the silky-smooth palate. With vibrant edging to the colour and a gorgeous, mouthwatering finish, this is a near-perfect Pavillon - ready to enjoy now but will go long. Great stuff, and bodes well for the rest of the vintage in Margaux.

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 16
Published: Feb 7, 2019
Drink: 2014-2022

Light and smudgy. Lacks that much structure. Edgy and at quite a different stage in its life from many of these. Tastes as though it may have been a bit of a repository for unstructured Merlot?

Chateau-margaux.com

The harvesting was prolonged until October 14th, to allow the late plots to fully ripen. Despite continuing fine weather, some of them didn’t quite make it, probably because of severe lack of water in the soil. So we had to discard an unusually large proportion of the crop – around 23%. Some of these batches might have been kept for the second wine in a more typical vintage, but the potential of 2009 is awesome. Pavillon Rouge then only represents 41% of the crop.

Cabernet Sauvignon: 67%; Merlot: 29%; Petit Verdot: 4%: these proportions ensure a certain classicism of style although there is exceptional tannic power, even greater than that of Pavillon Rouge 2005. The high proportion of Cabernet has helped preserve a moderate alcoholic degree – barely 13.4. The real greatness of the 2009 however, is in how those concentrated tannins have been given amazing softness and delicacy. We have never known such wonderful balance. When to start drinking it? It is a difficult question to answer as the wine is already charming and delicious, but it has immense potential... (October 2018)