The 2018 Pavillon Rouge is a full-bodied Bordeaux blend with rich dark fruit, earthy notes, and firm tannins. It’s powerful and silky, with lots of structure thanks to a higher Petit Verdot content. Still tight and tannic now, it’s best to wait a few years for it to soften and show its full potential.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 95
Published: Mar 3, 2021

Blackberry, plum, light earth and undergrowth on the nose. Citrus, too. it'sfull-bodied with rich, chewy tannins that turn energetic, fine and tight on the finish. Lively acidity. Second wine of Margaux. A blend of 69% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot, 9% petit verdot and 3% cabernet franc. Try after 2024.

The Wine Advocate | RP 93
Published: Mar 31, 2021
Drink: 2023-2039

The 2018 Pavillon Rouge is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, with 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with vivacious scents of chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and blackcurrant pastilles with suggestions of bay leaves, pencil lead, tapenade and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a generous amount of black fruit at the core with loads of earthy and savory accents and a soft, approachable frame, finishing long with an herbal lift. It is approachable now but should be a lot more expressive with a couple of years in bottle and drink nicely over the following 15 to 18 years or more.

Decanter | D 93
Published: Nov 10, 2020
Drink: 2026-2042

Tight, bright firm fruits, packed with finely tuned tannins, with a clear velvety texture. The highest tannin levels they have ever produced in Pavillon Rouge, close to the levels in 1996. There is an austerity to the wine right now. You get the spice of the Petit Verdot - also at the highest level to date - giving cushion and complexity to the blackberry, raspberry and bilberry fruits. Even this second wine should be given at least eight to 10 years to really soften because of these tannins, and it is set for the long term. 3.61pH, with 30% of the overall harvest in Pavillon Rouge in 2018. Bottled July 2020. 3% Cabernet Franc makes up the blend, with 13% press wine. 60% new oak ageing.
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.50%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 69% Cabernet Sauvignon 19% Merlot 9% Petit Verdot

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 16+
Published: Jan 19, 2022
Drink: 2028-2046

Tasted blind. Intense nose. Sweet start and then jagged acidity. Not that Margaux-like. But there is some ripe fruit here.

Chateau-margaux.com

The 2018 Pavillon Rouge is composed of 30% of the harvest. The blend is still dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (69%). The proportion of Merlot fell slightly (19%) compared to other vintages. It is compensated by a remarkable increase in Petit Verdot (9%), which has particularly fine-grained tannin and a less pronounced aroma than in some vintages. Cabernet Franc completes the blend (3%).

Like Château Margaux, but to a lesser extent, Pavillon Rouge 2018 is powerful, silky and long, and delicately tannic throughout. Although it has the highest level of tannins of any Pavillon Rouge, there is not the slightest hint of astringency at any point in the tasting.