An exceptional second wine from an extraordinary vintage, the 2003 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux showcases remarkable richness and balance. Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Petit Verdot, it opens with aromas of blackberry, plum, and lightly toasted oak. The palate is full-bodied and concentrated, offering silky tannins and layers of ripe dark fruit, vanilla, and spice. Despite the heat of the vintage, it retains finesse and freshness, displaying the hallmark elegance of Margaux with impressive depth and longevity.

Wine Spectator | WS 92
Published: Mar 31, 2006

Aromas of blackberry and lightly toasted oak follow through to a full-bodied palate, with chewy tannins and a rich, fruity aftertaste of plum, berry and vanilla. All there. Solid wine. Best after 2011. 14,165 cases made.

The Wine Advocate | RP 90
Published: Aug 28, 2014
Drink: 2014-2022

Also a stunning wine, the 2003 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux is a sleeper of the vintage. Much fresher and less evolved than I would expect a second wine to be from this vintage, it is a Margaux-like effort with a flowery character, good precision and freshness, red and black currant notes, and an attractive, medium-bodied, surprisingly concentrated mouthfeel. It is clearly one of the finest second wines made in this vintage. It can be consumed over the next 5-8 years.

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 17.5
Published: Apr 7, 2005
Drink: 2008-2018

As usual this wine showed extremely well at this stage – as well it might in that five per cent of Ch Margaux's production was rejected even for Pavillon Rouge. It constituted 50 per cent of the total crop. Deep colour and notable freshness and life on the nose. Great finesse with a smooth spread over the palate. Great soft texture yet depth. A tiny note of green tannins underneath almost imperceptible. A blend of 65 per cent Cabernet with 25 per cent Merlot that is pure Margaux (though I wonder where all the Merlot has gone this year???). Round and the ripe tannins are well covered but not especially long. 

Chateau-margaux.com

This exceptional vintage produced one of the best Pavillon Rouge so far. As usual, there are a number of different reasons for this success, but we feel it is important to stress the equal success of our four grape varieties. The high quality of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Petit Verdot is not surprising in such a vintage, which enabled all the grapes, even those in the latest-ripening plots, to ripen with no problem. It was the quality of the Merlot which surprised us the most. We feel that they were the best Merlot grapes we have had since 1985. During the blending it was a really difficult to find the less good batches to make up the third wine…

The Pavillon Rouge 2003 is a monumental wine, richer in tannins than any Château Margaux produced over at least the last 40 years, until 2005 (which is even more concentrated!). This unusual power is fortunately balanced, as in the first wine, by a delicacy and smoothness which almost makes one forget the impressive tannic structure. It is delicious to drink today and for many more years to come. (October 2018)