The second wine of Château Margaux first appeared in the 19th century and took on its present name, Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, in 1908. After vanishing from the scene between the 1930s and the 1970s, its production was started up again as soon as André Mentzelopoulos took over the estate in 1977, and has continued to grow in order to improve the quality of the first wine. For the last few years, a third wine has in turn appeared to enhance the quality of Pavillon Rouge.

It is made from wines which were not selected at the blending to go into Château Margaux.

There are various reasons why certain plots do not perform at their best. The young age of certain vines is the main one. Up to ten years old, sometimes fifteen or even more, vines can produce fruity, tannic wines, but which do not have the complexity, depth and richness of wines produced from older vines. Finally, the mysterious relationship between the soil of the plots and the climate of vintages, the unpredictability of weather and the hazards of work all figure among the factors which can affect their success.

Each year, the quality of Pavillon Rouge is obviously linked to that of the first wine. It is made with the same traditional techniques of vinification and barrel ageing, but it is often bottled three or four months earlier than Château Margaux, since the finer structure does not need such a long ageing in barrel. It has the advantage of developing more quickly in bottle and so is ready to drink sooner, though in the best vintages it has great ageing potential.