2016

Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux

2016
This year again, the Pavillon Rouge has been subjected to very strict selection (26% of the harvest) of the wines from plots some of which were still producing Château Margaux just a few years ago. The strictness of this selection demonstrates our constant demanding attitude with regard to Pavillon Rouge.


The blend also denotes these efforts: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Thanks to magnificent batches of Cabernet Sauvignon, the tannic framework of this wine is both dense and silky, brilliant and long.
It can definitely no longer be considered merely as a second wine!
(April 2017)

Margaux

Climate

The wet and relatively mild winter led to quite early sprouting in the last week of March. The 400 mm of rain during the first 3 months of the year helped to replenish the ground water after a rather dry 2015. The spring rains came very close together and thus gave the impression that they had been plentiful, whereas in fact, the total of all the rain only amounted to the average of the last 30 years. The vines nevertheless managed to find a few rare, beautiful sunny days to blossom between June 6th and 8th.


The contrast with the summer drought was just as striking. Only 8 mm of rain fell during July and August. Even though the very young plants showed a few marked signs of hydric stress, our old vines behaved perfectly, once again demonstrating this species’ incredible capacity to adapt to the climate. Although dry, the summer wasn’t exceptionally hot. Only the second half of August was marked by higher than normal temperatures. The combination of these factors caused the colour change to be quite spread out. September, with its dry days and cool nights, enabled the grapes to complete their ripening process in optimal conditions.
The harvest of the reds, which was the most staggered in the history of the Estate, took place from September 23rd to October 18th.
All through the summer, with every passing day, we felt a little more excited at the thought of a great new vintage taking shape…