65% cabernet sauvignon 25% merlot 8% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc. Vines are planted in 82 hectares of gravel soil with pockets of sand gravel and limestone. The average vine age is 36 years. 28% of the harvest was designated for this year's Pavillon Rouge. Lovely opaque core with a bright purple rim. Sexy aromas of dark chocolate rose petal vanilla blackberry liqueur and anise. Soft and sensual on the palate with excellent fruit character plus notes of warm vanilla and baking spice. Powerful yet elegant all the way through the broad luscious finish. Margaux's second wine this is better than any second I can remember. Beautifully lush and supple from beginning to end. Excellent.

Dark, dense and packed with wood flavors, the wine is hard at this stage. But it is also laden with fruits to give a dramatically powerful potential for this second wine. Blackberry fruits go with the smoky flavors and promise a fresh view as the wine ages. Drink from 2017.

The Pavillon Rouge is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon 25% Merlot 8% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. It has a very fine elegant bouquet with blackberry briary black olive and a strong mineral content. It is finely focused but not potent. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tensile tannins on the entry and a core of brine-tinged black fruit. It errs towards a more masculine Pavillon than feminine prioritizes focus over flamboyance with a tightly-wound citric finish. This is very fine but it will need two or three years in bottle.