Pavillon Blanc Du Chateau Margaux 2023 (750ML)

96-97 JS / 96 DE / 96 JA / 93-95+ JD / 93-95 WA / 92-94 VM

This is quite a big Pavillon Blanc with sliced pineapple, ripe apple, lemon and stone. It's full-bodied, layered and phenolic with a ripe sense to it, but then it’s citrusy and salty. Like fresh oysters. Reminds me of vintages from the 1980s, but with more freshness and clarity. 100% sauvignon blanc. - James Suckling

Peach, apricot, nectarine, white chocolate, smells a little lemongrass and yoghurt on the nose, some richness on the nose. Weighty with a great texture on the palate. Seeing acidity gives the lift straight away - lemon juice, fully citrus, but so clean and so mineral too with oyster shell and salt on the undercurrent. It’s still quite lean, but graceful and very elegant and very moreish. I love the style, sharp and tangy. Fresh, orange, lemon and peach, lovely bitter elements with juiciness and some richness in terms of texture. Bright and alive. It’s very good. I like the tang on the super long finish. Well constructed. The teams picked between August 23 and 30 just in the mornings and pressed gently to preserve acidity. 3.15pH - a little higher than in 2021. 37hl/ha yield. 45% grand vin production, 50% second wine. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter

White peach flesh on the opening gives an opulent start that quickly narrows inwards to flint and steel. An exceptional white wine, with sculpted charm, showcasing citrus, lime zest, green apple, anis and sage. Harvest August 23 to 30, yields 37hl/h compared to 15h/h in 2022. - Jane Anson

The 2023 Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc is knockout stuff and consistently checks in with the crème de la crème of dry whites from Bordeaux. All Sauvignon Blanc, it has a riveting nose of honeyed limes, grapefruit, and mint. This carries to a medium-bodied white with remarkable purity, a racy, almost bracing spine of acidity, incredible precision, and a great finish. It's going to be incredibly long-lived, and I suspect 2-4 years of bottle age will help its acidity round into form. - Jeb Dunnuck

The 2023 Pavillon Blanc from Château Margaux, harvested during the morning hours of the August 23-30 heatwave, possesses a deep, complex bouquet of spring flowers, lemon oil, ripe orchard fruits, lemongrass and sweet gooseberries, followed by a medium to full-bodied, round and concentrated palate that's animated by lively acids, concluding with a long, taut, delicately phenolic finish. This bottling amounts to only 45% of the entire crop, the rest being relegated to a second wine. - Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate

The 2023 Pavillon Blanc is quite powerful in this vintage, marked by a combination of creamy, textured fruit, bright acids and an almost phenolic feel that adds pseudo-tannic structure. I imagine the 2023 will need a few years in bottle. Pavillon Blanc is usually more immediate and racier, but the 2023 looks like more of a long-distance runner. Lemon confit, almond and white flowers unfurl in the glass. - Antonio Gallon, Vinous Media