Chateau Pavie Macquin 2003

"Incredible nose of raspberry jam with vanilla and floral undertones. Full-bodied, with velvety, caressing tannins and loads of fruit on the finish."

96 Points

Wine Spectator

"This tremendous terroir has been brought back to life over the last 15 years by Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt. Its 37-acre vineyard, planted in deep clay and limestone soils, is composed of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Pavie-Macquin is not far from Gerard Perse’s little treasure, Pavie-Decesse. The 2003 Pavie-Macquin turned out brilliantly, no doubt because its soils supported the summer’s torrid heat and drought. Tipping the scales at 13.8% alcohol, it boasts an opaque purple color along with a gorgeous nose of blackberries, smoked meats, licorice, incense, and barbecue spices. Huge fruit on the attack is followed by a powerful, masculine wine with huge extract, high tannin, low acidity, and formidable power. Despite its low acidity, this is a wine to forget for 3-4 years, and drink over the following 20-25 years. When fully mature, this brilliant effort should rival the 2000 and 1998."

95 Points

The Wine Advocate

"Good bright deep red. Highly nuanced, fresh aromas of cherry, minerals, tobacco, herbs and spices. Sweet and fat but lively, with a fine-grained texture and superb inner-mouth energy and depth for the vintage. Finishes with suave tannins and mounting flavors of dark berries, spices, herbs and smoked meat. The pH here is 3.65, which winemaker Derenoncourt said was the highest since 1997, but which is on the low side for this vintage in general-a testament to the property's cool clay and limestone soils. Here's a 2003 that should benefit from a solid decade of cellaring."

92 Points

International Wine Cellar