Winemaker Notes
The Pavillon Blanc blend represents 52% of the 2021 harvest and is sumptuous on the palate. Perfectly balanced, with a rich and complex concentration, this wine opens with a creamy taste and has a fresh acidity that lends it an enduring, long finish. In terms of quality, it is likely on par with the 2017 vintage.
Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is very tightly wound, with dried apples, limes, blossom honey, flint, light mangoes and some lemon curd, as well as hints of stone. Medium- to full-bodied with tangy acidity and white peaches, Meyer lemons and minerals. It is focused and very refined. There's plenty of compact fruit, and the energetic acidity is phenomenal.
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Decanter
Pale lemon in the glass. Aromatic green/herbal edged nose, elderflower but not sweet, toasted pear and apple tatin, bitter lemon and peel. Tangy, sharp, bright and focussed, lovely hit of citric acid, gorgeous pineapple, tangy and so seductive before the honeyed, toast, caramelised lemons and quite bitter green fruit come in towards the sides and ends. A combination of richness and liveliness - the texture remains sleek and in one line, just the flavours change and evolve. The two are fighting a little now - one then the other. Feels serious and structured but with the most enticing bright, shiny juiciness, that makes your mouth water and want to take another sip straight away. Fun, fruity, sweet, salty, bitter, I love this, will be intriguing as to how it ages. Different style here, elegant but plucky, confident and totally drinkable.
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Wine Enthusiast
This pure Sauvignon Blanc wine shows citrus and apricot aromas. Its herbal edge is enriched with toast, green spices, acidity and final layers of tropical fruits.
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Jeb Dunnuck
As always, the 2021 Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc is all Sauvignon and is a brilliant wine displaying a mineral-drenched style in its crushed citrus, white flowers, spice, and minty herb nuances. Beautifully textured, medium-bodied, and as focused and chiseled as they come, yet also with beautiful concentration, it's a singular, riveting expression of Sauvignon that will have two decades of longevity.
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Vinous
The 2021 Pavillon Blanc is stellar. Vibrant and chiseled, with fine depth, the 2021 impresses with its total sense of harmony. Lemon peel, mint, white flowers, crushed rocks and a kiss of French oak are all finely delineated. All this needs is a few years in bottle to shine. –Antonio Galloni
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pavillon Blanc is likely to be remembered as a reference-point vintage for the new racy, incisive style that Château Margaux has favored with this cuvée for several years now. Wafting from the glass with notes of lime, pink grapefruit and pear mingled with white flowers, green almond and mint, it's medium-bodied, bright and racy, with tangy acids and a penetrating, saline finish.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
One of the most important wine regions of the world, Bordeaux is a powerhouse producer of wines of all colors, sweetness levels, and price points. Separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a coastal pine forest, this relatively flat region has a mild maritime climate, marked by cool wet winters and warm summers. Annual weather differences create significant vintage variations, making Bordeaux an exciting French wine region to follow.
The Gironde estuary, a defining feature of Bordeaux, separates most of the region into the Left Bank and the Right Bank. Farther inland, where the Gironde splits into the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, the bucolic, rolling hills of the area in between, called Entre-Deux-Mers, is a source of great quality, approachable reds and whites.
The Left Bank, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, contains the Médoc, Graves, and Sauternes, as well as the region’s most famous chateaux. Merlot is important here as the perfect blending grape for Cabernet Sauvignon adding plush fruit and softening Cabernet's sometimes hefty tannins. Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec may also be used in the Left Bank Bordeaux wine blends.
Merlot is the principal Bordeaux wine variety of the Right Bank; Cabernet Franc adds structure and complexity to Merlot, creating wines that are concentrated, supple, and more imminently ready for drinking, compared with their Left Bank counterparts. Key appellations of the Right Bank include St. Emilion and Pomerol.
Dry and sweet Bordeaux white wines are produced throughout the region from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and sometimes Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris. Some of the finest dry whites can be found in the Graves sub-appellation of Pessac-Léognan, while Sauternes is undisputedly the gold standard for sweet wines. Small amounts of rosé and sparkling Bordeaux wines are made in the region as well.