Winemaker Notes
Blend: 82% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2023 Château Pavie Macquin was on my list of wines not to miss at this year's USGB tasting, Even with a crowd of people near this wine, I did not miss it, and I am glad! This could be the best wine of the tasting. Showing a powerful and lasting presence of saturated black cherries balanced with perfect balance of oak, I was hesitant of putting my glass down. Pour yourself a generous amount and pair it with a grilled, well-marbled Entrecôte with the appropriate Bordelais spices. (Tasted: January 22, 2026, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
This shows limestone, plum, citrus and mineral character with a savory, almost saline twist and touches of oyster shells, dried meat and oranges. Really quintessential and full of chalky fruit that unwinds and dissolves through the finish. So much character and personality. Best Pavie-Macquin ever? Precise in every wy. 84% merlot, 15% cabernet franc and 1% cabernet sauvignon. Drinkable now, but better from 2027.
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Vinous
The 2023 Pavie Macquin is one of the stars of the vintage. An exceptional, vibrant wine, Pavie Macquin dazzles from start to finish. Seamless tannins wrap around a core of inky red/purplish fruit, lavender, mint, spice and blood orange, all framed by bright, salivating acids. The transition toward higher-density vineyards and greater freshness is paying huge dividends. This is a stellar effort from the château and long-time consultant Stephane Derenoncourt, who has kept Pavie Macquin as one of just a handful of estates he personally follows these days. In a word: Brilliant! Tasted two times. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Decanter
Super fragranced on the nose, really floral and evocative with heady aromas - expressive, ripe and sweet fruit elements too. Super high acidity on the palate, but actually this really works with a soft chalky, powdery bite to the tannins. It’s touching on lean, more straight and less concentrated than Larcis Ducasse at this point. The focus here is the fun, lifted side. So precise, finessed, and detailed with layers of fine tannins, bright fruit and tons of energy yet still with concentration and firm red summer berry fruit. I love it.
Barrel Sample: 96 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of sweet raspberries, cherries and plums mingle with notions of licorice and creamy new oak, introducing the 2023 Pavie Macquin, a medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated wine with a deep core of fruit, tangy acids and powdery tannins. As higher density plantings on the plateau with superior vine genetics start to enter into production, and as the south of the property is restructured, this estate's tannins are becoming more refined, even if the very low pH of 3.35 still tends to foreground the wine's structure.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Wine Spectator
Subtle underlying tension runs from start to finish, keeping the mix of bitter cherry, mulled plum, iris and sandalwood notes focused and streamlined in feel. A savory flicker at the end brings you back for more. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A Merlot-dominant blend of 82% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon from a cooler, north-facing terroir, the 2023 Château Pavie Macquin is always one of my favorite wines in Saint-Emilion. Aged 18 months in 50% new barrels with the balance in second-fill oak and a portion in cement tanks, it sports a deep ruby/plum hue as well as great aromatics of darker, almost blue fruits, crushed stone, and graphite. Medium-bodied on the palate, it has a concentrated, structured, mineral-laced profile with the integrated acidity that's the hallmark of this terroir. Hide bottles for a decade if you can, and it will see its 30th birthday in fine form. Drink 2036-2053. Rating: 94+
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.