2019 Pavillon rouge

96 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

The wine is rich, open and generous. The bold black fruits mask the tannins and bring out the fine balance between structure and fruit. Drink this very fine wine from 2026.

96 POINTS

James Suckling

Fresh tobacco, currant and earth, opening up to forest flowers. It’s rich in tannins, but very soft and beautiful. Layered, with lots of fine fruit and a velvety texture. Blackberry and chocolate in the finish too. 27% of the crop and a blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon and 19% merlot, the rest petit verdot and cabernet franc. Delicious already, but give it at least six years of bottle age. Better after 2027.

94 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2019 Pavillon Rouge has a more austere bouquet than its peers, nuanced yet still well-defined, taut with black fruit laced with pencil shavings and freshly rolled tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, pliant and rounded, smooth and harmonious though not satin-like…there is still a bit of grit on the finish. It builds and opens nicely in the glass - a serious and quite compelling Deuxième Vin . Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

94 POINTS

Jane Anson - Decanter Magazine

Packed with spice and fruit on the nose, this grips you and lifts off. A great mid palate with juicy, enrobed tannins and seductive fleshy fruit in the mouth. Makes you smile, enticingly creamy and yet with sappy slate on the finish. One of the best Pavillon Rouge for years. 27% of overall production in Pavillon. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. A yield of 47hl/ha, (compared to 30hl/ha last year). Tannin index of 75 IPT so higher than 2009, 2010, 2016 (only 2018 higher).

93 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, accounting for 47% of the crop. The alcohol came in at 14.2%, the IPT was 75, and the pH was 3.66. Deep garnet-purple in color, it begins a little closed and broody, soon unfurling to offer notes of tar, black licorice, cracked peppercorns and woodsmoke over a core of Morello cherries, boysenberries and warm cassis plus an earthy touch of forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant, refreshing and wonderfully refined, with beautifully ripe, plush tannins and impressive freshness lifting the black fruit and earthy layers with a long finish. It should age beautifully!

93 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is shockingly opulent and creamy. Silky, ripe tannins give the 2019 such a gorgeous sense of immediacy. Succulent red cherry, red plum, spice, new leather and incense are pushed forward. There is terrific energy here and yet the 2019 is already incredibly delicious and approachable.

93 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

A gorgeous wine, the 2019 Pavillon Rouge represents 27% of the crop. All of the radiance of the year is on display. Super-ripe red cherry, red plum, spice, cedar and new leather are all kicked up a few notches, with silky tannins that wrap it all together. Even with all of its obvious richness, the 2019 possesses notable energy as well as freshness. Estate Manager Philippe Bascaules and his team turned out two spectacular wines in 2019. Note: I did not taste the Pavillon Blanc, as the estate thought it was too fragile to ship. Bascaules describes 2019 as an easy vintage. Flowering was normal and set was good. Yields came in at a healthy 47 hectoliters per hectare, more than 2017 or 2018, the summer heat spikes notwithstanding. Bascaules opted to pick the Merlot early and gave those lots a very gentle extractions at low temperatures, whereas the Cabernet Sauvignon vinifications were a much more typical 20-22 days at 28-30 degrees Celsius. In tasting, the 2019s have more tannins than any other vintage, with the exception of 2018, and yet the wines don't show that at all.

92 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2019 Pavillon Rouge is certainly more immediate on the nose compared to the sample I tasted chez moi last year. It now bursts from the glass with black fruit and crushed violets, maybe less of the seaweed-like tincture I noticed from barrel, but beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy black fruit on the entry, hints of licorice infusing the black fruit, fine salinity, and a well-defined, structured, graphite-tinged finish. It will still require four to five years in bottle but should drink well for 12 to 15 years.