2020 Pavillon blanc

100 POINTS

James Suckling

The clarity and focus of this white is phenomenal with honeysuckle, white peach, lavender, and melon aromas that follow through to a full body, yet it’s tight and focused with super fine phenolics that keep it together. Great balance between the opulence and freshness. It has great acidity. Incredible energy. pH 3.1.

97 POINTS

Jane Anson - Decanter

Clear gunsmoke character with slate and graphite, also a ton of white peach, white pear, some sweet mango and a scrape of salinity on the finish. This is balanced and successful, and easy to recommend, completing a strong set of wines at Margaux in the 2020 vintage. 40% of the overall production in the final blend. 3.01pH. Harvest from 24 August to September 1. 100th anniversary of the name Pavillon Blanc (even though they have made a white wine at Margaux for 300 years).

95 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2020 Pavillon Blanc is gorgeous. Rich, creamy and expansive on the palate, the Blanc captures all of the radiance of the year. Apricot, passionfruit, mint, lime, crushed rocks and sage all open in the glass. As with the red wines, Pavillon Blanc is at first quite opulent, but then shows the more energetic side of the year on the mid-palate and finish. That's a pretty fabulous combination in my book.

93 POINTS

William Kelley - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2020 Pavillon Blanc bursts with aromas of lemongrass, crisp green apple, white flowers and fresh mint, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy palate that's pure, racy and charming, exhibiting a somewhat more giving profile than the more chiseled 2019.

92 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2020 Pavillon Blanc is quite opulent and oaky on the nose. It’s more tropical than its peers, with dried pineapple, white peach and light lanolin scents, but there is sufficient countervailing energy in situ. The palate is medium-bodied with a delineated and lightly spiced entry, a little honeyed in texture, building nicely toward the finish. This needs a couple more years in bottle, but it will come good. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

92 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2020 Pavillon Blanc de Château Margaux was picked on 24 and 25 August after rain had lent more acidity and freshness. The pH is low at 3.10. It has a delightful bouquet with enticing scents of green apple, white peach and pressed flowers, conveying a sense of energy and playfulness. The palate is very well balanced with an underlying salinity that gets the saliva flowing. Very good tension here, impressive considering the warmth of the summer, it offers discrete touches of stem ginger and Nashi pear on the finish. This was virtually the final blend as it was due to be bottled the following week. N.B. As this is the centennial Pavillon Blanc, Philippe Bascaule hinted that it may come in a specially-designed bottle.

Neal Martin - Vinous

The team at Château Margaux, like last year, decided not to dispatch a sample of the Pavillon Blanc, as they felt it would be too unstable. Trust that I will taste it when I can.