1997 Pavie Macquin - Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France

1997 Pavie Macquin: Bright purple colour. The Merlot is very elegant delicate and ripe, almost roasted. Rounding tannins which could be better balanced by more fruit. Nevertheless, this Pavie-Macquin is nice and fat. Typically a wine to choose with a great meal. Drink 2002 - 2010.  88/100

1998 Pavie Macquin - Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France

1998 Pavie Macquin: deep, dense and luminous hue. On the nose, one finds the main characteristics of Pavie-Macquin 99, but in a more exuberant way - blackcurrant, white truffle and spices (pepper). One immediately note that to the contrary of the 1999 Pavie-Macquin, the wood is totally integrated and is replaced by the warm opulence of ripe fruits. The wine fills up the palate with a remarkable persistence. Soft tannins and complexity... 1998 Pavie-Macquin is an awesome example of purity and freshness! 95/100

1999 Pavie Macquin - Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France

1999 Pavie Macquin: Beautiful luminous crimson colour. The nose is rich and pleasant (vanilla) followed shortly by some extraordinary white truffle and blackcurrant flavours. The first impression of 1999 Pavie-Macquin on the palate is wood but this doesn't last long. Sensual and crunchy tannins and beautiful ripe blackcurrant follow suit. Beautiful length. Very fleshy, fat and pure. This excellent bottle is an ambassador of the "Côte sud" style! 90/100. 
Nicolas Thienpont, the happy Director of Pavie-Macquin explains that the wines produced at this estate are naturally powerful. Together with Stephane Derenoncourt, the producer's main concern is in fact to work for more smoothness, to the contrary of Cheval-Blanc whose wines naturally have much more finesse. 90/100

2000 Pavie Macquin - Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France

2000 Pavie Macquin: 80% Merlot - 17% Cabernet Franc - 3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Strong aromas of crême de cassis and glycerin (fading after a few minutes), followed by hints of pepper and menthol. Fine fruity attack, but the finish is a little bit alcoholic for my taste. A slight imbalance which I think ought to dissipate as this 2000 Pavie Macquin evolves. Slightly below the excellent 99 Pavie Macquin, and certainly not up to the standard of the remarkable 1998 Pavie Macquin! 89/100 

2002 Pavie Macquin - Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France

2002 Pavie Macquin: smooth and elegant nose with red fruits, subtle vanilla and truffle scents. 2002 Pavie Macquin is sharp and fleshy on the palate. The finish is dominated by fresh tannins that should integrate better in 3-5 years. The 2002 Pavie Macquin has a good ageing potential. 89/100

2003 Pavie Macquin - Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France

2003 Pavie Macquin: very luminous hue. Intense up front nose of currants, licorice and black olive, as well as a pleasant mineral touch. The structure in mouth of 2003 Pavie Macquin is very powerful, dense and creamy, although the tannins were a bit too dry for my taste. The texture of 2003 Pavie Macquin is very tight and dense but suddenly the alcohol explodes in mouth and underlines a bitter finish. 2003 Pavie Macquin is all but a traditional Saint-Emilion and I acknowledge by tasting blind, that my guess was more on a Super-Tuscan pirate (in particular because of the black olive flavours), rather than on a First Great Classified Growth of Saint-Emilion. This lack of typicity on 2003 Pavie Macquin somewhat disconcerted, if not disturbed me today. 86-88/100. 

The 2003 vintage was extraordinary (in the sense that it was not ordinary) and this shows more particularly on Merlot based wines. Therefore a number of right bank properties have probably lost a share of their usual style and typicity this year. 

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