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Chateau Margaux unveils a second wine for Pavillon Blanc

26 January 2024 By Colin Hay

It is not often that Château Margaux launches a new wine. But today is one such day – only the fifth in its five century history. The wine is a second wine to Pavillon Blanc. The first vintage is 2022, the wine is released today and it is called, suitably enough, Pavillon Blanc Second Vin.

Since the early 18th century, Château Margaux has produced what is universally regarded as the finest and greatest white wine of the Médoc. Historically known as Château Margaux Vin Blanc de Sauvignon, it took its current name, Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, in 1920.

In its constant quest for excellence, the estate is ever more selective, and in recent years has retained less than half of the harvest for the blending of the Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux. This drastic selection has been made possible through extensive analysis and understanding of the different soils in the plots of white grapes. As a result, the estate has been able to enhance its work in the vineyard, harvesting each plot at optimum ripeness, adapting the winemaking and ageing to the different grapes harvested.

This rigorous work has not only improved the quality of Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux. It has also resulted in a second selection of such high quality that the estate decided to bottle it starting with the 2022 vintage. Made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, like Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, and produced only from the estate’s historic vines, Pavillon Blanc Second Vin will drink younger than the grand vin but will also age graciously for at least two decades.

Pavillon Blanc Second Vin is released today and will be distributed by the wine merchants of the la place de Bordeaux. The 2022 vintage is already being offered by a number of London merchants from £285 in bond for a case of three bottles. Pavillon Blanc 2022 itself is being offered from £795 in bond for a case of three bottles.

2022 was the hottest and driest year on record for Château Margaux. Three long and intense heatwaves followed one another during the summer, while more than six long weeks went by without a single drop of rain. The estate decided to start harvesting the white plots on the 18^th of August in order to preserve the freshness of the wines. The white harvest was thus the earliest in the estate’s history and gave birth to an amazing vintage producing wines with aromatic complexity and concentration. Pavillon Blanc Second Vin has a complex and floral nose leading to a creamy palate balanced by a fresh, saline finish. Only 8,000 bottles of Pavillon Blanc Second Vin were produced for this first vintage, with yields that were among the lowest in the estate’s history.