Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux 2009

Proprietor Paul Pontallier is pulling back considerably from the higher alcohol, fuller styles that he was producing as recently as 2007. I am not sure it is the best idea, but this is still a vivid, vibrant 100% Sauvignon, with loads of minerality and almost unbridled notes of grapefruit and white currants in a medium-bodied, crisp, somewhat tart style. Drink it over the next 20+ years.

No tasting note given.

Tasted at the chateau. Pure Sauvignon Blanc. Represents only 36% of the crop, quite a primal nose with pink grapefruit, lime leaf, a touch of nettle and Mirabelle. The palate is more refined than the previous couple of vintages with lanolin, honeysuckle, a touch of jasmine and pear skin. Very well defined towards the finish, very fine poise and length. Lovely and pert. Tasted March 2010.

Shows impressive aromas of lemon rind and papaya, with hints of cream. Full and very layered, with the density of a red wine. Long and flavorful, offering a pretty balance of ripe fruit and acidity like a grand cru Burgundy. The château says that they have pulled back the alcohol and given the wine a little more freshness and length. It worked.

Spicy, slightly stinky, catty nose. Rather more lift than in some recent vintages. Lanolin and richness but lots of lemon and grapefruit too. They are picking a bit earlier and not including the very ripest grapes. Because the alcohols were getting just a bit too high - sometimes over 15%. This was scary. Started reacting in 08 but Nature helped. Much reduced crop - see the video. Mierals and tension quite different from the old fat style. Very interesting, Should age longer. Perhaps less distinctive - more like a particularly refined Pessac-Léognan? Date tasted 30th March 2010. Drink 2014-2022.

This is the dry white wine of Chateau Margaux. Produced from 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Only 32% of the crop has been selected from 26 hl/ha - about 1000 cases will be produced. Concentrated but fresh, lovely pineapple juice flavours with a touch of lemon zest. Less alcohol than in recent years, but more mineral and precise.

Lemon and lime freshness are backed by richer pineapple. The overriding mineral fragrances have charm. The sweetness on the mid palate is so well balanced by freshness, citrus and apple flavours that linger on the back palate. Drink 2013-2020.

Lemon pale, fresh and floral, much lighter in alcohol than in recent years and what it has lost in richness it has gained in minerality, both floral and steely and will age well. Drink 2011-18.

Not as opulent as the 2006 or 2007 releases, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This pure, barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc is one of the great dry whites of the vintage. It may be a varietal wine on paper, but it transcends its grape to produce something that is all its own: creamy, aniseedy and lightly toasty, with lovely 'leesy' fatness and a grapefruity tang. 5+ years.