Fruity, fresh and subtle on the nose. Slender on the palate with velvet body and fine tannins. Sheer delight in store. 92 points

The Pavillon Rouge de Margaux 2014 is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, which Paul Pontallier remarked is almost the same as the grand vin 20 years ago. The nose needs time to coalesce in the glass – a little disjointed at first, though it “finds its groove” and offers ripe blackberry and boysenberry fruits, perhaps richer than I was anticipating. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy, almost corpulent opening. a mixture of red and black fruit and a pinch of white pepper. There is good weight in the mouth, quite linear with a nicely controlled, quite mineral-rich finish. This is a very fine Pavillon Rouge ’14 that will probably need three or four years in bottle. 89-91 points

Only 24% of the total crop made it into Pavillon Rouge this year (40% was declassified to the third wine), a wine showing a higher percentage of Merlot than usual. It`s a stylish, distinctly classic wine with good structure, some smoky oak and intense red berry fruit. There`s more tannin than you think here. 92 points