This is a "wow" wine, with a stunning display of plum, blackberry and raspberry confiture aromas and flavors, allied to a dense but very velvety structure. Licorice, violet and plum cake notes fill in the background. Everything carries through the long, lush finish until the fine chalky minerality finally appears, adding remarkable finesse to this otherwise explosive display. Hard not to drink now, but this will cruise in the cellar.--Non-blind Pavie Macquin vertical (December 2014). Drink now through 2030. JM

Very dark and dense with roasting coffee beans, black plum and prune aromas plus a touch of volatility. A self-confidently decadent wine with a distinct sweetness at the front, but a rather drying finish. This needs time to soften. Better after 2022. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019) - Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com, March 2019

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pavie Macquin leaps from the glass with gregarious Chinese five spice, prunes, baked blackberries and hoisin notes with hints of licorice and chargrill. The full-bodied palate is quite mature with a plush, velvety texture and loads of baked berry and exotic spice layers, finishing long and perfumed. LPB

The 2009 is enormous in size, yet broodingly backward, I was somewhat surprised by the astringency of the tannins in this blend of 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a big wine (14.5% alcohol), black purple in color, with huge concentration of fruit and beautiful purity, but a good decade of cellaring is required. From a top terroir, this wine is built for the long haul, and I am sure it will be even better than its relatively conservative rating at this point. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2035. RP 92+

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pavie Macquin leaps from the glass with gregarious Chinese five spice, prunes, baked blackberries and hoisin notes with hints of licorice and chargrill. The full-bodied palate is quite mature with a plush, velvety texture and loads of baked berry and exotic spice layers, finishing long and perfumed.

Tasted at the Saint Emilion UGC, this has a very ripe, almost porty nose that I think is just a little over-extracted (which is a great surprise.) Macerated black cherries, cassis, apricot jam and a touch of damson. Pretty, but less would have been more. The palate shows much better balance with fine, saturated tannins, fabulous concentration with layers of spicy red fruits on the ebullient finish. Leaving my sample aside for 10 minutes, that nose does calm down as I think it will through its elevage, after which I am sure this will represent one of the top Saint Emilion wines. Tasted March 2010.

Ripeness is pushed to the edge in the 2009 Pavie-Macquin. Maybe over the edge. Readers will find a full-bodied, voluptuous wine bursting at the seams with radiant intensity. Exotic, racy and full-bodied, Pavie-Macquin is a good example of the heavily-extracted style that was in favor back then. I find it lacking in both complexity and interest.

Medium-deep purple-tinged red. Ripe, fruity nose offers aromas of cherry pie, candied violet and dried herbs, along with a hint of alcoholic warmth. Enters the mouth fresh and lively, with firm acids nicely framing the pure if youthfully unevolved flavors of red berries and aromatic herbs. Finishes smooth, rich and long, with a saline suggestion of pine needles and very fine tannins. This very rich and attractive wine should offer considerable early appeal but should really be laid down.

(84% merlot, 14% cabernet franc and 2% cabernet sauvignon): Ruby-red. Superripe, high-toned aromas of dark chocolate, minerals and chalk; a bit port-like. Then supersweet in the mouth, with a distinctly exotic aspect to the dark fruit and mineral flavors. Finishes with substantial ripe tannins and a slight youthful aggressiveness. I expected more restraint and verve for this normally low-pH wine from a late-ripening site on the plateau east of the village, but fans of exotically ripe merlot will love this.

This estate has really delivered some exceptional bottles in recent vintages, with, for me, the 2015 and '16 some of the best ever. But the 2009, at this tasting at least, shows some high-toned aromatics that err towards volatile, with a flavour of kirsch that's a little excessive, and a finish that's a touch abrupt. That's not to say you won't find plenty of rich, well-expressed cassis fruit notes along the way though, and a ton of spiced olive paste.
Tasted by Jane Anson (at BI Wine's 10 Years On Tasting, London, 07 Feb 2019)

Blackish purple. Evolved rim. Sweet, rather cooked nose. Very round and voluptuous but actually a tad sickly initially and then the acidity is a late addition on the palate. Certainly burgundian. A bit dry and chewy on the end. (JR)