The 2025 Pavie Macquin is a powerful, structured wine. In most vintages, Pavie Macquin is sensual and silky, but the 2025 is quite tannic in this tasting. Dark-fleshed fruit, chocolate, menthol, licorice, sage and lavender add to an impression of brooding density and pure power. Floral top notes lift the close. I can't wait to see how this ages. (AG)

Inky plum colour, a wine that I always love tasting, flinty gunsmoke reduction, full of charm and personality. Intense, concentrated, pumice stone and steel, a ton of lift and we are slap bang in full limestone character, with a creamy undertow. 30 hl/ha. 40% new oak, Nicolas Thienpont showcasing his skill.

Deep purple-hued, the 2025 Château Pavie Macquin is a blend of 78% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon that will spend 16-20 months in 40% new oak. I was able to taste this on multiple occasions, and it's clear this is an incredibly concentrated yet fresher-styled 2025 from this château. Exotic blue fruits, crushed stone, liquid violets, and gun smoke all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a deep, concentrated mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a beautiful finish. This terroir always yields a very fresh, mineral-driven style of wine, but this brings a lot of acidity, hitting 14.1% alcohol with a very low pH of 3.23 from 30 hectoliters per hectare. It reminds me slightly of the 2016.