Pavie Macquin 2020

Both opulent and restrained, with layers of creamy blueberry and blackberry fruits, concentrated espresso and cocoa bean, tingles of mandarin peel, a brilliant wine that sings of the appellation and terroir. 15ha estate on superb limestone soils, Stephane Derenoncourt consultant, Nicolas Thienpont director, 31hl/ha yield.

Full bottle 1,340 g. Undated cask sample. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc.Dark purple. Very supple nose. Round fruit and all but imperceptible tannins until the very end. A savoury yeast-extract note on the fumey finish. Sappy and appetising. Acidity much more important than sweetness in this wine – which is no bad thing. Settled, comfortable finish. Long and reverberant. 14.5%Drink 2028 – 2044

(31hl/ha)Dense and oaky on the nose, black-fruit dominated; very full, firmly tannic, and very marked by its acidity; this gives all the concentrated ripe black fruit a long and linear character, a great support to the wine, and a very nice definition to the finish; long and elegant and refined for the cru, and with great aromatic length. A lovely Pavie Macquin in its slightly sturdy style, indeed maybe the best to date? But its structural combination of tannin and acidity mean it will be years in the mellowing. 2032–52+.

The 2020 La Petite Eglise has opened up on the nose, more accessible than I envisaged, with brambly red fruit, brown spices, touches of shucked oyster shell in the background. There is a floral component that becomes more accentuated with aeration. The palate is voluptuous on the entry with saturated tannins that frame the pure black cherry and boysenberry fruit. Its opulence counterbalanced by quite potent salinity that defines the finish. This is very impressive and it will probably age more slowly than other vintages.

The 2020 Pavie-Macquin has a ripe nose with black cherries, blueberry and violet scents, quite opulent in style, missing the precision of the best vintages from this estate. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, fine acidity, lightly spiced on the entry with candied orange peel infusing the red fruit. Quite plush on the finish, this is a fine Pavie-Macquin that is just a little heady for its own good.

The 2020 Pavie-Macquin has a boisterous, attention-grabbing bouquet of opulent blueberry and kirsch scents, a touch of orange pith developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet entry, certainly one of the most exotic wines from the estate in recent years, and a luscious finish, where I would like to feel more of the Cabernet Franc. This needs a very prudent élevage.Drink: 2025-2045

Sweet-berry and orange-peel aromas with hints of stone and oak on the nose. Medium-bodied with firm tannins and a fine-grained finish. Restrained plushness to this. Reserved.

The 2020 Pavie Macquin has an opaque purple-black color, exploding from the glass with an intoxicating perfume of violets, Ceylon tea, forest floor and eucalyptus over a core of blackberry preserves, Morello cherries and stewed plum, plus wafts of crushed rocks and unsmoked cigars. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with energetic red and black fruit layers and loads of floral and earthy sparks, framed by exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and amazing tension, finishing with a long-lingering perfume of black fruits. A real head-turner! Drink: 2025 - 2055

There is a richness here, a powerful spread of black fruits, that grabs you from the start. Perhaps less razor precision than the Larcis Ducasse (also part of the Nicolas Thienpont stable) but more width and depth of flavour. This has texture and brambled power, sappy saline on the finish, touches of austerity, graphite laced through with grilled cassis and aniseed. Some reduction at this point, will clear over barrel ageing. Tasted several times, and each time the pumice stone and chalk of limestone grips on and will not let go. A yield of 31hl/ha.Drinking Window 2028 - 2044