Pavie Macquin :
On the way to excellenceTo go from Grand Cru Classé to Premier Grand Cru classé in 2006, the domain, now counted as one of Saint-Emilion’s prestigious vineyards, needed a return to rigour and streamlined management. Nicolas Thienpont is the mastermind behind this meteoric rise of an already exceptional terroir.
To produce wines in the image of the terroir. This was the goal Nicolas Thienpont set himself on arriving at Château Pavie Macquin in 1994 in order to put the domain back on its feet after having been for far too long a producer of wines that were “on the verge of a grand crus.” The manager of Château Pavie Macquin focused his attention completely on the job. “We did everything we could to develop this cru, which was like a sort of Cinderella, undervalued and underappreciated”, states Nicolas Thienpont. From the work in the vines to bottling, his team improved wine production management. Foliage height was modified to allow for better maturity and expression of the fruit. Pruning was modified to give better grape cluster distribution and to allow the vine to express itself fully. “If the soil is good, then it will give birth to a very good wine. You just have to be precise at each stage of the work,” insists the of the Chateau manager.
The Château Pavie Macquin, which now cultivates 15 hectares of vines with an average age of more than 35 years, owes its name to the current owners’ grandfather. Albert Macquin is an important figure in the history of Saint-Emilion vineyards. He is known for the practice of vine-grafting which enabled him to save the vineyard destroyed by phylloxera in the second half of the 19th Century.
Today, the 15 hectare domain of the same name, situated on the top of the Saint-Emilion plateau and composed of 80% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, produces a great wine, a second wine - the Chêne de Macquin - and a little rosé wine. The clay-limestone soil on a limestone bedrock allows for natural drainage and gives an exceptionally regular water supply.
“The effort for rigour” was not done in vain. “It was already an extraordinary terroir thanks to its location on the Saint-Emilion limestone plateau and its shallow soils on the edge of the plateau,” notes Nicolas Thienpont, but it needed a lot of help for it to make the ranks of Premier Grand Cru Classé. And that’s just what happened in 2006. The chateau’s great wine gained the official award.
This wine has good substance and intensity with a great freshness. “It is a Cistercian wine. As opposed to a Baroque wine, its quality is in its finesse,” explains the manager of the domain. Without any frills, it is clean and well defined with good balance.
But still they continue on their way to excellence. Even if being granted entry to the prestigious ranks of the Premier Grand Cru Classé is a ‘recognition of the terroir and of labor,’ Nicolas Thienpont’s work at Pavie Macquin is far from over. One can always do better and his pursuit of excellence continues. He is convinced that, “By being good in all the little things, we can do great things.”.
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