Château Pavie
About Château Pavie
The single largest classified St-Émilion property also happens to be one of the very finest, putting paid somewhat to the (Burgundian?) notion that there is an inverse relationship between the size of vineyard and quality.
The slope of Pavie’s 37 hectares under vine is just about as steep as any property in the whole of Bordeaux – dropping sharply from a lofty 85 meters down to 20 meters, with a mere 10% of their plantings on the level clay-limestone plateau. An enticing prospect for even the most vaguely vinous mind, and so it proved (with little doubt) to the Romans hundreds of years ago.
The modern origins of this legendary producer can be traced to a rather unglamorous founding as part of a 50-hectare négociant planting which saw Pavie clustered together with its current neighbour Pavie-Decesse. Eventually, the very same 37 hectares which constitute the property as we know it was sold to the Valette family in 1943.
Excellent wines were consistently produced throughout the family’s tenure, but a change in their fortunes saw ever-decreasing investment take its toll on their wines – the arrival and subsequent purchase of the beleaguered Pavie by Gérard Perse in 1998 was as welcome as it was necessary.
An immensely driven and ambitious man, Perse’s investment and unrelenting vision to create a St-Émilion of unrivalled breadth and power culminated in the incredible 2012 promotion to its current classification, the highest possible in the appellation.
The Winemaking and the wines
A late-ripening site by its very nature, the 60% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon are often picked at extraordinarily low yields and equally elevated ripeness. This is an unapologetically lush and expressive wine, driven by almost overwhelming black fruit intensity. As such, Pavie has a complicated relationship with critics and buyers alike, especially with those favouring the more restrained and classical expression of Bordeaux. What cannot be denied, however, is the sheer majestic quality of the winemaking and terroir.
There is a second wine called Pavie Les Arômes de Pavie.
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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Bordeaux | 1 | 97 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£3,523.27 |
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Wine Advocate (97)The 1998 Pavie is deep garnet-brick in color. So much fruit comes charging out of the gate here: profound crème de cassis, baked blackberries and blackberry preserves with notions of beef dripping, crushed rocks, unsmoked cigar, sandalwood and dried lavender. Big, rich and beautifully impactful, it is completely packed with taut, muscular black and blue fruit preserves, maintaining nice firm grainy tannins with layer after layer of exotic spices, meat and earth notions, finishing epically long and minerally. Should easily continue to cellar for 25+ years. |
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Bordeaux | 3 | 100 (JD) |
Inc. VAT
£5,857.27 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (100)Just a powerhouse of a wine that does everything right, the 2000 Château Pavie is drinking incredibly well today, offering huge blackcurrant and chocolatey darker berry fruits as well as loads of truffly earth, tobacco, and spice. Full-bodied, deep, and concentrated on the palate, it stays flawlessly balanced, and while I suspect the acidity is quite low, it has an incredible sense of freshness and a weightless texture. Fully mature, yet in the early part of its drink window, it has another two decades or prime drinking ahead of it. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 98.0 |
Inc. VAT
£3,976.87 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 95-100 (WS) |
Inc. VAT
£3,796.87 |
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Wine Spectator (95-100)Superripe and almost jammy. Very New World on the nose but impressive; Bordeaux-like on the palate. Berries, raspberries and strawberries. Hint of wood. Full-bodied, with ripe and round tannins and a long finish. Chewy. Got to like this. Score range: 95-100 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£4,533.67 |
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Wine Advocate (100)Gérard Perse believes this is the greatest Pavie he’s made to date, although certainly I would argue that list includes the 2000, as well as the 2009 and 2010, among his superstars. This wine, which I had both in the 2005 horizontal report in the Wine Advocate, and at a mini-vertical with Perse at the restaurant Maison Boulud in Montreal, looks to be a 75- to 100-year wine. Dense, opaque purple to the rim, with a gorgeously promising nose of blackberries, cassis, graphite and cedar wood just beginning to emerge, it tastes more like a three-year-old than wine that is already a decade old. This beauty is intense and full-bodied, with magnificent concentration, a majestic mouthfeel and a total seamless integration of tannin, wood, alcohol, etc. Beautifully rich, full and multidimensional, this is a tour de force in winemaking and certainly one of the top dozen or so 2005 Bordeaux. Forget it for another 3-5 years and drink it over the following 50-100 years! |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 98.0 |
Inc. VAT
£3,130.87 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 98.0 |
Inc. VAT
£3,062.47 |
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Chateau Pavie has Gerard Perse’s unique style; few in the wine world sit on the fence here. The 2007 is full bodied and structured. The nose is particularly refined with cassis and coffee. The palate has fig, black cherry, spice, firm tannins and a fresh finish.
More Info
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£3,998.47 |
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Wine Advocate (100)Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Pavie drifts effortlessly and profoundly from the glass with baked plums, spice cake, sandalwood, Black Forest cake and blueberry pie scents followed up with a fragrant undercurrent of potpourri, unsmoked cigars and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, rich and plush, this is pure seduction in the mouth, offering a taut yet velvety texture and oodles of freshness to frame the opulent fruit, finishing very long and mineral laced. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£4,065.67 |
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Wine Advocate (100)Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Pavie delivers tantalizing suggestions of candied violets, star anise and tapenade over a core of prunes, blueberry compote, Morello cherries and fruitcake with touches of underbrush and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, rich and exotically opulent, the palate has a rock-solid texture of velvety tannins and bold freshness supporting the generous palate of black and blue berry preserves, finishing long and fragrant. |
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Bordeaux | 2 | 95+ (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£2,668.87 |
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Wine Advocate (95+)The 2011 Pavie is composed of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (14.3% alcohol). It possesses a certain approachability, which is somewhat disarming for the big, robust, super-concentrated and ageworthy style Pavie has favored since 1998. The opaque purple-hued, full-bodied 2011 offers a sweet kiss of kirsch, blackberry, cassis and licorice, but no evidence of toasty oak despite the fact it is bottled about six months after most other premier grand cru classes in St.-Emilion. One of the most complete wines of the vintage, this superstar possesses gorgeous texture and opulence, and can be drunk in 3-4 years, or cellared for two decades. |
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Bordeaux | 6 | 93 (WS) |
Inc. VAT
£2,887.27 |
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Wine Spectator (93)Tasting Note This has power but offers a greater display of purity overall, as the dense core of raspberry, cherry and plum preserves glides rather than rumbles, carried by a sleek structure before letting a fine chalky minerality linger on the finish. Shows length and depth, and should be among the longer-lived wines of the vintage. |
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Bordeaux | 2 | 100 (WI) |
Inc. VAT
£4,912.87 |
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The Wine Independent (100)Pavie 2016 is deep garnet-purple in color. It has an atomic nose of stewed plums, blackberry pie, Indian spices, and chocolate mint, plus suggestions of crushed stones, underbrush, red roses, and oolong tea, with a touch of beef dripping. Full-bodied, rich and decadent, the palate is a powerhouse of muscular black fruit flavor, supported by super-firm, super-ripe tannins and lovely freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Needs a good 6-7 years and then keep it for the next 50 years+. |
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Bordeaux | 5 | 93+ (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£1,029.67 |
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Wine Advocate (93+)The 2016 Arômes de Pavie has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed to begin, slowly revealing notes of crushed red and black cherries, raspberry preserves, plum pudding, blueberry pie and prunes with touches of espresso, star anise, cumin seed and wood smoke plus a waft of dusty soil. Full, firm and grainy structured, the rock-solid frame supports all the generous black and red fruit preserves with plenty of exotic spice nuances, finishing long and earthy. |
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Bordeaux | 5 | 94 (JS) |
Inc. VAT
£922.87 |
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James Suckling (94)A tight, pretty wine with blue-fruit, chocolate and hazelnut character. It’s medium-to full-bodied. Fine, dense tannins on the palate give a seamless, silky texture. Second wine of Château Pavie. Drink in 2022. |
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 97 (WA) |
In Bond
£2,904.00 |
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Wine Advocate (97)The 1998 Pavie is deep garnet-brick in color. So much fruit comes charging out of the gate here: profound crème de cassis, baked blackberries and blackberry preserves with notions of beef dripping, crushed rocks, unsmoked cigar, sandalwood and dried lavender. Big, rich and beautifully impactful, it is completely packed with taut, muscular black and blue fruit preserves, maintaining nice firm grainy tannins with layer after layer of exotic spices, meat and earth notions, finishing epically long and minerally. Should easily continue to cellar for 25+ years. |
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|
Bordeaux | 3 | 100 (JD) |
In Bond
£4,849.00 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (100)Just a powerhouse of a wine that does everything right, the 2000 Château Pavie is drinking incredibly well today, offering huge blackcurrant and chocolatey darker berry fruits as well as loads of truffly earth, tobacco, and spice. Full-bodied, deep, and concentrated on the palate, it stays flawlessly balanced, and while I suspect the acidity is quite low, it has an incredible sense of freshness and a weightless texture. Fully mature, yet in the early part of its drink window, it has another two decades or prime drinking ahead of it. |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 98.0 |
In Bond
£3,282.00 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 95-100 (WS) |
In Bond
£3,132.00 |
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Wine Spectator (95-100)Superripe and almost jammy. Very New World on the nose but impressive; Bordeaux-like on the palate. Berries, raspberries and strawberries. Hint of wood. Full-bodied, with ripe and round tannins and a long finish. Chewy. Got to like this. Score range: 95-100 |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WA) |
In Bond
£3,746.00 |
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Wine Advocate (100)Gérard Perse believes this is the greatest Pavie he’s made to date, although certainly I would argue that list includes the 2000, as well as the 2009 and 2010, among his superstars. This wine, which I had both in the 2005 horizontal report in the Wine Advocate, and at a mini-vertical with Perse at the restaurant Maison Boulud in Montreal, looks to be a 75- to 100-year wine. Dense, opaque purple to the rim, with a gorgeously promising nose of blackberries, cassis, graphite and cedar wood just beginning to emerge, it tastes more like a three-year-old than wine that is already a decade old. This beauty is intense and full-bodied, with magnificent concentration, a majestic mouthfeel and a total seamless integration of tannin, wood, alcohol, etc. Beautifully rich, full and multidimensional, this is a tour de force in winemaking and certainly one of the top dozen or so 2005 Bordeaux. Forget it for another 3-5 years and drink it over the following 50-100 years! |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 98.0 |
In Bond
£2,577.00 |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 98.0 |
In Bond
£2,520.00 |
|||||
Chateau Pavie has Gerard Perse’s unique style; few in the wine world sit on the fence here. The 2007 is full bodied and structured. The nose is particularly refined with cassis and coffee. The palate has fig, black cherry, spice, firm tannins and a fresh finish.
More Info
|
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WA) |
In Bond
£3,300.00 |
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Wine Advocate (100)Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Pavie drifts effortlessly and profoundly from the glass with baked plums, spice cake, sandalwood, Black Forest cake and blueberry pie scents followed up with a fragrant undercurrent of potpourri, unsmoked cigars and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, rich and plush, this is pure seduction in the mouth, offering a taut yet velvety texture and oodles of freshness to frame the opulent fruit, finishing very long and mineral laced. |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WA) |
In Bond
£3,356.00 |
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Wine Advocate (100)Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Pavie delivers tantalizing suggestions of candied violets, star anise and tapenade over a core of prunes, blueberry compote, Morello cherries and fruitcake with touches of underbrush and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, rich and exotically opulent, the palate has a rock-solid texture of velvety tannins and bold freshness supporting the generous palate of black and blue berry preserves, finishing long and fragrant. |
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Bordeaux | 2 | 95+ (WA) |
In Bond
£2,192.00 |
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Wine Advocate (95+)The 2011 Pavie is composed of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (14.3% alcohol). It possesses a certain approachability, which is somewhat disarming for the big, robust, super-concentrated and ageworthy style Pavie has favored since 1998. The opaque purple-hued, full-bodied 2011 offers a sweet kiss of kirsch, blackberry, cassis and licorice, but no evidence of toasty oak despite the fact it is bottled about six months after most other premier grand cru classes in St.-Emilion. One of the most complete wines of the vintage, this superstar possesses gorgeous texture and opulence, and can be drunk in 3-4 years, or cellared for two decades. |
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|
Bordeaux | 6 | 93 (WS) |
In Bond
£2,374.00 |
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Wine Spectator (93)Tasting Note This has power but offers a greater display of purity overall, as the dense core of raspberry, cherry and plum preserves glides rather than rumbles, carried by a sleek structure before letting a fine chalky minerality linger on the finish. Shows length and depth, and should be among the longer-lived wines of the vintage. |
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|
Bordeaux | 2 | 100 (WI) |
In Bond
£4,062.00 |
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The Wine Independent (100)Pavie 2016 is deep garnet-purple in color. It has an atomic nose of stewed plums, blackberry pie, Indian spices, and chocolate mint, plus suggestions of crushed stones, underbrush, red roses, and oolong tea, with a touch of beef dripping. Full-bodied, rich and decadent, the palate is a powerhouse of muscular black fruit flavor, supported by super-firm, super-ripe tannins and lovely freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Needs a good 6-7 years and then keep it for the next 50 years+. |
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|
Bordeaux | 5 | 93+ (WA) |
In Bond
£826.00 |
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Wine Advocate (93+)The 2016 Arômes de Pavie has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed to begin, slowly revealing notes of crushed red and black cherries, raspberry preserves, plum pudding, blueberry pie and prunes with touches of espresso, star anise, cumin seed and wood smoke plus a waft of dusty soil. Full, firm and grainy structured, the rock-solid frame supports all the generous black and red fruit preserves with plenty of exotic spice nuances, finishing long and earthy. |
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|
Bordeaux | 5 | 94 (JS) |
In Bond
£737.00 |
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James Suckling (94)A tight, pretty wine with blue-fruit, chocolate and hazelnut character. It’s medium-to full-bodied. Fine, dense tannins on the palate give a seamless, silky texture. Second wine of Château Pavie. Drink in 2022. |