Pavie 2015

This is really something. Sort of speechless when I taste it. It shows evocative aromas of wet earth, oyster shell, dust, tile, blackberries and blueberries. Full body, ultra-fine tannins and a length and intensity that is so, so fine. A wine in perfect harmony. Complete. Hard not not to drink. Energetic and balanced. Better to wait for 10 years. Try in 2028.

The 2015 Pavie has a high-toned, iodine-tinged bouquet with veins of blue fruit complementing the black cherry and boysenberry aromas. This is one of the more opulent, hedonistic 2015s. The glycerin-rich, medium-bodied palate offers succulent ripe tannin, a fine bead of acidity and a voluminous, heady finish. There is a touch of warmth from the alcohol. Though it is tempting in its youth, I would like to see how this will age in bottle. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

Opaque garnet in color with a touch of purple, the 2015 Pavie needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock notes of baked plums, blackberry preserves, and spice cake followed by nuances of tree bark, charcoal, and tapenade with a touch of Indian spices. The full-on, full-bodied palate is atomic, exploding in the mouth with black fruit preserves and velvety tannins, kept in check by a racy backbone, finishing with epically long-lasting notes of exotic spices. It needs 5 years to come into its best, then drink over the next 25 years+.

Tasted blind. Slightly charred – and rather light-bodied then charred finish. Very tough, drying tannins.
Drink 2027-2045

Gérard Perse has created a magnificent modern winery of marble, stainless steel and new oak barrels in one of Saint Emilion's greatest terroirs and, with very low yields, is creating wines of enormous concentration and power. Pavie has, since 1998, been rewarded with a string of high scores from Robert Parker and has now attained Premier Cru Classe 'A' status. The 37 hectare vineyard contains vines of an average age of 47 years. The 2015 blend is 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon with a yield of 36 hl/ha. Alcohol 14.55 degrees. 80% new oak and 20% one year old barrels. Deep, opaque purple colour which stains the glass. The nose is extremely intense with coffee, licquorice, creme de cassis and coconut. The palate both tastes and has the texture of a concentrated espresso coffee, layered with black, raisined fruits and clove. This mouthcoating glycerol texture is managed by extreme levels of firm, dry and chewy tannins that take over on the mid-palate to build a monolithic structure to the wine. This complements a heavily charred wood note and sweet and creamy vanilla. This is extremely dense, warm and concentrated for the vintage. Very impressive for lovers of this style.

The 2015 Château Pavie is going to be a candidate for the wine of the vintage, both from the right and left banks, it’s that good. Made from 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this truly great wine sports an inky purple color and to-die-for notes of crème de cassis, toasted bread, liquid flowers, and a building, gravely, liquid rock-like minerality. Possessing full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannin, and integrated acidity, with perfect ripeness and balance, it will need at least 4-5 years of bottle age to be drinkable but is going to keep for decades. I wrote “Wow” more than once in my notes. 2022 - 2052

Concentrated black fruits dried fruits with a hint of spice on the nose and the palate has black coffee intensity. The mid richness is underpinned by chewy tannins tight in the middle. The back palate has concentration a charred wood and vanilla character with on the finish a hint of dustiness. 2023-36

At last a wine from the Vignobles Perse collection which has fruit leading the way. This is a fabulously intense Pavie with depth and real élan. The massive oak recipe is still here (sadly) and the extraction is brutal but this wine seems to be able to handle it. It will be very long-lived and I cannot fault the fruit because it is sublimely luxurious.