| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Gérard Perse has created a magnificent modern winery of marble, stainless steel and new oak barrels and, with very low yields, has been making wines of enormous concentration and power. Since 1998 Pavie has 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 2017 Pavie is deep garnet in color with a touch of purple. It bounds out with exuberant notes of black and red cherries, black raspberries, and fertile loam plus touches of cumin seed, tar, and licorice. The full-bodied palate is so plush and juicy, with wonderful freshness and a long fragrant finish. This is drinking beautifully but still has loads to give and should cellar for a good 25 years+.
Tasted blind. Saturated ruby-purple in the glass. Deep and dark fruited. Brooding, smoky nose. Ripe and slightly balsamic. Very powerful and rich, a real mouthful. Full bodied and exotic. Perhaps a little modern? Some warming alcohol on the back end, but dense and long with tones of menthol on the finish.
Drink 2027 – 2040
Profound, crushed blueberry and blackberry aromas here. Mint and chalk undertones. Full-bodied with a center palate of balanced and ripe fruit with polished and caressing tannins. Excellent finish that goes on for minutes. All in finesse and length. A wine to contemplate and enjoy. Better after 2024.
This is a good Pavie, with a good amount of clear water between it and the second wine. There's no doubt that this is a big wine, high on extraction of black fruits, coffee and tar aromatics, but the overall feel is velvety and fresh, as it was in 2016. 80% new oak has been used this time, compared to 100% previously, but still for 24 months, and the estate has continued their practice of beginning harvest a little earlier than in the past (helped by the vintage of course), getting going on 20 September this year. It's a very good wine for the vintage, with impressive texture, and they are doing a very successful job of moving towards a more sculpted feel without sacrificing their signature. They had no blockage of maturity here, and no frost; the altitude and the limestone saw to that.
Drinking Window 2026 - 2040
Black-hearted with purple rim. Rich and dark and packed with fruit, and here the oak char adds a savoury quality and does not overwhelm the fruit. Excellent freshness – everything is embryonic but in a powerful but harmonious whole. A particular style but well done in that style. Chewy, compact and all so concentrated. Needs time to unfurl.
Drink 2030-2045
The nose has a mix of fresh fruit the start of the palate tight but there is mid sweetness ripe cherry some cassis. Rich fruit at the back tends to be overtaken by firm slight dry tannins. 2027-42
Pavie is a very rich and opulent wine in 2017 but while the fruit is aromatic and luxurious on the palate, the overall balance is not working perfectly because the oak is still too dominant for the slender fruit. The spice and red fruit freshness is really trying to be heard, but I fear that this will always be a wine that wears a suit of oak armour.
The 2017 Pavie has a deep garnet-purple color. It prances out with flamboyant notions of stewed black and red cherries, mulberries, and raspberry coulis, plus underlying wafts of lilacs, forest floor, mossy tree bark, and wet pebbles, with an exotic touch of cardamom. Full-bodied, the palate is tightly wound and refreshing, delivering very fine-grained tannins and tons of bright, energetic fruit, finishing long and perfumed.
There was no frost in the vineyard in 2017, due to its situation high upon the limestone plateau. Composed of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, which was harvested from September 25 to October 3, the 2017 Pavie is very deep garnet-purple in color and rolls slowly and sensuously out of the glass with growing scents of Black Forest cake, black plum preserves, blueberry compote and fruitcake plus suggestions of melted chocolate, licorice, crushed rocks and Indian spices with a waft of violets. Full-bodied, the palate packs a powerful punch, laden with electric layers of energetic black and blue fruits. All this decadent fruit is supported by fantastic freshness and very, very ripe, velvety tannins, finishing with epic length. Location, location, location was everything in 2017. Pavie has one of the most enviable locations in all of Bordeaux and boy-oh-boy does it show in this spectacular wine
Drink Date
2024 - 2069
This is very velvety with a very pretty density and richness. Full body and chewy tannins. Focused and tight on the finish. Succulent and savory, too. Shows strength and subtlety at the same time.
There was no frost in this vineyard in 2017, due to its elevation, and grapes were harvested September 25 through October 3. Composed of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, the very deep purple-black colored 2017 Pavie has a profound nose of crushed blackcurrants, warm black plums and black forest cake with nuances of licorice, espresso, Chinese five spice and violets plus wafts of smoked meats and garrigue. Full-bodied, rich, firm, velvety and packed solid with black and blue fruit layers accented by sparks of exotic spices and floral scents, it finishes very long and incredibly layered. This is a very unique expression of this vintage.
