| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
A real sleeper effort from the Perse family, the 2004 Pavie has a dense, bluish purple color and a wonderful, sweet kiss of blackberry, licorice, spice box and roasted herbs. The wine is rich, deep, full-bodied and absolutely remarkable for the vintage. This is certainly a candidate for one of the wines of the year and seems still relatively youthful and promising. Drink it over the next 20 years.
Pavie is widely acclaimed as one of Bordeaux’s greatest terroirs, of largely limestone and clay soils. Brilliantly situated with a sunny, southern exposure and exceptional drainage, Pavie potentially rivals nearby Ausone, the oldest and possibly the most famous estate in Bordeaux. Pavie’s other nearby neighbors include, Pavie-Macquin and Troplong-Mondot to the north, Larcis-Ducasse to the southeast and La Gaffelière and Saint-Georges Côte Pavie to the west.
Until 1978, previous owners rarely produced great wine, but of course that all changed with the acquisition of the 92-acre, single vineyard by Chantal and Gérard Perse. In short, they dramatically raised the quality. Currently, the vineyard is planted with 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, but the actual blend for each vintage tends to possess slightly higher amounts of Merlot. A perfectionist, owner Gérard Perse is flexible with the percentage of new oak, as well as how long the wine is aged in cask. Great vintages can get 100% new oak and spend up to 32 months in barrel. Lesser years are bottled after 18 months and see at least 30% less new oak.
There is no fining or filtration. The resulting wine has been considered one of the superstars of Bordeaux since 1978.
Intense aromas of minerals, mint and blackberries follow through to a full-bodied palate, with chewy yet velvety tannins and a long finish. Very firm. I would like just a bit more on the midpalate. Very extracted but should come around. Fresh acidity. Gerard Perse, owner of Pavie, says that the acidity in this wine and others is higher than recent vintages, but it may give the wines a bit of hardness. I agree.
Deep garnet with a touch of brick, the 2004 Pavie shoots out with bold notes of baked plums and boysenberry preserves plus hints of tobacco leaf, dried Provence herbs, and fragrant earth. The medium-bodied palate is lively and refreshing, with soft tannins to texture the black fruit preserves and savory layers, finishing earthy.
Very dark purple with a certain rich smokiness on the nose. Quite a spread of inky fruit across the palate (less rasping than Pavie Decesse) but then those tannins start to insist. The evolution of this wine is going to be a tricky balancing act between the very marked, dry tannins and that slightly fragile fruit quality. At the moment the wine is extremely severe, as though the fruit has been sucked out of the middle. It is certainly fresher than the 2003, without any porty hints, but if Pavie 2003 is like an exaggerated version of the characteristics of the 2003 vintage, this is certainly its 2004 counterpart. Drink 2018-28. Tasted 5th April 05.
A brilliant effort from proprietors Chantal and Gerard Perse, Pavie’s 2004 (7,050 cases) exhibits an inky/ruby/purple color, a surprisingly soft, forward style for this hallowed terroir, full-bodied, and concentrated creme de cassis flavors intermixed with cherries, truffles, and subtle smoky wood notes. Beautifully-textured as well as expansive, this may be the most developed and forward Pavie made by Perse since his acquisition of the property in 1998. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2025+.
The 2004 Pavie (7,050 cases) tips the scales at 13.5% alcohol. One of the stars of the vintage, it boasts a dense purple color as well as a penetrating, fragrant perfume of creme de cassis, black cherry liqueur, licorice, Asian spices, and incense. Full-bodied and powerful with silky tannin, a multi-layered attack as well as mid-palate, and a fabulously long finish that lasts for nearly a minute, this beauty needs 5-7 years of cellaring, and should age for 40-50 years.
This is a compelling effort. A blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (cropped at 30 hectoliters per hectare), the 2004 Pavie represents the Lafite Rothschild of St.-Emilion. A wine of great intensity, irrefutable minerality, a wonderful fragrance, and a tremendously long finish, this black/purple-colored, medium to full-bodied, vibrant effort boasts wonderful sweetness, but more minerality and definition than the blockbuster 2003 (which appears to be taking on more minerality as it ages). The 2004 is similar to the 2001, with additional focus and elegance. A profound effort, copious quantities of black raspberries, cherries, crushed rocks, and violets are followed by medium to full body, a precise palate with laser-like precision, beautiful fruit, a multilayered texture, and a long, sweetly tannic finish. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025+.
