Château Pavie - 1er Grand Cru Classé A 2012

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Great sculptural volume, deep and intense, with muscular, tight, fine tannins. Great style, very Pavie.

About the domain :

Château Pavie's pharaonic cellars live up to its Premier Grand Cru Classé A status, achieved in 2012. The vineyards, like the cellars, have been entirely restructured in recent vintages by Gérard Perse, who has embodied the revival of the estate since his purchase in 1998. His cultural and financial commitment is total: the plots of land that unite the plateau and the south coast are now spread over 37 hectares, between the Châteaux Pavie-Decesse, Larcis-Ducasse and La Gaffelière. The wine's style combines, in a balance so far unique on the Right Bank, the utmost fullness with a precisely calibrated nobility of texture. The great terroirs speak with flamboyant majesty, provided you know how to wait at least a decade, otherwise you risk missing out on the real complexity of the vintage (the 2000 vintage tasted recently showed exceptional elegance and fullness). The 2016 and 2017 have gained even more nuance and are reaching a peak. Those in a hurry can already invest in esprit-de-pavie: a sappy, very tasty Bordeaux for less than 20 euros!

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

At Pavie, Merlot accounts for 65% of the blend, complemented by Cabernet Franc (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines are almost half a century old. After a long maceration in wooden vats, the wine completes fermentation, then spends twenty-six months in barrels (most or all new, depending on the year). The wine emerges dense and dark, evoking violet ink. The bouquet, still reserved, opens with elegant, fresh notes of blueberry, crème de cassis and sweet spices, followed by graphite and pencil lead. Despite the length of the ageing period, the well-melted woodiness is almost imperceptible. After a delicate attack, the tightly-packed tannins build in power, lining the palate through to the rich, warm finish. The fruit, so prominent on the nose, remains in the background for the time being; but despite this imposing tannic presence, which is a sign of a wine with great ageing potential, there's nothing massive about this wine, which remains elegant from start to finish. Our readers can see that Pavie has given itself a new label, black and refined, worthy of its rank.

About the domain :

Truly established in the 19th century, Pavie extends its vast 37-hectare vineyard on the eponymous hillside, one of the cradles of local viticulture in the 4th century. Its unique terroir in three parts: the limestone plateau, the deep, dense clay hillside, and the slightly gravelly, sandy-clay foot of the hillside, justifies its inclusion in 2012 among the gotha of A-classified 1ergrands crus. This elevation is also due to the considerable investments made by its owner since 1998, Gérard Perse, a businessman who made his fortune in the retail sector. Inaugurated in 2013, a new winery designed by Alberto Pinto, a decorator of palaces and luxury hotels, confirms the cru's rise to the top and enables even more precise vinification.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2012 Pavie celebrates its reclassification and upgrade to Class A Saint-Emilion with a new black label with gold printing. Happily, every Pavie has benefited since Perse began a complete overhaul of this estate in 1998. From 47-year-old vines, the 2012 has an inky purple color, a judicious toasty oak nose intermixed with copious blackberry and cassis fruit, Christmas spices , as well as licorice and graphite. Full-bodied, rich and moderately tannic, it will need 5-7 years of bottle age, but will drink well for 20-30 years. Congratulations to Chantal and Gérard Perse for their extraordinary commitment to quality, which is so evident in this more difficult vintage than some of the great years like 2009 and 2010. Very low yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare were achieved from this 92-acre estate.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

Pavie 2012, in its commemorative bottle, asserts itself over the course of tastings with remarkable elegance and balance, fresh power that doesn't overplay its hand, and a delicacy rare in the cru's contemporary period.

About the domain :

Acquired in 1997 by Gérard Perse, the cru has gone from strength to strength ever since, defending a resolutely modern style of high concentration. Extremely low yields, the quest for high grape maturity, advanced extraction and luxurious ageing: all the factors required to theoretically improve the quality of the wines are in place. And the investments never stop... The impressive and massive extension of the cellars, the winery and above all the creation of a luminous 600 m2 Versailles-style reception room, inaugurated in June 2013. The estate's aim is not to make easy, immediate wines, but to make wines that last. The terroir of the south coast, one of the finest in Saint-Émilion, favors the longevity of the wines. Without losing any of their monumental character, recent vintages show a slight inflection in the direction of greater flexibility in the early years, with more natural expression.

Wine Enthusiast

About the wine:

Barrel sample. This is a powerful wine that shows a stylistic evolution towards elegance in recent years. The palate reveals delicious merlot fruit with blackcurrant acidity and dense structure. Fine minerality on the finish with juicy acidity.

Jancis Robinson

James Suckling

About the wine:

What a magnificent wine, with notes of violets and sandalwood on the nose and palate. Medium to full body. Fine tannins. Love it now.

Jeb Dunnuck