Château Pavie 2012

The 2012 Pavie celebrates its reclassification and upgrade to Class A Saint‑Émilion by sporting a new black label with gold print. Fortunately, every Pavie has benefited since Perse began a complete makeover of this estate in 1998. From 47‑year‑old vines, the 2012 has an inky purple color, judicious toasty oak on the nose interwoven with copious blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, Christmas spices, as well as licorice and graphite. Full‑bodied, rich and moderately tannic, it will require 5–7 years of bottle age but should drink well for 20–30 years. Kudos to Chantal and Gerard Perse for their extraordinary commitment to quality, which is so evident in this more challenging vintage than some of the great years like 2009 and 2010. Very low yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare were obtained from this 92‑acre estate.

A beauty, with rich and supple plum and blackberry confiture notes that stream along over a dense but velvety structure. The licorice and toast aspect is more restrained here, and there are long, cool menthol, apple wood and earth accents through the finish. -- Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Best from 2018 through 2030. 5,830 cases made.

Powerful style as always. A touch less full-throttle than the 2011. Reserved but intense nose. Dark fruit notes. Good acidity and freshness. Firm, long, persistent finish.

The 2012 Pavie has a lovely bouquet, one of the best on the Right Bank, with gorgeous brambly red fruit, fig and black truffle, developing a Left Bank-like personality over time. The palate is medium-bodied with a vibrant entry, nicely poised and focused, touches of pencil lead threaded through the red fruit with a nicely structured finish. Very seductive. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

Silky tannins, pure fruits, rocks and stone with licorice and fresh cherries are all over the place. There is richness here, but it is a bit subdued compared to other, riper, more powerful vintages, which might end up being a very good thing.

Very pure, floral and mineral with wet stone, wild raspberry, blackberry notes, lovely juicy dark fruit, high ripeness, bright freshness, nice texture with plenty of fine tannins that add freshness and length, really long, lingering and multi-layered finish.

60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. 28 hl/ha. Deep purple, dense at the core, with a garnet hue at the rim. Mocha, cassis, ripe blackberries, dark fine woods and black olives—concentrated but not inaccessible—with enough toasted notes in the background adding an extra touch of dark bread and pumpernickel. On the palate comes the great surprise! From the nose you’d have expected a powerhouse, yet the whole is surprisingly refined, juicy, with beautiful balance and truly noble potential. And that’s exactly what one seeks in a Premier Grand Cru. Especially when there’s an added A on the label! Still, this won’t be a walk in the park. This Pavie, too, won’t indulge in a casual fling of drinking pleasure within the first ten years.

60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. 28 hl/ha. Deep purple, dense at the core, with garnet glints at the rim. Mocha, cassis, ripe blackberries, dark noble woods and black olives—concentrated but not inaccessible—with enough toasted notes in the background adding an extra touch of dark bread and pumpernickel. On the palate, a huge surprise! From the nose you’d expect a powerhouse, yet it’s strikingly refined, juicy, beautifully balanced, and decidedly noble. And that’s exactly what you look for in a Premier Grand Cru. Especially when there’s also an A on the label! Even so, this won’t be a walk in the park. This Pavie won’t consent to a casual pleasure fling in the first 10 years.

(60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28 hl/ha) Concentrated, deep, nicely jammy bouquet; chocolate, tobacco, cedar, black berries, currants. Velvety, concentrated, powerful palate with dense structure, bold, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, dense aromatics, very long, elegant, full finish with powerful after-flavors. 19/20 2022 - 2045

Pavie is a wine that really isn’t worth approaching before the 10-year window—not only because under its then-regime everything was turned up to the max, but also because this is a powerful terroir that delivers muscular wines. It’s beginning to relax, even if it first shows waves of gunsmoke and rubbery reduction on the nose. Once it unwinds in the glass, you get grilled sandalwood and cloves alongside liquorice bud, black cherry, raspberry, and cassis. The limestone influence, with its mouthwatering salinity and saffron, is kicking in, and this has character and tension. First vintage as a Premier Grand Cru Classé B, following the promotion that year (and as things stand, the only one left). 80% new oak, 28 hl/ha yield.

Red fruits, supple on the palate with non-aggressive tannins, broad and quite indulgent.

Pavie 2012, in its commemorative bottle, asserts itself tasting after tasting with remarkable elegance and balance, a fresh power that never overplays, and a delicacy rare in the contemporary era of the vintage.

Luxury and richness are the two words that come to mind to describe this nose, as comforting as a velvet cushion, with precise fruit on the palate, tannins as tight and sinuous as a country lane, and a slight acidity that suggests excellent ageing potential.

Open nose of bramble jelly with a glaze of toasty aromas. Both quite rich and well-structured with plenty of fine tannin and pronounced earthiness on the generous palate. Very focused, long finish with energy, suggesting that this has many years ahead of it. An excellent 2012! Drink or hold. Château Quintus vertical tasting. SP.

Deep garnet in color, the 2012 Pavie prances out of the glass with showy notes of kirsch, black raspberries, and juicy black plums plus touches of lavender, pencil lead, and rose oil. The medium to full-bodied palate is lively and refreshing, with soft, satiny tannins and bags of bright red and black fruits, finishing with a lingering floral lift. This was the first vintage as a 1er GCC A, with a special black and silver label, and the first vintage with 25% Cabernet Franc.

94–96. Barrel sample. This is a powerful wine which exhibits a change in style towards elegance in recent years. The palate has delicious Merlot fruitiness along with black-currant acidity and a dense structure. Fine minerality at the end with juicy acidity.