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Pavie 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon

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Label

Tasting Notes

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.

100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

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.

95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, July 2019

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+.

98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2023

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

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

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.

93
Farr Vintners, March 2016

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

98/100
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

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

87/90
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016
90
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016

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.

18.5+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

The 2015 Pavie has an intense bouquet with layers of blackberry, crème de cassis, melted tar and and light graphite notes, opulent in style although nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with silky smooth tannin, a fine line of acidity and interestingly, as this Pavie goes along, it develops more finesse. There are touches of dark chocolate and spices, good depth on the finish with a persistent aftertaste. It will require several years in bottle but there is great potential here. Anticipated maturity: 2025 - 2050.

96
Neal Martin, March 2018

The 2015 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon that is matured in 80% new oak and 20% one-year-old barrels. It has a really quite glorious bouquet that is sensual and very well defined and pure. In my opinion, just dialing down the new oak even by 15% is allowing more personality and more terroir-expression to filter through. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, ripe, lace-like tannins and a fine bead of acidity. It feels caressing and sensual in the mouth with superb mineralité and purity on the vivacious and sustained finish. This is unquestionably the best wine from Gérard Perse in 2015: a great Pavie with a very long life ahead, though I would cellar it for at least a decade to witness it in full flight. Drink 2025-2060

96/98
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

For me, this redefines Pavie. The depth and intensity and more important, the clarity, is really something. Full and ultra-fine tannins. It shows such great tannins and finesse. It is the essences of Pavie.

100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

The 2015 Pavie has a deep garnet color. It soars out of the glass with a whole firework display of scents of star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, and iron ore, leading to a core of plum preserves, blueberry compote, and dark chocolate, with a waft of candied violets. Full-bodied, the palate delivers a rock-solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness to support the decadent black fruit and exotic spice layers, leading to a finish that just goes on and on.

98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, November 2022

In 2015, the blend is 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the wine was matured 80% in new French oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Pavie is still sporting a bit of its oak to begin, giving way to a glorious nose of crushed black cherries, blackberries and mulberries plus hints of dried roses, stewed tea, unsmoked cigars and garrigue. The rich, concentrated, full-bodied palate delivers an incredible structure of very firm, very ripe tannins and a racy line of freshness cutting through the dense layers of perfumed black fruits and savory notions, finishing with epic length. 2024 - 2045

98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim Fe), February 2018

Rich and silky. Blackish crimson. Massive build. Very sweet - but there is some freshness too. Very round tannins. More fluid and less astringent than many vintages. 14.55%
Drink 2028-2045

17+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.