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Pavie 2016

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

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.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Pavie

Label

Tasting Notes

Spectacular aromas of crushed berries, such as blueberries and raspberries. Fresh flowers with hints of sandalwood. Exotic. Saturated palate of so much fruit, yet remains agile and energetic. Great length and texture. Fills your mouth. This needs time, but a classic. Twin brother of the perfect 2015.

100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2019

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Pavie comes barreling out with bold notes of plum preserves, juicy blueberries, and Morello cherries followed by hints of Indian spices, dark chocolate, dusty soil, and iron ore. The full-bodied palate is jam packed with youthful black fruit preserves and spicy sparks, framed by firm, velvety tannins and amazing tension, finishing long and perfumed. This is still so young, it has hardly budged since bottling. Give it a good 6 years in bottle and drink over the next 50 years+.

100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2023

One of the most thrilling surprises of the vintage, here a new approach to a more finely-wrought Pavie has collided with a vintage that has natural freshness and acidity. The result shows the potential of this terroir. Without a doubt the best Pavie that I have ever tasted, and one where I have not had to say, 'yes, but...'. Let's not pretend that it's night and day from the old regime, but nor should it be - Pavie needs to keep its signature black fruited glamour and intensity, as that is part of what delivered its new status, but to my mind this is a far better balance than in the past. The blend is 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, the lowest amount of Merlot since Perse arrived. This still has reams of intense fruit, but the tannins are not immovable as they have been in some years, and pulses of minerality leap up on the finish to make your mouth water. Gorgeous. It is also fascinating to learn the technical details that have helped bring out the vintage character - besides the lower Merlot content, there were 10 days less maceration than last year and only 70% new oak.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2050

97
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2017

Dark crimson. Rich, sweet nose. In the vineyard there's just 50% Merlot! Very sweet start and really hard work. But much less exaggerated than it used to be. Sinewy. Some appetising quality. Very juicy start but then it dries on the finish. These wines are very different from the others in the appellation and I have to conclude that the owner and team taste differently from me and don't mind the drying finishes. For drama this deserves my score and it may well settle down to something lovely eventually.
Drink 2028-2045

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2017

Turning the dial up considerably, the 2016 Château Pavie leaps out of the glass with a thrilling bouquet of crème de cassis, toasty oak, graphite, white truffle, crayons, and flowers. A blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in 85% new French oak (the new oak has been dialed back in recent vintages), this full-bodied Pavie is made in a more elegant, seamless style compared to prior great vintages, yet it still has brilliant depth of fruit and concentration, ripe, present tannins, a seamless texture, and an awesome finish. Drink 2023-2073.

99
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, March 2019

We’re not quite in “fist pump” territory yet, but this is the freshest and best-balanced Pavie I’ve had for a while. It’s still a very dense, rich, deeply coloured wine, with slightly too much extraction, but the fruit has some leafy notes and welcome acidity. Even earlier picking would transform the wine. 2022-30

93
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2017
Read more tasting notes...

Pavie 2016 is deep garnet-purple in color. It has an atomic nose of stewed plums, blackberry pie, Indian spices, and chocolate mint, plus suggestions of crushed stones, underbrush, red roses, and oolong tea, with a touch of beef dripping. Full-bodied, rich and decadent, the palate is a powerhouse of muscular black fruit flavor, supported by super-firm, super-ripe tannins and lovely freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Needs a good 6-7 years and then keep it for the next 50 years+.

100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

The 2016 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 38 hectoliters per hectare between 10 and 20 October. The alcohol this year is 14.55%, and it is matured in 80% new oak and 20% one-year-old wood. As Gérard Perse explained, this is a Pavie that has taken stock and shifted in direction in recent years, reflecting more of its exceptional terroir instead of winemaking. It has a very intense bouquet that is extremely well-defined and shrugs off that higher alcohol level. You can find the graphite vein courtesy of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the underlying tension, while a second bottle had a soupçon more florality. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe, supple tannins that gently caress the mouth. It feels beguiling and charming, totally different in style compared to say Cheval Blanc, offering a more sensual take on the 2016 growing season. It is a very impressive follow-up to the 2015 Pavie and may surpass it once in bottle. Drink 2026 - 2060.

98/100
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (230), April 2017

This is more compressed and tighter than the 2015. It’s full-bodied, but very tight and focused. So linear and long. Love the gorgeous finesse. Goes on for minutes. All about finesse...new profile.

99/100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2017

A barrel sample, the deep purple-black colored 2016 Pavie comes rolling out of the glass with the most wonderfully sensuous nose of violets, red roses, black tea and wild blueberries over a core of baked plums, blackberry compote, star anise and cloves plus touches of cinnamon stick and underbrush. Full-bodied and super concentrated in the mouth, the palate is built like a skyscraper with a solid structure of grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing very long with long-lingering mineral accents.

98/100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim En), November 2018
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.