2017, Château Pavie, SAINT-ÉMILION, 1er Grand Cru Classé

Bordeaux Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 2017 Pavie is a serious, powerful wine endowed with tremendous energy. Black cherry, plum, mocha, spice and leather are just some of the many nuances that build in the glass. In so many vintage, Pavie is a wine of immediacy, but in 2017 readers will find a more reticent wine, one that will need at least a few years in bottle to blossom. Creamy and beautifully layered, with superb vibrancy, the 2017 is striking. 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous (2020).

The 2017 Pavie is deep in colour, lucid in the glass. The bouquet demands a lot of coaxing before revealing scents of black cherries, blueberry, hints of cassis and crushed violet petals. It is powerful on the nose but I appreciate the contribution of the increased proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, imparting cedar and pencil box tones. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins. This is a well-built, an almost stocky Pavie with firm backbone, again, courtesy of the Cabernet, lightly spiced. A persistent finish fans out in superb fashion. It remains a "luxuriant" Pavie but one that is endowed more intellect than some recent vintages. 95 Neal Martin, Vinous (2019).

Excellent concentration and freshness with linear, rich black fruits. You can really feel the crunchy, impressive layers of cigar box, blackberry and slat. It slowly reveals itself in the glass and is really a lovely wine. This has real persistency, it keeps on revealing itself after it has left your mouth, and is not insisting too much - definite improvement after 18 months ageing, bodes well for the future. 3.6.pH. A low yield of 32hl/ha but not one that is particularly unusual as they rarely go above 35hl/ha here. 96 Jane Anson, Decanter (2020).

There was no frost in the vineyard in 2017, due to its situation high upon the limestone plateau. Composed of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, which was harvested from September 25 to October3, the 2017 Pavie is very deep garnet-purple in colour and rolls slowly and sensuously out of the glass with growing scents of Black Forest cake, black plum preserves, blueberry compote and fruitcake plus suggestions of melted chocolate, liquorice, crushed rocks and Indian spices with a waft of violets. Full-bodied, the palate packs a powerful punch, laden with electric and very, very ripe, velvety tannins, finishing with epic length. Location, location, location was everything in 2017. Pavie has one of the most enviable locations in all of Bordeaux and boy-oh-boy does it show in this spectacular wine. 99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (2020).

Drinking Window: 2027 - 2047