95-97pts Vinous
The 2021 Pavie is a wine of tremendous potential. Naturally, it shows the more mid-weight style of the year and yet there is plenty of depth as well as energy that starts to emerge with a bit of time in the glass. Bright saline notes shape the wine while extending the finish and adding so much drive. The 2021 is shaping up to be a very special wine. All it needs is time.
95-97pts Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Château Pavie was one of the few wines in the vintage that got a big "wow" in my notes. Based on 52% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, it's a full-bodied, dense, powerful, beautiful 2021 with classic Pavie darker, richer fruits, notes of spicy oak, chocolate, and violets, ripe velvety tannins, and a great finish. It's not at the 2019 or 2020 level, but don't hold that against it. This is pure brilliance in 2021 and one of the wines of the vintage.
95-96pts James Suckling
Deep black and blue fruit with cocoa and tar character. Compact and full-bodied with firm, ripe tannins that are very textured and interwoven into the wine. This has a lot of structure to go a long way. Yet it remains in balance with finesse. 52% merlot, 30% cabernet franc and 18% cabernet sauvignon.
94pts Decanter
Lovely aromas, ripe blackcurrants, damsons and plums, milk chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla. Round and mouthfilling, this has energy and vibrancy with good acidity lifting the fruit up, tannins providing chew and texture, and the minerality/austerity showing the terroir in the glass. A spiced liquorice and clove element gives the backbone of the wine, adding structure and nuance, while the fruit gives the seduction but it’s a little tight still, linear and straight - staying just the right side of full extraction. Doesn't feel so immediately approachable but this has an excellent youthful character, still with depth and layers, that will round out over ageing. A more classic, immensely enjoyable and paired-back Pavie. All the wines in the range really do show a sense of place, which at the end of the day is what you want if you're a terroir purist!
History
Established on the splendid “Côte Pavie”, the vineyard of Château Pavie was planted by the roman in the 4th century who first saw the incredible potential of this terroir. The history of the property goes back to 1850 when the Pimpinelle estate was owned by Mr Fayard and Mr Chapus who, thanks to their work, managed to obtain a gold medal at the Paris World Fair.
Less than ten years later, it was bequeathed to Ferdinand Bouffard, a Bordeaux merchant who, in twenty years, managed to build up a 50-hectare estate by buying up several properties. Just after the war, it was bought by Albert Porte when Ferdinand Bouffard passed away. By unifying the properties of Mr. Bouffard, he created Château Pavie (The name comes from a particularly sweet and juicy peach variety that was growing on the slope).
Alexandre Valette took over in 1943 and succeeded in raising it to the rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé B in 1955. His grandson, who had taken over in 1957, sold it to Gérard Perse in 1998 who is still the owner today. Thanks to major investments in both the vineyard and the cellar and to additional work towards maturity and precision, the latter managed to raise his estate to the rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé “A” during the revision of the classification of Saint-Emilion wines in 2012.
The magnificence of Château Pavie comes from its exceptional terroir (37 hectares planted in one block) made of limestone, clay and sand-clay, with over 80 meters of altitude variation offering a multitude of micro-terroir, with mostly south exposure, where the typical grape varieties of the right bank (Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) achieve perfect maturity.