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Tasting Notes
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.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
More reviews and scores
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.
The 2021 Pavie was picked at 33hL/ha from 28 September until 12 October and matured in 75% new oak, the rest one-year. Team Pavie decided to wait to pick the Cabernet until after the rains just prior to harvest. This is clean and precise on the nose, the Cabernet components (48% of the blend) imparting graphite and light cedar aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins that frame layered limestone-infused black fruit, quite vibrant and conveying a sense of energy towards the finish. This has the most persistency of Gérard Perse's wines, and whilst I do not hold it up as the greatest Pavie in recent years, it is clearly top of the tree among his portfolio this year. Superb. 14.14% alcohol
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.
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About the producer
The slopes of Château Pavie were planted as far back as the fourth century by the Ancient Romans and it has been a well-known producer in Saint-Émilion since the middle of the 19th century.