Chateau Pavie Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2016 750ml

The 2016 Pavie a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. Very deep purple-black in color, it needs a little coaxing to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal a fragrant perfume of violets, chocolate-covered cherries, crushed blueberries and eucalyptus over a core of preserved plums, kirsch, black raspberries and crème de cassis plus hints of licorice and chargrilled meat. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, it has a solid foundation of firm, super ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness interknit with the black fruit preserves and minerally layers, finishing very long and very decadent. Superb!

Chocolate, cedar, tar and dark fruit aromas. Big and powerful, with mouth-coating tannins, densely packed dark fruit and dark chocolate. One of the more formidable wines of the vintage. Still youthful, with lustrous tannins that will need some time, yet its underlying greatness is already evident. With aeration it’s drinkable now, but it will benefit from cellaring. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.

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.

This is a rather showy—and captivating—display of fruit, with waves of lush cassis, raspberry and plum reduction flavors flowing through with authority and grace while a swath of chalky minerality stays deeply buried throughout. Toasty, glistening with vanilla and apple wood notes, but the fruit has the oak bridle easily in hand. One of the Right Bank showstoppers of the vintage. Best from 2024 through 2040. 6,667 cases made.

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.

Pavie has a nose that oozes of cooked fruit, liquorice, rubber and deep and dark scents . It is indeed a ‘dark and stormy’ wine and very typical for Pavie in its expression. It is such a vibrant glass of wine, packed with fruit and loaded with dark tannins ready to deliver all its goodies when everything has melted together in some years. This is a classic wine offering a long aftertaste with fine spiciness and notes of dark liquorice and graphite.

This release underlines this estate's change in style towards more elegant wines. While concentrated, the wine has stylish layers of black-plum fruit, beautiful acidity and freshness. Black-chocolate flavors are fully integrated into the rich tannins. This will develop into a great wine. Drink from 2025. (Cellar Selection)

The 2016 Pavie has an intense bouquet with slightly smudged black plum and boysenberry fruit, just missing the minéralité and terroir expression of its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins typical of Pavie, fine acidity, heady and powerful, with a dab of liquorice on the finish. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10 Year On tasting in London.