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Tasting notes
This is a lavish, exotic wine; the nose full of ripe fruit, pot-pourri and a rich chalky character. It’s intense and laden with sweet cherry and plum, yet with a tart line of acidity that balances the wine’s concentration, making for a mouth-watering whole. Raspberry, blueberry and spice dance on the long finish, and there’s a surprising transparency to the fruit, with great freshness. Aged in 72% new oak, with 14.25% alcohol. Blend: 51% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Neal Martin, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Ripe black fruits, graphite, crushed stone, chocolate, and some truffly earth nuances all define the 2023 Château Pavie, a gorgeous wine that's certainly up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Based on 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 20 months in 72% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, with a concentrated, layered mouthfeel and a great finish. The purity, balance, and elegance here are absolutely brilliant. Hide bottles for 4-5 years if you can, and it will shine for three decades. Drink 2030-2060.
The 2023 Pavie is fabulous, just as it was en primeur . Vibrant, deep and layered, the 2023 is bursting with energy. This is one of the most refined, elegant wines I have ever tasted at Pavie. Even with all of that tension, the 2023 has plenty of the rich, textured fruit and palate presence that are such signatures of the house style. Superb.
The 2023 Pavie was picked at 32.76 hl/ha and raised in 72% new oak. This has a cohesive bouquet with black cherries, iodine, violet and just a touch of tinned prune in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins that frame mainly black fruit mixed with vanilla pod, orange rind and cracked black pepper. Quite structured toward the spicy finish, this will require at least five years in bottle just to polymerize the tannins on the end.
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.