Chateau Pavie 2012

This premier cru wine is adorned with a beautiful, deep violet color. The aromas are explosive, with smoky notes of roasted coffee and a range of rich, jammy black fruit typical of a great wine. Further signs of quality are evident on the palate, where a fresh attack and rich body are supported by elegant tannins that are very noticeable, yet fine. The mid-palate has an extraordinary volume and presence. The finish is long and flavorful, with a liveliness that gives balance to this wine made for long aging. Aromatically, the richness of this Pavie is already evident, but the wine’s texture requires time to polish tannins which are still immature. This is a wine whose greatness will become more evident in the future as time brings out the expression.

Critical Acclaim

96 Wine Enthusiast

This is a powerful wine that exhibits a change in style toward elegance in recent years. The palate has delicious Merlot fruitiness along with black-currant acidity and a dense structure. Fine minerality at the end with juicy acidity.

96 James Suckling

This shows incredible depth and density for the vintage with dark berry, dark chocolate, spice and chalk character. Full body, firm and velvety tannins and a long and powerful finish. Needs five or six years to soften. Try in 2020.

95 Wine Spectator

A beauty, with rich and supple plum and blackberry confiture notes that stream along over a dense but velvety structure. The licorice and toast aspect is more restrained here, and there are long, cool menthol, apple wood and earth accents through the finish.

95 Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The 2012 Pavie celebrates its reclassification and upgrades to Class A St.-Emilion by sporting a new black label with gold print. Fortunately, every Pavie has benefitted since Perse began a complete makeover of this estate in 1998. From 47-year-old vines, 2012 has an inky purple color, judicious toasty oak in the nose interwoven with copious blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, Christmas spices, as well as licorice and graphite. Full-bodied, rich and moderately tannic, it will require 5-7 years of bottle age but should drink well for 20-30 years. Kudos to Chantal and Gerard Perse for their extraordinary commitment to quality, which is so evident in this more challenging vintage than in some of the great years like 2009 and 2010.