2019 Château Paive

Description

97-100   Lisa Perrotti-Brown for Wine Advocate
“The 2019 Pavie is a blend of 50% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested from the 30th of September to the 11th of October. The yields this year were 35 hectoliters per hectare, and the alcohol came in at 14.73%, while the pH was 3.55 (remarkably low!). Very deep garnet-purple in color, the nose opens with a beguiling array of intertwined earth and black fruit scents: baked plums, black cherry preserves, tilled soil, black truffles, mossy tree bark and mulberries with nuances of allspice, clove oil, espresso and cedar chest. Full-bodied, densely packed and with a rock-solid structure, the constrained flavor layers are just waiting to explode; it’s framed by firm, exquisitely ripe, rounded tannins and this vineyard’s signature freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Quaking with latent power and shimmering with a kaleidoscope of electric flavors, this could only be Pavie.” (6/2020)

99   Jeb Dunnuck
“The 2019 Château Pavie is another beauty that offers more density and sexiness than just about every other wine in the vintage, yet it is still an unnecessarily restrained expression of this terroir, which is the fad in Bordeaux these days. Based on 50% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 80% new French oak, this deep purple-hued effort has a great bouquet of ripe black cherries, darker currants, tobacco leaf, violets, and graphite, with a beautiful sense of minerality and salinity on the palate. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it has plenty of background oak, a deep, layered mid-palate, terrific tannins, and a great finish. It shows the more understated, elegant style of the vintage yet is still pure Pavie. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following 30+.” (4/2022)

98   James Suckling
“Lots of blackberry and grilled meat with earth and spice. Some smoky undertones, too. Blackcurrants. Complex. Full-bodied with round, juicy tannins, yet they turn extremely fine and very linear and go on for minutes. Great length. Try after 2027, but already a joy to drink.” (2/2022)

96   Jane Anson for Inside Bordeaux
“Excellent quality Pavie, rippling with black fruits. Notably more subdued than in some vintages as the team looks to reframe just slightly the bulging muscles of the past, and as the high levels of Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc make an impact. It takes a moment to adjust to, but when you sit with it, you feel a rippling frame to the wine, and a juicy central core. Fleshy cassis and blackberry fruits, slate walls and black truffle overlay. Is going to age extremely well.” (5/2020)

96   Neal Martin for Vinous
“The 2019 Pavie was sent directly from the château to my home in mid-January. Given the freedom to decant, I decided to examine this Saint-Émilion, the only “A” left standing at time of writing, over a 24-hour period. It has a very controlled and focused nose, one that completely contradicts those that still claim that somehow Pavie is overripe or picked too late. This is delineated, clean and precise – dare I say, almost “classic” in style. Those blackberry and incense aromas that I remarked upon from the barrel sample remain in situ, and the floral component is enhanced, suggesting iris rather than violet. The palate is medium-bodied, yet full in the mouth, the tannins lacquering though not overwhelming. The oak is neatly integrated, building very nicely, and the copious black fruit is laced with graphite and tobacco courtesy of the Cabernets, which, lest we forget, constitute half the 2019 blend. I noticed how, after three hours, the tannins become more prominent, toughening up a little, the Cabernets edging out the Merlot and lending more of a Left Bank-like personality. Then, after 24 hours, the wine mellows and becomes plush, putting quite a distance between itself and the more ostentatious Pavie-Decesse. It shuts down a little on the finish, a timely reminder that this Pavie will need plenty of cellaring. But this is going to be an awesome Saint-Émilion.” (2/2022)