Chateau Pavie Premier Grand Cru Classe A, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2009

Similar in style to the blockbuster 2005, the 2009 Pavie is another magical, legendary wine from the Perse family that tops out on my scale. Made from 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in 80% new French oak, its saturated purple colour is followed by a massive bouquet of blackcurrants, scorched earth, chocolate, graphite, and lead pencil, with an incredible sense of minerality.

Deep, full-bodied, and remarkably concentrated and intense, it still stays perfectly balanced and weightless, with building yet sweet tannins. It’s still a baby yet is a magical drink today given its opulence, purity and balance. Drink this magical wine any time over the coming 50-60 years.

Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Pavie drifts effortlessly and profoundly from the glass with baked plums, spice cake, sandalwood, Black Forest cake and blueberry pie scents followed up with a fragrant undercurrent of potpourri, unsmoked cigars and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, rich and plush, this is pure seduction in the mouth, offering a taut yet velvety texture and oodles of freshness to frame the opulent fruit, finishing very long and mineral laced.

Drink 2019 - 2059

Bottled the week before I arrived, the 2009 Pavie appears to have barely budged since I tasted it two years ago. Many experts consider this phenomenal terroir to be nearly as great as that of Ausone. Made from a classic blend of 60-70% Merlot, 20-25% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky/blue/purple-colored blockbuster reveals wonderful notes of blackberries, crushed rocks, roasted meats, spring flowers, cedar, blueberries, graphite and a hint of vanillin.

With extravagant fruit and high extract as well as a hint of minerality, this structured, massively intense effort is typical of all the luxurious, perfect or nearly perfect Pavies produced under the Perse regime which began in 1998). While built for 40-50 years of cellaring, the softness of the vintage and its flamboyant style is slightly less apparent in the 2009 Pavie than in some of the other Perse wines.

Drink 2020 - 2050

This is so structured and powerful with amazing depth of fruit and tannins. Blueberry and cherry aromas come through clear. The palate is full and powerful with chewy yet polished tannins and a long, long finish. Really impressive. Needs decanting, if you want to drink it now. One for the cellar.

Rich purple in colour, you really get the ink, liquorice and bitter dark chocolate notes here, all taken up a level and extremely well handled, with a super-attractive savoury lick that comes from the limestone soils. Pavie needs 10 years at an absolute minimum except in 2003) to begin its conversation, and here we are starting to see what it can do.

It's a very good wine that's powerful, concentrated, intense and ripe, but it has restraint and lift on the finish. It's not over-reaching, but rather very clearly marking its territory. It still needs longer to get there, but it's hard to argue with the construction of this wine, and to be totally honest I'm more impressed than I expected.

Drink 2021 - 2044

A blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Deep saturated ruby, one of the darkest wines of the vintage. Vibrant nose offers scents of blackberry, blueberry, minerals, dark chocolate, violet and garrigue. Lush, superconcentrated and voluminous, with plenty of energy to give shape to the mouth-filling dark fruit, dark chocolate, cedar and crushed rock flavours. This huge yet silky wine finishes with powerful fine-grained tannins and outstanding palate-staining persistence. I'd wait a good ten years before pulling the cork. A great vintage for Pavie and one of the most impressive 2009s I've tasted.

The 2009 Pavie has a gorgeous bouquet, very pure and refined with seamlessly integrated oak and wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, perfectly judged acidity. Fine grip with compelling tension on the finish. This shimmers with energy. Easily, this is the best bottle that I have encountered over the years.

Drink 2022 - 2045

A blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; 28 hectoliters per hectare; 14.5% alcohol; 80% new oak.

Bright saturated ruby with hints of inky highlights. Black fruits, liquorice, coffee, and oaky torrefaction are on the nose, with menthol in the background. Quite tightly wound in the early going, with brisk acids framing the dense, rich flavours of cassis, coffee, minerals, truffle and bitter chocolate. This full-bodied wine shows a minty reserve, finishing very firm but not hard or dry, with a solid tannic spine. The slowly building, very long finish features subtle flinty and floral nuances and a pronounced smoky oak component. This Pavie continues the recent trend toward somewhat less massive wines, and scaling back somewhat on the percentage of new oak appears to have been the right move.