Chateau Pavie Premier Grand Cru Classe A, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2016

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 crme 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!

Drink 2021 - 2060

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 dialled 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.

Drink 2023 - 2073

The blend is 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted two times.

The 2016 Pavie is simply magnificent. Gracious, perfumed and exquisitely beautiful, the 2016 has it all. I can't remember seeing a Pavie with this much translucent energy and nuance. Black cherry, plum, lavender, spice and menthol all infuse this explosive, young wine with tremendous character. The 2016 is vivid in the glass, aromatically deep and full of saline-infused energy. It is, without question, one of the vintage wines. As it turns out, Gerard Perse also opened in 2008. Although the two vintages 2016 and 2008) in question are quite different in style and quality, the trajectory Pavie has taken in recent years is evident. The 2016 is a thrilling wine. That's all there is to it.

Drink 2026 - 2056

10 days less maceration than last year and only 70% new oak.

One of the most thrilling surprises of the vintage is that a new approach to a more finely wrought Pavie has collided with a vintage with natural freshness and acidity. The result shows the potential of this terroir. Undoubtedly, it is the best Pavie 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.

Drink 2027 - 2050

Château Quintus vertical tasting.

The enveloping amarena-cherry fruit clothes the huge tannin structure, but these are really fine tannins and, together with the acidity, they give the wine great vitality. Needs quite some time in bottle to resolve the tannins, but the balance is certainly there. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

The 2016 Pavie is powerful and rich on the nose, and more decadent than the 2016 Angélus, featuring iodine-tinged blackberry and blueberry fruit and noticeable new oak, all lavish and sensual. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, and fleshy to the point where it masks the backbone underneath. It feels hedonistic on the finish but retains control with a wonderful spiciness that lingers on the aftertaste. Superb.

Drink 2026 - 2070

Pavie dates back to Roman times and has been ranked the premier grand cru classé A since the 2012 St-Emilion Classification. In 1998, Gérard Perse bought the estate for $31m. About 45ha are planted, mainly in one single vineyard block – unusual for St-Emilion – at a peak of 110m, the highest in the appellation. In 2016, the blend was 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 75% new oak.

Georgie Hindle: Powerfully floral nose, rich and heady. Real purity and clarity to the fruit. Bold and well built, tannins at the fore, but this has excellent fruit and a hint of exotic spice: long minty finish, medicinal and herbal notes.

Vincenzo Arnese: Ripe, bold and intense, has structure and depth and ripe aromas of prune and bramble. Good finish. There’s rich evidence of oak, with hazelnut and toasted wood notes.

Arthur Coggill: Gentle nose, hints of wood spice, lacquer, damson and bilberry. The ripely sweet palate is backed by firm, grippy, almost chalky tannins.

Drink 2023 - 2048