Chateau Pavie 2025

Fragrant apple blossom, iris and violet flowers on the nose, brings its A-game from the first moments; coupling bright greengage plums, rose stems, and an intense grip of slate, with creamier blackberries, damson and creme patissiere. A ton of grip and length, this is in it for the long game, with pulses of oyster shell minerality to close things out. Brilliant. Here they did 8 weeks maceration, longer than most, but they felt that the wines needed a little longer to fill out through the mid palate, and for sure this is showing exceptional expansion and tension. Harvest September 15 to 29, first time in the Perse era that this has been entirely in September - and the final vintage under Gerard Perse. Pavie Decesse and Bellevue Mondot are now included in the main wine, bringing their limestone soils to the blend, and this is the highest amount of Cabernet to date. 21hl/ha yield, 3.58ph.

• Nome del Recensore: Jane Anson

Showing one of the deepest colors of the vintage, the perfume kicks off with black raspberries, mint leaves, black cherries, flowers, tobacco wrappers, licorice, spice, and espresso aromas. The palate is intensely concentrated, yet, there is so much lift, and energy, the wine feels almost relaxed on your palate. The waves of rich, dense, opulent, lush, and salty, mineral-infused berries start off strong, and keep on going. The mid-palate, and finish delivers its message of ripe, deep, black, with red fruits, spice, crushed stones, camphor, licorice, and dark chocolate without hesitation through to its endnotes that get close to the 60-second mark. The wine blends 60% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, making this the highest percentage of Cabernet ever used in the blend. 14.3% ABV. 3.58 pH. Harvesting took place September 15 - September 26. Yields were 21 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2030-2065.

• Finestra di Consumo: 2030 - 2065
• Nome del Recensore: Jeff Leve

Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, subtle edge brightening. Fine black berry fruit, a hint of cassis, black cherries, hints of candied orange zest, some nougat, underlaid with subtle precious wood. Powerful, but very juicy, round and elegant, great freshness, ripe, fine tannins, extract sweet and long-lasting, modern, yet very connected to the terroir, great length, sure maturity potential.

The first time this château has included this much Cabernet Franc in the blend, the 2025 Château Pavie sports a saturated purple hue as well as a pure, focused bouquet of crème de cassis and assorted blue fruits intermixed with graphite, violets, leafy herbs, and freshly sharpened pencil notes. It's a different beast from the classic Pavie style, with a more focused, straight mouthfeel, building yet beautiful tannins, and a layered, seamless texture on the palate. It might miss a touch of the classic Pavie sexiness, but it's incredibly impressive, balanced, and remarkably long. Hitting 14.34% alcohol with a pH of 3.58, this Saint-Émilion was harvested between September 15th and 26th.

• Nome del Recensore: Jeb Dunnuck

The 2025 Pavie is a total stunner. What a wine. Rich and dazzling in its intensity, the 2025 hits all the right notes. Inky dark red/purplish fruit, exotic spice, mocha, espresso and pomegranate literally stain the palate. The 2025 is going to require the better part of a decade to unwind, but it has a ton of potential and a very bright future. This is the first time Cabernet Franc is the dominant variety in the Grand Vin. The 2025 has plenty of the textural intensity readers have come to expect, but with less of the heavy extraction that marked the earlier years.

• Finestra di Consumo: 2033 - 2065
• Nome del Recensore: Antonio Galloni

Intensely fragrant nose, full of black fruit, chocolate, perfumed violets and cassis. Heady and concentrated. Ripe and fleshy fruit on the palate, the tannins have a really chewy aspect that fills the mouth with texture and grip but with a vein of cooling acidity through the middle. Ends soft and cool, with a long minty, liquorice core. Chewy, fleshy, but cool, I quite like the upfront nature, it’s filling and wide but not overly intrusive or dry. Cool blue fruits and a long slightly chalky powdery finish. All the makings of a great Pavie and feels hands off for what It could have been. 3.58pH. A yield of 21hl/ha.

• Finestra di Consumo: 2032 - 2050
• Nome del Recensore: Georgina Hindle

The 2025 Pavie was picked at just 21 hl/ha, the lowest ever, plus this is the first vintage with 60% Cabernet Franc from plantings in the 2000s. Matured in 65% new oak, the aromatics are far superior, more cohesive and purer than the Arômes cuvée. Still very plush and luxuriant, it has that purity, although it needs more delineation and terroir expression to come through. The palate is actually better than the nose and I appreciate the contribution that the Cabernet Franc makes in this wine, delivering fine structure and tension that I believe you would not have obtained if there were higher Merlot. Satisfying precision on the finish, this feels long in the mouth with cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. It is a different take on Pavie due to the different blend and if the aromatics can gain more complexity and nuance, then it could be an interesting proposition once in bottle.

• Nome del Recensore: Neal Martin