Chateau Pavie   Pavie

2012 Pavie

By Chateau Pavie

2012 Pavie from Chateau Pavie, Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux

The prestigious slopes of Saint-Émilion delivered a truly unique expression in the 2012 Pavie from Chateau Pavie, a vintage that carries the gravitas of time while hinting of an exuberance typically reserved for its younger brethren. My extensive experience with Bordeaux wines has seldom brought forth such a compelling interplay between maturity and vibrancy as found within this particular bottle.

 

Investment-Grade Vintage with Vibrant Character

Nestled in the Right Bank of Bordeaux, the terroir of Chateau Pavie is a tapestry woven from the finest clay and limestone, an excellent canvas for crafting investment-grade vintages such as this 2012 release. In this year, cooler weather conditions in Saint-Émilion prompted a discerning selectiveness in both timing and yield—factors paramount to the creation of a vintage replete with finesse and depth.

 

A Study in Resilience and Elegance

Upon uncorking, the 2012 Pavie greets you with an opulent bouquet of dark cherries and plums, further adorned by hints of subtle earthiness and carefully aged leather-an olfactory testament to its refined ageing process. The palate continues this narrative with layered complexity, showing ripe black fruit spirits tempered by an enduring tannic structure and lifted by fresh acidity. This balance underscores the resilience and elegance that Bordeaux enthusiasts expect from distinguished vintages like 2012.

In sum, the 2012 vintage from Chateau Pavie presents investors and connoisseurs alike with an enigmatic blend of graceful aging potential and immediate sensorial reward—a nuanced performance best appreciated through careful decanting and savoring. This vintage is poised to continue its trajectory as one of the most balanced in investment portfolios, as well as at dinner tables where it will undoubtedly incite rich conversation and admiration.

Current market price

£2,680.00

12x75cl

Highest score

95

POP score

178.67

Scores and tasting notes

95

Lots of beautiful aromas of roses, dark fruits and dark chocolate. Full and chewy with beautiful firm tannins and that add to the long finish. Very intense. Very fine tannins. Very, very long. 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

James Suckling - jamessuckling.com, April 4th 2013

95

The 2012 Pavie celebrates its reclassification and upgrade 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, the 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 some of the great years like 2009 and 2010. Very low yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare were obtained from this 92-acre estate.

Robert Parker Jr - The Wine Advocate, 29 April 2015

94-96+

The full-bodied, opaque purple-hued 2012 exhibits a beautiful nose of mulberries, black cherries, cedar wood, high quality toasty oak, lead pencil shavings, crushed chalk and floral notes. This complex, authoritative, full-throttle Pavie possesses much more accessibility and precociousness than most vintages. It is another brilliant effort from proprietors Chantal and Gerard Perse. It should be drinkable in 8-10 years and last for three decades. From 47-year-old vines, Pavie, one of the largest estates in St.-Emilion (92 acres), has once again hit pay dirt with their 2012 Pavie. Yields were 28 hectoliters per hectare (which is slightly above the 26 hectoliters per hectare in 2010), and the harvest was exceptionally late. The tannins may be the sweetest of any young Pavie I have tasted since the 2001 (which the 2012 vaguely resembles).

Robert Parker Jr - Wine Advocate #206

91-93

The Grand Vin is a blend of 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 28hl/ha and harvested by hand. It is being matured in 80% new oak, 20% one year old. It has a more refined, focused, expressive bouquet compared directly with the Bellevue-Mondotte. It is a little broody compared to the 2011 but it is nicely composed. The palate is full-bodied with linear, supple tannins. It is a compact Pavie, not as generous and precocious as top vintages for sure, but showing impressive precision on the finish. My only complaint is that the persistency needs to be longer in the mouth. Tasted April 2013.

Neal Martin - Wine Journal May 2013

Vintage performance