Chateau Pavie 2015 St. Emilion Bordeaux Wine Review

The slopes of Chateau Pavie were first planted by the ancient Romans in the fourth century. The winery is named after the orchards of peaches (“pavies”) that used to stand there.
The modern estate was assembled by Ferdinand Bouffard in the late 19th century. 9 hectares was purchased from the Pigasse family and retained a separate identity as Château Pavie-Decesse. At the start of the WWI, Ferdinand sold the winery to Albert Porte, who eventually sold the vineyard to the Valette family (well-known Bordeaux negociants). Chateau Pavie was classified as Premier Grand Cru Classe “B” while under the Valette family’s management in 1954

The chateau was purchasd by Gerard Perse in 1998. When Gerard purchased the winery in 1998, it was very run down. 30% of the vines were dying and the chateau was leaking. He completed a renovation of the entire estate shortly after it was purchased. The project took two years to complete and was finished in 2000. In 2011, Chateau Pavie once again began a complete renovation of the entire wine-making facilities at the winery. In 2012, they were promoted to Premier Cru Class A. He purchased the winery for about 40 million Euros and now is it probably worth 1 billion Euros.
The winery consists of 50 hectares of which 42 hectares are used for vineyards. It is a very large vineyard for St. Emilion standards. The vineyard is planted with 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon in one continuous large block. Chateau Pavie is often one of the last Saint Emilion estates to finish harvesting. It is one of the highest vineyard in Bordeaux.

The wine of Chateau Pavie is aged in 70-75% new, French oak barrels for 18 to 24 months. The first 6 months are spent with the wine aging on its lees. Chateau Pavie produces about 12,000 cases of wine per year.

In 2022, Pavie added the vineyards of Pavie Decesse and Bellevue Mondotte to the grapes used to produce Chateau Pavie. Since both of these vineyards are 100% Merlot, you can expect more Merlot dominance in the blend.

For the 2015 vintage, the blend was 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon.

For more information about this winery, please see their website at https://www.vignoblesperse.com/en/