Château Pavie - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015

Wine Spectator

98 / 100

byJames Molesworththe2/15/2018

This start off richly, featuring beautifully rendered layers of fig, boysenberry and plum pâte de fruit flavors coursing through. The structure is refined and integrated, with a light chalky edge adding tension and vivacity while being absorbed by the fruit. The finish has pyrotechnics of anise, black tea and singed mesquite that are formidably long. Best from 2025 through 2045. 5,833 cases made.  –JM

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/12/2018

This is really something. Sort of speechless when I taste it. It shows evocative aromas of wet earth, oyster shell, dust, tile, blackberries and blueberries. Full body, ultra-fine tannins and a length and intensity that is so, so fine. A wine in perfect harmony. Complete. Hard not not to drink. Energetic and balanced. Better to wait for 10 years. Try in 2028.

Decanter.com

96 / 100

byJane Ansonthe1/26/2018

Deep and rich in both colour and taste, this is a monument to the fine wine triumvirate of tannins, fruit and acidity. It's extremely muscular, with layers of black fruits, graphite and pencil shavings, as well as a smoky, tarred edge and the telltale salinity on the finish that places you on the limestone plateau of St-Émilion. There's impressive fruit density and finely-worked tannins, although I found the 2016 Pavie to have better balance - the 2015 is rather one to admire in my eyes, not to love. It should go 30 years easily. 70% new oak.

Jeb DUNNUCK

98-100 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe11/30/2017

Bettane & Desseauve

19 / 20

the8/31/2016

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/30/2016

Opaque in color, this wine is dense, fat, rich and packed with mouth-coating fruits. The wine stains your teeth and palate and leaves you with waves of sweet, luscious, intense, pure black fruits. There is a touch of heat, but there is such a wealth of fruit and the berries are so pure, thick and sweet, it’s barely noticeable. I'd like to be as rich as this wine! For fans of Pavie, this will provide fodder for debates as to which vintage of Pavie is the best. My money is on the 2015, but the owner thinks it is the 2010 –this high-class conundrum will definitely bring about great tastings in the years to come!

Wine Advocate

96-98 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/29/2016

The 2015 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon that is matured in 80% new oak and 20% one-year-old barrels. It has a really quite glorious bouquet that is sensual and very well defined and pure. In my opinion, just dialing down the new oak even by 15% is allowing more personality and more terroir-expression to filter through. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, ripe, lace-like tannins and a fine bead of acidity. It feels caressing and sensual in the mouth with superb mineralité and purity on the vivacious and sustained finish. This is unquestionably the best wine from Gérard Perse in 2015: a great Pavie with a very long life ahead, though I would cellar it for at least a decade to witness it in full flight.

Bettane & Desseauve

19 / 20

the4/28/2016

Le vin associe un corps profond, structuré, puissant, avec une grande finesse de texture et un soyeux de tannin ultra racé ; le fruit est mûr et intense. Voluptueux, profond, harmonieux, racé. Un grand pavie apaisé.

Decanter.com

95 / 100

byJames Lawther MWthe4/28/2016

Follows recent vintages with more Cabernet Franc (22%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (18%) in the blend. Fragrant dark fruit and spice notes. Powerful tannic frame but the tannins are really refined. Opulent mid-palate but minerality and tension runs through to a firm, driving finish. Accomplished but needs time. 2025-2045

Vinous

95-98 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe4/27/2016

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2015 Pavie is dense, powerful and seamless. A huge, spherical wine, even for the year, the 2015 exudes depth. Even with all of its intensity, the 2015 retains striking freshness and nuance, with plenty of bright red stone fruit and floral notes taking center stage. The super-extracted, oak-driven style that was such a Pavie signature a decade ago seems to be giving way to a more refined approach that showcases fruit, richness and purity. This is a superb showing from Gerard Perse and consulting winemaker Michel Rolland.

Jancis Robinson

17 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/26/2016

Rich and silky. Blackish crimson. Massive build. Very sweet - but there is some freshness too. Very round tannins. More fluid and less astringent than many vintages. 17+

timatkin.com

90 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe4/20/2016

Wine Enthusiast

94 / 100

the4/15/2016

93–95. Barrel Sample. This wine is powerful and concentrated. With its dark tannins and hints of bitter coffee from extraction, it has density and great power. To help the wine's richness there is a delicious amount of acidity that will keep the wine well in balance.

René Gabriel

18 / 20

the4/10/2016

60 % Merlot, 22 % Cabernet Franc, 18 % Merlot. 36 hl/ha. Undurchdringliche Farbe Violett mit fast schwarzen Reflexen. Intensives, recht zugängliches Bouquet, ausladend mit viel reifen rot- bis schwarzbeerigen Früchten, zeigt eine gewisse Noblesse. Im Gaumen mit wunderschöner Fruchtauslegung, er zeigt ein paar Sekunden Charme, dann greifen die Tannine auf allen Seiten an, wirkt extrem vordergründig und Zähne- wie auch Zungenbeschlagend. Hier kann man nur das Potential bewerten. Verkostungsspass ist da nirgends vorhanden. Es tut sogar ein Bisschen weh, wenn man ihn in den modernen Spezial—Pavie-Silberbecher ausspuckt. Aber nicht, weil kein Wein mehr im Mund drin ist, sondern weil sich die Tannine danach immer noch im Gaumen herumwinden. Wie weit darf man gehen, wenn man ein Premier A ist, um sich an der Spitze zu behaupten. Ich hatte innerhalb weniger Stunden auch die anderen A-Premiers (Angélus, Cheval Blanc, Ausone) im Gaumen. Das war richtig grosse Klasse und nicht so bulldozerisches Pavie-Übervinifikationsgetue. Reine Potentialwertung mit zwei zugedrückten Augen: 18/20 2030 – 2060

Jamessuckling.com

100-100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/5/2016

For me, this redefines Pavie. The depth and intensity and more important, the clarity, is really something. Full and ultra-fine tannins. It shows such great tannins and finesse. It is the essences of Pavie.

Wine Spectator

95-98 / 100

byJames Molesworththe4/3/2016

This delivers some serious fruit firepower, with blueberry, blackberry and plum notes that pump along authoritatively, pulling the creamy tannins along with them. Echoes of tobacco and violet emerge through the finish, along with a buried mineral accent. A contender for wine of the vintage on the Right Bank.—J.M.