Château Pavie - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2001

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/06/2004

One of the candidates for wine of the vintage ... again, the 2001 Pavie, from a magnificent south-facing vineyard planted primarily on limestone soil, is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. After a six week maceration, it spent nearly 24 months in new oak prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Some Bordeaux brokers think it might be even better than the 2000 Pavie, but I do not agree. The inky/ruby/purple-colored 2001 exhibits a tight but promising nose of crushed stones, a liqueur of blackberries, cherries, and black currants, and subtle smoke and licorice in the background. Powerful, with impressive elegance, fine harmony among its elements, a multi-layered texture, it has a finish that lasts for 50+ seconds. There is considerable tannin, but it is well-integrated. Give it 3-4 years, and drink it over the next two decades. A profound effort for the vintage, it is an example of a perfectionist proprietor pushing the envelope of quality.

Wine Spectator

92 / 100

par James Suckling le 31/03/2004

Powerful, with loads of smoke, vanilla, berry and chocolate character. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. Modern and rich. Well-done. Best after 2008. 7,500 cases made.

Wine Advocate

94-96 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/04/2003

Pavie's 2001 is a realistic candidate for the wine of the vintage. The black/purple-colored 2001 (70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) boasts sensational aromatics of sweet, pure, macerated black fruits intermixed with smoke, licorice, iron, and toasty oak. It is medium to full-bodied, and extraordinarily well-delineated, with aggressive tannin and acidity, yet huge extract as well as layers of concentration. The terroir's nobility screams through all the extract in this amazing effort. It will require at least a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040.

Wine Advocate

94-96 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/04/2002

The black/purple-colored 2001 boasts sensational aromatics of sweet, pure, macerated black fruits intermixed with smoke, licorice, iron, and toasty oak. It is medium to full-bodied, and extraordinarily well-delineated, with aggressive tannin and acidity, yet huge extract as well as layers of concentration. The terroir's nobility screams through all the extract in this amazing effort. It will require at least a decade of cellaring. The wine is cropped at 30 hectoliters per hectare. It is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. After a pre-fermentation, long, cold maceration (six days), and malolactic and lees aging in barrel (18 months total), it will be bottled with neither fining nor filtration. I suspect the owners will say this is the greatest Pavie yet made under the short four-year Perse administration. It's too early to know for sure, but it certainly rivals the 1998 and 2000. The wine of the vintage? Anyone who has not been paying attention to what proprietors Gerard and Chantal Perse have been accomplishing at this great vineyard planted on steep limestone slopes of what the French call la Cote de Pavie needs to take a serious look. Since 1998 this has been one of the most remarkable wines in Bordeaux. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040.