Robert Parker Score: 100

Tanzer Score: 94

Score: 96-97 JS

Region: Bordeaux

District: Saint Emilion

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

Vintage: 2009

Futures Item: Yes

Brand: See more from Chateau Pavie

Sku: 124920

Price: $299.99

Quantity:   

Wine Spectator Review:
Blackberry, black cherry, licorice and mineral. Full-bodied, with a big core of velvety tannins and rich fruit. Full throttle, and all there. Really massive. Blockbuster and more. Could be a tad overdone. But we will see in bottle. Score range 94-97.

Parker Review:
Bottled the week before I arrived, the 2009 Pavie appears to have barely budged since I tasted it two years ago. Many experts consider this phenomenal terroir to be nearly as great as that of Ausone. Made from a classic blend of 60-70% Merlot, 20-25% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky/blue/purple-colored blockbuster reveals wonderful notes of blackberries, crushed rocks, roasted meats, spring flowers, cedar, blueberries, graphite and a hint of vanillin. With extravagant fruit and high extract as well as a hint of minerality, this structured, massively intense effort is typical of all the luxurious, perfect or nearly perfect Pavies produced under the Perse regime (which began in 1998). While built for 40-50 years of cellaring, the softness of the vintage and its flamboyant style is slightly less apparent in the 2009 Pavie than in some of the other Perse wines. Anticipated maturity 2020-2050.

Tanzer Review:
saturated ruby with hints of inky highlights. Black fruits, licorice, coffee and oaky torrefaction on the nose, with menthol in the background. Quite tightly wound in the early going, with brisk acids framing the dense, rich flavors of cassis, coffee, minerals, truffle and bitter chocolate. This full-bodied wine shows a minty reserve, finishing very firm but not hard or dry, with a solid tannic spine. The slowly building, very long finish features subtle flinty and floral nuances, and a pronounced smoky oak component. This Pavie continues the recent trend toward somewhat less massive wines, and scaling back somewhat on the percentage of new oak appears to have been the right move.

Other Notes:
Licorice and dark fruit with raspberry and blueberries, mineral and flowers on the nose. Very pure. Full and very rich with a muscular and powerful structure. James Suckling, 96-97 points.