2025 Pavie, St-Émilion

Fragrant apple blossom, iris and violet flowers on the nose, brings its A-game from the first moments; coupling bright greengage plums, rose stems, and an intense grip of slate, with creamier blackberries, damson and creme patissiere. A ton of grip and length, this is in it for the long game, with pulses of oyster shell minerality to close things out. Brilliant. Here they did 8 weeks maceration, longer than most, but they felt that the wines needed a little longer to fill out through the mid palate, and for sure this is showing exceptional expansion and tension. Harvest September 15 to 29, first time in the Perse era that this has been entirely in September - and the final vintage under Gerard Perse. Pavie Decesse and Bellevue Mondot are now included in the main wine, bringing their limestone soils to the blend, and this is the highest amount of Cabernet to date. 21hl/ha yield, 3.58ph.

The first time this château has included this much Cabernet Franc in the blend, the 2025 Château Pavie sports a saturated purple hue as well as a pure, focused bouquet of crème de cassis and assorted blue fruits intermixed with graphite, violets, leafy herbs, and freshly sharpened pencil notes. It's a different beast from the classic Pavie style, with a more focused, straight mouthfeel, building yet beautiful tannins, and a layered, seamless texture on the palate. It might miss a touch of the classic Pavie sexiness, but it's incredibly impressive, balanced, and remarkably long. Hitting 14.34% alcohol with a pH of 3.58, this Saint-Émilion was harvested between September 15th and 26th.