Pavie 2013

The wine in this vintage

2013 is remembered as one of the most difficult Bordeaux vintages in decades: uneven flowering, an unstable summer and harvest rain, with very low yields and ruthless selection. Only the most rigorous estates made wines of note, and Pavie 2013 is one of them: lighter and less concentrated than usual, it offers red and black fruit, cherry, plum, cedar and spice, with a medium-bodied, fresh palate and carefully extracted tannins. Wine Enthusiast rated it 94 points and Jancis Robinson 17/20. The wine deserves a few more years of ageing to come together.

The producer · Château Pavie

Château Pavie is one of Saint-Émilion's oldest and most prestigious estates, with vines planted since Roman times on the slopes south-east of the medieval town. Its roughly forty hectares run uninterrupted from the limestone plateau down to the foot of the Côte Pavie, across limestone, clay and sandy soils that give the wine power, structure and a fine mineral streak. In 1998 the estate was bought by Gérard Perse, who undertook a thorough renovation of vineyard and cellar, with parcel-by-parcel selection, low yields and a new winery inaugurated in 2013. These efforts were rewarded in 2012 with promotion to Premier Grand Cru Classé A, the summit of the Saint-Émilion classification. The blend is led by Merlot, completed by Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Initially opulent and concentrated, the style has evolved over the past decade towards greater freshness and precision, while retaining the depth and very long ageing potential that make Pavie one of Bordeaux's great reds.

Critics' scores

• 94 Wine Enthusiast
• 93 Wine Spectator
• 17/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Château Pavie

Region

Bordeaux

Country

Francia

Type

Rosso

Vintage

2013

When to drink

Not yet at its peak

Critics' average

93.5/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0120113