Château Pavie 2022

Dense in color, smoky notes, profound, with herbed bacon, dark and red berries, floral notes; compact on the palate, almost two mouthfuls of wine, ripe fruit, creamy texture, a mass of razor‑sharp tannins keeps the fruit bundle in check, on the opulent side yet with great elegance; long‑lasting, spicy, with verve and a peppery finish. An excellent Pavie with great reserves.

This takes the showy fruit of the vintage and amplifies it, adding warm cocoa, melted licorice and roasted apple wood accents that fuel the core of boysenberry, plum and blackberry reduction flavors. Broad-shouldered in feel, with a deep well of fruit in reserve, this rumbles through the amply toasty finish. For the hedonist crowd. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2029 through 2045.

A mixture of dried herbs, blackcurrant leaf, blueberry, violets, vanilla and salty stones on the nose. Intense and complex, it’s upfront and mouth-filling with chewy, fleshy tannins but lifted by vibrant acidity. Controlled power, pure fruit focus, and a joyful, crunchy texture. Salty spice, liquorice, black chocolate, and clove add depth to the finish. A charming, structured wine, full of promise.

Big wine. The aromas are very opulent with blackberries, dark plums, ink and chocolate. It's full-bodied and very rich with plenty of fruit yet the tannins are fine and polished. This is a powerful and flavorful wine. Loads going on. This was the first year that included wines of Pavie-Decesse and Bellevue in the blend. Needs five years to come around.

Deep, dark, intense, concentrated, powerful, long, and rich, this is an attention-seeking wine from the moment it hits your glass, with its opaque, black-purple hue. With just a swirl or two, the wine releases notes of black, red, and blue fruits, licorice, espresso, chocolate, and smoke. Surprisingly, even with this much weight, the wine is nimble, balanced, and fresh on the palate. That sense of lift remains from the mid-palate through to the finish. This is the first vintage where you find the vines from Bellevue Mondotte, and Pavie Decesse integrated into Chateau Pavie. The wine blends 52% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc with 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2030-2065.

Deep dark ruby garnet, inky, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate rim brightening. Fine nuances of liquorice, floral notes, black forest berries, cassis and tangerine zest, inviting bouquet. Substantial, tightly meshed, mineral and taut, tight tannins, ripe and long lasting, dark fruit on the finish, showing great length and certain ageing potential.

Looking at the Grand Vin, the 2022 Château Pavie is 52% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, raised in 75% new barrels for 20 months. It brings a more focused, precise style in its darker berries, graphite, crushed stone, and floral aromatics and flavors. These carry to a full-bodied Pavie with flawless overall balance, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. This pure, powerful, yet aristocratic Pavie will benefit from 7–8 years (you can drink it even today) and have 3–4 decades of longevity.

52% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31 hl/ha, pH 3.67, 14.47% vol. Interwoven blueberry bouquet, sandalwood, raspberry jam, Brazilian tobacco and chocolate pastilles. On the palate, complex and linear, with a silky texture, a tight-knit tannic framework, balanced drive and a deep, muscular body. In the concentrated finish, an explosion of wild cherry, a full load of dark graphite, tarragon and lingering astringency.

Steel and spliced black fruits on the opening, juicy, powerful and intense with blueberry and damson, cedar and sandalwood, a slab of dark chocolate, and an edge of oyster shell salinity. Tension, power, beauty. No Pavie Decesse, no Bellevue Mondotte as of this vintage, both are now entirely included in Pavie, and both exceptional additions. 25 years of Perse ownership. 75% new oak.

On the nose, concentrated, vibrant black fruit unfurls in concentric circles, highlighted by subtle florality and hints of woodsmoke and sweet spices. The palate is extraordinarily precise and refined, yet offers impressive volume, like an eiderdown duvet slipping through the eye of a needle. Creamy, polished, with a noble terroir fully expressing itself in this vintage. The tannins, of infinite delicacy, stretch into an endless, velvety finish.

The bouquet of Pavie reveals itself in a crescendo, step by step. It first appears shyly, much like an artist peeking from behind the stage curtain to observe the audience. The message from the outset is clear: it seeks finesse and subtlety and clearly has a character devoted to detail and plurality. Sour-cherry nuances go hand in hand with blueberry aromas and a touch of elderberry. With aeration, floral nuances also emerge through wafts of violets followed by spicy notes. Like the bouquet, the palate unfolds with delicacy and finesse. It is rare to encounter such deep and subtle attacks in 2022, a vintage where power takes the lead! The aim, therefore, is to tame it—typically done mid-palate, but here, from the very start, the wine is guided along a path dedicated to serenity, precision, and vigor. The tannins reveal themselves almost discreetly, yet just enough to lay the foundations that create an exceptional framework. They share their energy with freshness and chalky tension, supported by a subtle austerity that underpins the freshness and aromatic brilliance on the finish. A Pavie of rare depth, distinguished by its ability to assert itself without raising its voice. It is one of the greatest Pavie I have had the chance to taste.

The 2022 Pavie has quite a rich and extravagant nose, layers of black cherries and boysenberry, a little sloe, showy and decadent. Could be Pavie? The palate is medium-bodied with a glossy opening, but there is structure behind all the intense fruit and pleasing minerality on the finish. Serious, long-term. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.