Château Pavie, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2011
Reticent nose with hints of cocoa nibs, coffee beans, tiny red berries, blueberries and blackcurrants. The palate is dense and black. Gerard Perse has never shied away from big extractions, and this is no exception. Big, powerful, ripe tannins with a dark elemental finish of graphite and coal dust. This is a vin de guard to forget about for a decade a more.
critic reviews
The 2011 Pavie has a distinctly earthy bouquet, well-defined with some expressive Cabernet Franc. A little savory, with dried blood developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with heavily-extracted tannins, tightening up on the mid-palate, good structure, grippy with a graphite-tinged, Cabernet-driven finish. This could actually benefit from more bottle age. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.