Château Pavie Esprit de Pavie Bordeaux 2018 / 14.5% / 0.75 L

There is something in this wine that evokes the elegance of Saint-Émilion—that soft, limestone-tinged melody of the slopes where the Romans were already planting vines as early as the 4th century.Today’s Château Pavie, however, is first and foremost the creation of Gérard Perse: a Parisian who, in 1998, bought the run-down estate and breathed new life into it by investing in the vineyards, cellars, and a style that, over time, elevated Pavie to the very top of the classification.In 2012, the château was promoted to the rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé “A,” and in the current 2022 classification, Pavie remains one of only two “A” estates in all of Saint-Émilion, alongside Figeac.It’s a short phrase, but it encompasses a wealth of history and hard work: from Roman terraces to modern precision winemaking, from the old peach orchards—“pavies”— from which the estate takes its name—to sophisticated, dark, oak-aged reds.

The estate itself is located on the southeastern slopes of Saint-Émilion, where the clay-limestone soils and the Côte Pavie exposure give the wines body and a velvety tannic texture.The Perse era also features collaboration with top consultants, denser plantings, rigorous selection, and a new cellar layout—all designed to ensure that the fruit from the warm plots reaches the bottle in the most pristine condition possible.That is why Pava is talked about just as much today in terms of terroir as it is in terms of style—intense, concentrated, yet increasingly balanced.

Esprit de Pavie—the 2018 vintage you’re holding in your hand—is a wine from the “Pavie family,” bearing the same address, but produced under the Bordeaux appellation—from plots and contracts selected to faithfully reflect the estate’s character, only in a more accessible, approachable style.In 2018, the source reports slight variations in the blend: some importers list 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, with aging of approximately.15 months in single-use barrels; other sources mention a Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend in a 70/30 ratio and an alcohol content of 14.5%.Such variations are normal for this label—the blend and winemaking techniques may vary slightly from batch to batch—but all descriptions consistently paint a picture of a soft wine, characterized by generous fruit and aged for about a year to a year and a half in oak..

Appearance: deep ruby color with purple highlights, dense and intense.

Aroma: ripe dark fruits—black currant, plum, and blackberry—intertwine with notes of strawberry, dark chocolate, coffee, and tobacco.

Taste: full-bodied, velvety, with soft, ripe tannins; black cherry and plum dominate, complemented by notes of cocoa, earthiness, and a delicate minerality; the finish is long, with fruit and chocolate notes.

Food pairings: roasted poultry (duck with apples, chicken with rosemary), beef and pork in stews, mushroom ragù with thyme, semi-hard and aged cheeses (Cantal, Tomme de Savoie, goat cheese).