(a blend of 70% merlot, 20% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon): Deep saturated ruby, one of the darkest wines of the vintage. Vibrant nose offers scents of blackberry, blueberry, minerals, dark chocolate, violet and garrigue . Lush, superconcentrated and voluminous, with plenty of energy to give shape to the mouthfilling dark fruit, dark chocolate, cedar and crushed rock flavors. This huge yet silky wine finishes with powerful fine-grained tannins and outstanding palate-staining persistence. I'd wait a good ten years before pulling the cork. A great vintage for Pavie, and one of the most impressive 2009s I've tasted.

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Blackish crimson. Minerals and lively and FRESH!! Juicy and gouleyant and eye-catching but with sufficient juice and not too dry on the end. Really tastes as though it comes from an interesting slope. Sun dried but not to excess. (This note was written when I tasted it blind while the other, made later that same day, was written at the property tasting sighted.)

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Bottled the week before I arrived, the 2009 Pavie appears to have barely budged since I tasted it two years ago. Many experts consider this phenomenal terroir to be nearly as great as that of Ausone. Made from a classic blend of 60-70% Merlot, 20-25% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky/blue/purple-colored blockbuster reveals wonderful notes of blackberries, crushed rocks, roasted meats, spring flowers, cedar, blueberries, graphite and a hint of vanillin. With extravagant fruit and high extract as well as a hint of minerality, this structured, massively intense effort is typical of all the luxurious, perfect or nearly perfect Pavies produced under the Perse regime (which began in 1998). While built for 40-50 years of cellaring, the softness of the vintage and its flamboyant style is slightly less apparent in the 2009 Pavie than in some of the other Perse wines.

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This is massively rendered, with powerful notes of dark fig, currant and blackberry fruit intertwined with ganache, maduro tobacco and tar. Yet the overall impression is both polished and driven, with a buried graphite edge and lingering spice notes that hint at the reward for extended cellaring. It's amazing to see the results when ambition and execution are equal.

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