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Tasting notes
This 1978 Pavie is exquisite. So fresh on the nose, it offers vestiges of black fruit, seaweed and cedar aromas, quite Left Bank in style, wonderfully focused with touches of dried rose petal emerging with time. The palate is extremely well balanced, not powerful but driven by its thread of perfectly-judged acidity. There is a touch of salinity towards the finish, this Saint-Émilion coalescing and gaining wait over the course of 90-minutes in the glass. Savoured down to its very last drop, this is just a wonderful mature Right Bank.
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Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 1978 Pavie, which obviously predates Gérard Perse by almost two decades, was a pleasant surprise. Blackberry, cedar and a touch of leather on the Left Bank style nose, it deserves light applause for the vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. It is not a complex Saint-Émilion with slightly dusty black fruit, but I discerned no vegetal notes here and it displays admirable length. Tasted blind at Domaine de Chevalier.
A loose, open-knit style of wine, the 1978 Pavie lacks concentration, structure, and firmness, but offers a sweet, ripe (possibly overripe) Merlot fruitiness, and one-dimensional charm. I also detected a vegetal quality to the bouquet. Anticipated maturity: Now. Last tasted, 4/82.
A loose, open-knit style of wine, the 1978 Pavie lacks concentration, structure, and firmness, but offers a sweet, ripe (possibly overripe) Merlot fruitiness, and one-dimensional charm. I also detected a vegetal quality to the bouquet. Anticipated maturity: Now. Last tasted, 4/82. Jan 1998, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
The slopes of Château Pavie were planted as far back as the fourth century by the Ancient Romans and it has been a well-known producer in Saint-Émilion since the middle of the 19th century.