Château Pavie 2012

Fine and mellow, an alluring Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé "A" wine

The estate

An estate with an ancient origin, the vines have been cultivated on the slopes, where Château Pavie currently sits, since the 4th century. Owned by Chantal and Gérard Perse since March 1998, Château Pavie, a Premier Grand Cru Classé "A", has one of the most beautiful vineyards in Saint-Émilion.

Château Pavie’s Saint-Emilion wines are renowned for their structure and elegance and are the fruit of limited harvests, the yields are best suited to the terroir: 28hl/ha.

The vineyard

Château Pavie comprises a 37-hectare single block vineyard, thus making it one of the largest Premiers Grands Crus Classés in Saint-Émilion.

Situated on the south-east side of the Saint-Emilion hill, the vines are 40 years old on average and rest on three levels of this hill. The "plateau" (85 metres above sea level) is composed of clay-limestone soil over asteriated limestone and the "mid-slope" (55 metres above sea level) is composed of brown clay-limestone soil with a fine texture. The "bottom of the hill" is composed of sandy/sandy-clay soils with iron oxide, between 60 and 80 cm below ground, and sandy-gravel soils.

Particular attention is given to the vineyard, part of which has been the subject of a replanting plan including raising the trellising to increase the leaf surface, specific pruning based on the vine’s age, thinning and leaf stripping.

The wine

14 years after Gérard Perse acquired the estate in 1998, the 2012 vintage has left its mark on the estate’s history as it is the first Classé ‘’A’’ vintage by Château Pavie. To mark this special occasion, the bottles are adorned with a unique black and silver label.

The vintage

A relatively mild winter preceded a rainy spring, the heavy rainfall (especially in April) led to strong mildew pressure before the flowering stage. Although the summer season began with humid weather conditions, the month of August was hot and dry which favoured the vineyard's development and the ripening process.

The vinification and ageing

Harvested by hand, the grapes are then sorted. The harvested grapes are placed in 20 temperature-controlled wooden vats. Following a 36-day vatting period, malolactic fermentation is carried out in barrels, as is the ageing process. The wine is split into 80% new barrels and 20% first-fill barrels.

The blend

Merlot (60%)

Cabernet franc (25%)

Cabernet Sauvignon (15%)