Château Pavie : La Collection Aliénor 2016

An innovative and refined box through which to (re-) discover a great vintage by Château Pavie

The producer

The origin of this property dates back quite some time. The vines were cultivated on the slopes of what is now Château Pavie from the 4th century onward. Owned by Chantal and Gérard Perse since March 1998, Château Pavie, a Premier Grand Cru Classé "A", has one of the most beautiful terroirs of Saint-Émilion. Château Pavie is recognised for the structure and elegance of its wines resulting from a harvest with yields maintained at the level that best suits the terroir: 31hl / ha.

The vineyard

The Château Pavie vineyard is made up of a single block of 37 hectares, which makes it one of the greatest Premiers Grands Crus Classés of Saint-Émilion.

Located to the south-east of the Saint-Émilion hill, the vineyard is spread over three levels going up the hill, with vines aged 49 years on average. The “plateau” (85 metres above sea level) is composed of clay-limestone soil over asteroid limestone, while the “mid-coast” (55 metres above sea level) is composed of a brown clay soil and fine-textured limestone. The "pied de côte" is made up of sandy / sandy-clay soils with iron ore between 60 and 80 cm and sandy-gravelly soils. Particular attention is paid to the vineyard, part of which has been the subject to a replanting plan, including the enhancement of the training to increase the leaf area, pruning adjusted to the age of the vines, thinning and stripping.

The wine

Château Pavie has recently unveiled its latest innovation, the “Collection Aliénor”. Bearing the first name of Aliénor d'Aquitaine, Queen of France, then of England married to King Louis VII at Saint André Cathedral in Bordeaux and mother of Richard the Lionheart, this box is a refined invitation to (re-)discover through different formats a vintage released on the market five years ago.

This first edition casts the spotlight on the 2016 vintage.

Since the 2000 vintage, the wines of Château Pavie have been housed in a bottle called "Aliénor", whose shoulder, frustoconical shape and deep puncture echo the bottles of yesteryear, while also ensuring optimal ageing. In order to celebrate the classification as a Premier Grand Cru Classé “A” in 2012, Château Pavie has also been bottling its magnums with this same format since that date.

Each numbered box from the "Collection Aliénor" contains 4 elegant formats of this 2016 Château Pavie. Very refined, each box has been developed in the workshops of a local partner, ADAM, labeled "Living Heritage Company".

Standard bottle, magnum, double magnum, imperial... 4 occasions to (re-)discover this 2016 vintage in an exceptional box produced only in 100 copies. A rare and prestigious collection.

The tasting

The perfect expression of the unique terroir of this iconic Saint-Émilion property, the 2016 Château Pavie is a collector's vintage. 2016 is unanimously recognised by international critics for its freshness, delicacy and aromatic richness. Earning a score of 100/100 from both Wine Advocate and James Suckling, this remains the flagship vintage in the history of the property.

Ageing

This 2016 “Aliénor Collection” from Château Pavie is an opportunity to taste a great vintage in 4 different bottle formats, which, thanks to their large size, will be able to age beautiful for many years to come. While this great Saint-Émilion wine can be cellared in its standard format until 2036, its ageing potential is even more exceptional in a large format.

1 x standard bottle of Château Pavie 2016 (75 cl)

1 x magnum of Château Pavie 2016 (1.5 L)

1 x double magnum of Château Pavie 2016 (3 L)

1 x imperial of Château Pavie 2016 (6 L)