2017 Chateau Pavie Saint-Emilion 750 ml

In Saint-Émilion, very few estates can rival Château Pavie’s location. Even fewer can match the majesty of their grand vin—and in 2017, Pavie stood alone at the top.

That year, they crafted a supremely powerful wine with an energy that propels you through its endless layers. It’s telling that Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck both gave it 99 points, making it each critic’s top-scoring Bordeaux red of the vintage. Dunnuck praised its “wonderful sense of elegance, flawless balance,” and “awesome purity,” saying it belongs in the same league as bottlings from legendary vintages like 2016, 2015, 2010, 2005, and 2000.

Pavie is a wine of superlatives: Grown on the steepest slopes of any estate in Bordeaux, it is generally recognized to be the most powerful and opulent bottling made in Saint-Émilion. 

Wine Advocate wrote: “Pavie has one of the most enviable locations in all of Bordeaux and boy-oh-boy does it show in this spectacular wine.” Perched atop Saint-Émilion’s limestone plateau, the estate’s Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon vines enjoy abundant sunlight, while the well-draining soils force the roots to dig deep in search of moisture, ultimately yielding densely concentrated berries.

Proprietor Gérard Perse purchased the Pavie estate in 1998, and though it was already producing stellar wine, he built all new temperature-controlled fermentation vats and cellars. He then hired legendary consulting winemaker Michel Rolland to run the show. Rolland rigorously reshaped the vines, cutting yields from 55 hectoliters per hectare to less than 30. Severe pruning and green harvesting further pushed the envelope on maturity.

Pavie has only continued to astonish since then. The 2017 is proof that their wines stand with the best in Bordeaux, bar none.