Pavie St-Emilion 2020

100 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Pure perfection in red wine, the 2020 Château Pavie checks in as 50% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, all raised in 75% new French oak. Absolutely incredible in every way, it has a sensational bouquet of crème de cassis, smoked tobacco, chocolaty oak, graphite, white truffle, and hints of flowers. Pure, full-bodied, and concentrated, with perfect integration of its fruit, oak, and tannins, it's one of those wines that needs to be tasted to be believed. Hats off to the Perse team for not following trends and for continuing to make a truly Grand Vin that offers a rare mix of power and elegance. Give bottles just 4-5 years and enjoy over the following three decades. Drink: 2028-2058. (3/29/23)"

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Pavie sashays out with flamboyant notes of black and red cherries, black raspberries, and juicy plums opening out to fragrant underlying scents of forest floor, Sichuan pepper, and rose oil plus a hint of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate is tightly wound and super-intense, delivering very fine-grained tannins and beautiful tension, finishing long and minerally. This is gorgeous! Alcohol 14.5%. Drink: 2028-2064. (12/13/23)"

100 points James Suckling: "This opens up on your palate like a butterfly. It takes your breath away. Purity of blackberry, raspberry and black cherry. Lavender. Very, very impressive. Full and chewy with tight and polished tannins that go on and on. Energetic and structured. Crisp and vivid. Superb finish. Better after 2029 but a joy to taste. (3/27/23)"

99 points Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider): "With a hue so dark, it is impossible to see through, the wine grabs your senses with its aromatic profile consisting of flowers, black plums, blackberries, black cherries, crushed rocks, licorice, smoke, blue fruits, espresso, mocha and oceanic fragrances. The wine is full-bodied, concentrated, mouth-coating and palate-staining, as well as vibrant, pure and intense. The practically seamless, opulent finish with its layers of sensuous, salty fruits stick with you for close to 60 seconds. This is one of the great vintages of Pavie! Drink: 2026-2060. (Mar 2023)"

99 points Bettane & Desseauve Guide (2024).

97-99 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2020 Pavie is very clearly one of the wines of the year. Rich, inky and wonderfully vibrant, it pulses with energy from start to finish. All the elements are well balanced. Soaring Cabernet Franc aromatics lead into a core of finely knit yet deep fruit in a wine that feels endless. Harvest for the reds started on September 17, paused briefly during some rain on the 25th and 26th, and then wrapped up by the end of the month. The blend is 50% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, so more Cabernets than in the past, the result of a large replanting program that began in the early 2000s. A real head-turner. Magnificent! Drink: 2035-2060. (Jun 2021)"

97 points Jane Anson: "The Cabernets dominate the blend on the aromatics, and you can really see they are moving the needle on the architecture and sculpting of this wine. A ton of concentration on the nose and upfront, but it is well balanced by damson and blackberry, and has a sense of energy, uplift and clear minerality. This shows the limestone terroir in a way that, with the best will in the world, the more concentrated style of Pavie just didn't do. There is density and glamour, with layers of black chocolate, graphite and liquorice. It is pretty disarming overall, and will age extremely well. 3.61pH. A yield of 31hl/ha, average age of vine 49 years. 75% new oak. Drink: 2027-2044. (May 2021)"

97 points Georgina Hindle (Decanter): "Smooth from the get go, still tense as you’d expect with a straight backbone, but the creamy texture is lovely with a beautiful balancing acidity and suaveness overall. More calm and quiet than I was expecting, certainly not shouting but with clear depth and length to the chocolate, blackcurrant, liquorice and graphite. Detailed and nuanced, not trying too hard with energy and plumpness yet retaining a serious, savouriness that brings you back to Pavie and to the terroir with clear minerality in the lick of wet stone on the finish. Well constructed with care. Drinking Window: 2027-2056. (Jan 2023)"

97 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "The 2020 Pavie, which oddly is the first time that I have tasted it in bottle (likely due to Covid) has a lovely touch of shucked oyster shell on the nose that is extremely delineated and focused. The oak is (again) seamless integrated, and the aromatics have real panache. The palate is medium-bodied with sapid black fruit, very fine tannins and perfectly judged acidity with a spicier finish than the '22 l'Eglise-Clinet. This has great length and poise, and will give a lot of pleasure over many years. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drink: 2030-2065. (Nov 2024)"

97 points Chris Kissack (Winedoctor): "The primeurs sample from Gérard Perse’s flagship domaine was an absolute stunner, so it is great to see it living up to expectations now that it is in bottle, after an élevage in 75% new oak and 25% second-fill oak. Aromatically it remains confident and perfumed, swirling floral black fruits reminiscent of black cherry, blackberry and currants, scented with violets, green peppercorn and sage. It continues on the palate with a fabulous composition, melding fragrant black summer fruits with pressed wild flowers, crushed chalk and more exotically fragranced nuances suggestive of white peach and orange blossom. It shows great harmony through the middle, even while the structure increasingly makes its presence known towards the end of the palate. It finishes long, with a rich grip of velvety tannins and silky fruits. A triumph. The alcohol on the label is 14.5%, although it is a little higher in the wine. (Dec 2022)"

97 points La Revue du Vin de France: "The resplendent 2020 assumes its sunny, dark and deep character. We are overwhelmed by the restraint of this wine, powerful and sunny though it is, without any excessive character. The palate pushes the cursors further into density, articulated around a masterful breadth. The limestone signature promises serene ageing for this 2020. The proportion of Cabernet Franc is gradually increasing (34%) in the blend, alongside Merlot and a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, which gives it extra impetus. A less demonstrative approach than a few years ago. (2024)"