Pavie 2003 (1.5L)

99 RP / 98 JD / 97 WS

At its release, the 2003 Pavie was somewhat controversial in wine tasting circles, but eleven years later it is obviously a great classic. Its deep purple color is accompanied by notes of vanillin, lead pencil shavings, creme de cassis, plums, black currants and kirsch. Full-bodied, youthful and rich with terrific purity and texture as well as a striking opulence, its 40+-second finish, stunning purity and wonderful perfume suggest it can be drunk now or cellared for 15-20 years. - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

Still youthful yet I'd wager at the early stages of its prime drinking window, the 2003 Château Pavie shows no signs of bricking and has a stunning – and classic – bouquet of ripe red and black fruits, smoked herbs, chocolate, and smoked tobacco, with plenty of background limestone-like minerality. This beauty is full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, yet the balance is spot on, and it has beautiful tannins, a great mid-palate, and a thrilling finish. This is pure Pavie magic that readers will love to have in the cellar and to drink any time over the coming two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

This is a stunner, with the warmth of the vintage marrying ideally with the relative coolness of the terroir to deliver a wide range of vivid plum, boysenberry, raspberry and cherry paste flavors that have energy and drive, carried by a long graphite note and backed by a roasted apple wood accent that has been fully absorbed. Powerfully ripe, but not heady, with a sense of poise through the finish. A jaw-dropper.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 7,500 cases made. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator