Pavie 2005 (6.0L)

100 RP / 100 JD / 100 WI / 100 JS / 100 WS / 99 VM

Gérard Perse believes this is the greatest Pavie he’s made to date, although certainly I would argue that list includes the 2000, as well as the 2009 and 2010, among his superstars. This wine, which I had both in the 2005 horizontal report in the Wine Advocate, and at a mini-vertical with Perse at the restaurant Maison Boulud in Montreal, looks to be a 75- to 100-year wine. Dense, opaque purple to the rim, with a gorgeously promising nose of blackberries, cassis, graphite and cedar wood just beginning to emerge, it tastes more like a three-year-old than wine that is already a decade old. This beauty is intense and full-bodied, with magnificent concentration, a majestic mouthfeel and a total seamless integration of tannin, wood, alcohol, etc. Beautifully rich, full and multidimensional, this is a tour de force in winemaking and certainly one of the top dozen or so 2005 Bordeaux. Forget it for another 3-5 years and drink it over the following 50-100 years! Robert Parker

Even more flamboyant and sexy than the 2000, the 2005 Pavie has everything you could ever want from a wine. Deep, inky purple-colored, an awesome perfume of cassis, blackberries, toasty oak, graphite, and incredible minerality, full body, sweet tannin, and a blockbuster finish all make for an extraordinary Saint-Emilion. It’s still a baby but offers incredible pleasure today. It’s going to last for another 3-4 decades. Jeb Dunnuck

The 2005 Pavie is made up of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-brick in color, it slowly unfurls in the glass to reveal the most tantalizing nose of Black Forest cake, boysenberry preserves, prunes, and dark chocolate with hints of Indian spices, violets, and licorice. Full-bodied, rich, and absolutely seamless, it delivers taut, velvety tannins and amazing acidity, finishing with a long, lingering firework display of exotic spices. It makes for a stunning glass right now, yet should continue to evolve over the next 10-15 years and hold steady for a further 10-15 years+. Purchased by Gerard Perse in 1998, Pavie's vineyard has been undergoing a slow replanting process with the intention that it should eventually be composed of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernets. Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

This is monumental. Just a baby with a fresh and intense mouthfeel and density. Full-bodied, velvety and layered. Decadent and rich. A folly of a wine. Drink or hold.-James Suckling

I love the purity of fruit in this wine, with perfectly ripe blackberry, blueberry and raspberry on the nose. Complex and full-bodied, with hints of new oak and wonderfully polished tannins that caress the palate. Long, long finish. This is not the blockbuster it was from barrel, but rather a complete, balanced and gorgeous red. Best after 2015. -Wine Spectator

Explosive and sumptuous in the glass, the 2005 Pavie captivates all the senses with its extraordinary beauty. The flavors are deep, racy and boldly sketched throughout. Tobacco, roasted coffee beans, smoke, black cherries and plums are some of the notes that are pushed forward in this seductive, flamboyant wine. Immensely powerful and gratifying, the 2005 has it all. This is an especially youthful bottle of the 2005, a wine that will drink well for decades. There is an immediacy to Pavie that makes it pretty much impossible to resist today. It is one of the showiest wines of this night.-Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media