Chateau Pavie Decesse 2019

A perfumed nose of cherries, blueberries, cedar, toast, cloves and walnuts. Full-bodied with a firm, beautiful frame of fine-grained tannins. Layered and elegant. Intense, powerful and spicy. Dark and intriguing, with wonderful presence in the glass. Keeps going.

From vines located just above Château Pavie and based on 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Château Pavie Decesse sports a vivid purple hue as well as a stunning nose of pure cassis, lead pencil, graphite, spring flowers, chocolate, and a wonderful sense of chalky minerality. It's put on weight since I tasted it from barrel and brings full-bodied richness and depth with plenty of ripe tannins, all of which are grounded by classic Saint-Emilion limestone-driven minerality. It's a beautifully deep, layered, powerful Pavie Decesse that's going to need 7-8 years, if not a decade, to hit maturity and will have 20-30 years of longevity. Best After 2029

From a small vineyard located on the limestone slopes above Pavie itself, the Perse family's 2019 Pavie Decesse exhibits aromas of ripe cherries, crème de cassis and fruit liqueurs mingled with notions of menthol, vanilla pod and cloves. Full-bodied, rich and extracted, it's thick and muscular, with lively acids and prodigious reserves of chewy tannin that assert themselves on the finish. While it is a touch toned down by comparison with the wines produced here a decade ago, it remains one of the inkiest, most extracted wines in Saint-Émilion. I tend to think that an even gentler vinification would bear dividends without sacrificing the concentration and intensity of flavor that can be taken for granted with a terroir of such quality and viticulture of such exigence. Best After 2029 Rating : 92+