Chateau Pavie 2000

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Just beginning to come around and strut its enormous potential, this wine at age 15 has been evolving like a glacier. The wine has an inky, opaque, plum/purple color and a stunningly rich nose of mulberries, bramble berries, blackberries, licorice and incense as well as touches of toast and graphite. Fabulously concentrated and full-bodied, with a multidimensional mouthfeel, this profound Pavie is in mid-adolescence. It should evolve and continue to drink well for at least another 30-40 years. This is clearly the first compelling effort made by the Perse family."

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes Granat, aussen fein aufhellend, in der Mitte satt und dicht. Kompaktes, völlig unentwickeltes Bouquet, fast hölzern und noch ziemlich trocken, dahinter satte Fruchtnoten von getrockneten Beeren, Rumtopffrüchte, Pralinen und gerösteten Nüssen. Im Gaumen mehr Saft zeigend, wieder ein dicker, kompakter Beerenjuscocktail, gekochte Kirschen und rote Pflaumen, kräftige Adstringenz, aber in sich doch eine grosse Harmonie bergend. Ein genialer Pavie, der zeigt, dass die grossen Pavie-Kritiker nie Recht bekommen werden. Oder nur so lange, bis dieser ganz grosse Bordeaux reif wird. Ein dramatischer Jahrhundertwein, ein Monument."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Just a powerhouse of a wine that does everything right, the 2000 Château Pavie is drinking incredibly well today, offering huge blackcurrant and chocolatey darker berry fruits as well as loads of truffly earth, tobacco, and spice. Full-bodied, deep, and concentrated on the palate, it stays flawlessly balanced, and while I suspect the acidity is quite low, it has an incredible sense of freshness and a weightless texture. Fully mature, yet in the early part of its drink window, it has another two decades or prime drinking ahead of it."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Beautiful and on point now, with a cascade of gently steeped blackberry, boysenberry and raspberry fruit flavors that are showing some secondary notes, all followed by singed alder, dried anise, tobacco and black tea accents. Features a mineral lining on the finish, along with a long sanguine echo. Presents a mature edge, but this is racy and fresh, with hints of menthol and bay leaf.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Drink now through 2035. 7,500 cases made."

FALSTAFF: "Kräftiges Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Rauchig-animalisch unterlegte dunkle Beerenfrucht, feiner Karamelltouch, facettenreich und würzig. Saftig, süß und sehr elegant, besitzt eine feine Säurestruktur, Anklänge von Kirschen, Gewürzen, bleibt sehr gut haften, besitzt eine schöne Länge, gutes Entwicklungspotenzial, eigentlich bereits perfekt trinkreif. Lässt sein tolles Terroir für sich sprechen."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Concentrated, powerful, tannic, stony and a bit tight, there is a wealth of fruit here, coupled with intensive, stony minerality and tannins for further aging. Lurking below the surface, the ripe, fresh cherry and plums are there, accompanied by licorice, flowers, crushed rock, oak, smoke and spice nuances. This bottle seemed tighter than others. Based on this example, the wine needs at least 2 hours of decanting or another 5 years in the cellar."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Very ripe and powerful with spice, meat and walnut character. Full-bodied, deep and layered. Flamboyant and decadent. Long and flavorful finish. Drink now or hold."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Under the regime of Gérard Perse, Pavie seems to have become more opulent, more extracted, and, dare I say it, more simplistic. The richness of the 2000 vintage lends itself to this technique. While it is a wonderful, immediately appealing wine, with its intense dark fruits, it seem to lack the complexity of other wines of similar status."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "This provided quite a contrast to the Margaux, being so much heavier and darker purple, though without much bouquet. The palate was very sweet, verging on porty, with rather drying tannins on the finish – playing the concentration rather than finesse card."