Wine Advisor
Pavie Decesse 2004
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This has very fine freshness on the nose. Good definition with expressive minerally black fruits. The palate is very smooth, with well-integrated tannins. Huge grip. Dense, almost verging on monolithic.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One of the stars of the vintage, the opaque purple-hued 2004 Pavie-Decesse boasts abundant aromas of crushed rocks, spring flowers, pain grille, graphite, black cherries, and creme de cassis. This dense, fleshy, full-bodied, powerful, tannic effort is a candidate for long-term aging. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Since a large portion of this vineyard was incorporated into Pavie in 2002, Pavie-Decesse is now a small, 9-acre site planted on pure limestone. The 2004, a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc from 43-year old vines, and yields of 28-30 hectoliters per hectare, is a notable achievement. It boasts a ruby/purple/black color along with a beautiful nose of blackberries, currants, incense, and Chinese black tea, a striking minerality, good underlying acidity, a multilayered texture, brilliant purity, medium to full body, and tremendous length. Sadly, there were only 415 cases produced. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2025.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This small estate owned by Chantal and Gerard Perse (9 plus acres planted with 43-year-old vines) is composed of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. In 2004, yields were a low 28-30 hectoliters per hectare, resulting in 400 cases being produced. The dense ruby/purple-colored 2004 offers smoky creme de cassis, kirsch liqueur, crushed rock, and spring flower aromas. Opulent, flamboyant, rich, dense, and lavishly endowed, it possesses enough fruit and glycerin to nearly conceal its elevated tannin. This wine should be at its finest between 2012-2025.
About the Producer
Chateau Pavie Decesse is located in the Saint-Emilion appellation on the right bank of Bordeaux, France, and is one of the Grand Cru Classe of Saint-Emilion. Château Pavie Decesse has strong ties to Premier Grand Cru Classe A, which was originally owned by Château Pavie. In 1885, Ferdinand Bouffard, the owner of Chateau Pavie, decided to reorganise the vineyards and separated a plot of land called "Pigasse", thus giving birth to Château Pavie de Caisse. The estate was then passed on to Mr Marzelle. In 1970, when he died, his wife entrusted the estate to the Valette family, then owners of Château Lafite, who took over the estate in 1990. In 1997, Gerard Perse bought the estate, and the following year, he took it under his wing. Since becoming part of the Perse family, Château de Berfet de Sais has enjoyed the same treatment as Château de Berfet and the quality of its wines has continued to improve. The 3.65 hectares of vineyards of Château Pape de Cais are located on the limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion, next to the vineyards of Château Pape, and have similar terroirs but with different characteristics. The soil is mainly made up of limestone and clay soils and is planted with 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, with an average vine age of 43 years. The limestone gives the wines their freshness, floral aromas and minerality, while the clay provides structure to the finished wines. In the winemaking, Château de Pays follows the modern winemaking philosophy of the Pace family, sharing the same winemaking team as Château Pays. The grapes are harvested by hand after they have ripened and undergo a rigorous manual selection process before moving on to the next stage of the process. Grapes from different plots are fermented separately in three temperature-controlled vats to allow for fine-tuning during the final blend. The maceration lasts three weeks before the wine is transferred to oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. After fermentation, the wine is matured in 80% new French oak barrels for 18-24 months, during which time it is racked every three months. This is followed by blending and bottling. In order to maintain the pure flavour of the wines, no clarification or filtration is carried out on the red wines of Château de Pape de Cais before bottling. Thanks to the excellent terroir, the wines of Château de Pape de Sais are rich and complex, full-bodied, with a fine tannic structure and excellent ageing potential. The red wines of Chateau Pavie Decesse, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe, France, are not only very popular with consumers, but have also been highly praised by prestigious wine critics and magazines.
1983(1)1984(1)1990(1)1998(1)2000(3)2001(1)2003(3)
Package Size
