Chateau Pavie丨Premier Grand Cru Classe A丨 Wine Couple

Chateau Pavie

Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A

The slopes of Chateau Pavie and Ausone were first planted by the ancient Romans in the fourth century. However, Chateau Pavie did not become famous as a vineyard until almost two thousand years later.

Chateau Pavie was definitely famous by the mid-19th century. At the time, the Robert Parker of the day was the Bordeaux bible published by Cocks and Feret’s “Bordeaux et ses vins.” In 1850, the first edition was already high on the wines from Pavie as they named it one of the First classed Growths in Saint Emilion.

A portion of Chateau Pavie was sold off in 1885, interestingly, (the same year that the famous, classification of the Medoc took place), to the well-known, Bordeaux negociant Ferdinand Bouffard.

It was Bouffard’s desire to increase the size of the vineyards. In time he managed to put together a 50-hectare vineyard with an annual production that ranged from 12,500 to 15,000 cases per year. That made Chateau Pavie one of the largest estates in the Right Bank!

By the late 1800s, Chateau Pavie and Pavie Decesse were fully separate estates. Close to the same time, the Macquin family was also busy purchasing parcels of vineyards in the same region too. Those purchases led to the creation of Chateau Pavie Macquin.Jumping ahead to the next century and the start of the First World War, Ferdinand Bouffard sold Chateau Pavie to Albert Porte who eventually sold the vineyard to the Valette family. The Valette family was were well-known Bordeaux negociants from Paris.
If the Valette name sounds familiar, that’s because Christine Valette was the popular owner of Chateau Troplong Mondot. Chateau Pavie was classified as Premier Grand Cru Classe “B” while under the Valette family’s management in 1954. That changed in 2012 with the new Classification of St. Emilion when Chateau Pavie was elevated to Premier Grand Cru Classe A!

Gerard Perse

I never imagined I could be the owner of a top first growth, I thought that was reserved for great families...

In 1998, Gerard Perse, who already owned Chateau Monbousquet purchased Chateau Pavie from the Valette family for $31,000,000. Chateau Pavie experienced a rebirth thanks to the drive and the spare no expense attitude of Gerard Perse and Chantal Perse. At the time of the purchase, the vineyards were in poor shape.

Pavie required extensive replanting to reach the proper level of vine density. There were also parcels that needed cultivation. At least 25% of the vineyard demanded extensive work.

In 2002 Gerard Perse expanded the vineyards of Chateau Pavie by 2.5 hectares when the vines of Chateau La Clusiere were incorporated into Chateau Pavie. This was allowed to take place because of the similarity of terroirs. In 2002, the INAO authorized the integration (or, perhaps the reintegration) of Chateau La Clusiere into the vineyard of Pavie.

At the same time, a small part of the Pavie Decesse vineyards was also merged into Chateau Pavie. This reduced the area of Pavie Decesse from 9.5 hectares to 3.5 hectares, while increasing the vineyards of Chateau Pavie.

Chateau Pavie completed a renovation of the entire estate shortly after it was purchased by Gerard Perse. The project took two years to complete and was finished in 2000. In 2011, Chateau Pavie once again began a complete renovation of the entire wine-making facilities at Chateau Pavie!

According to Gerard Perse, a lot has changed over the decade and he wanted to keep up with the times. Most owners are happy with their cellars for decades.

Some cellars are still fine, 30, 40, or 50 years later. Gerard Perse is the only owner that was already state of the art who tore it all apart to be the most modern wine-making facility in all of Bordeaux!

The complete renovation was finished in time for the grand opening that was held, in June 2013, just before Vinexpo.

With his background in construction, Gerard Perse was able to complete the renovation in a record time of only 24 months. The chateau is considered by some to be as controversial as the wine of Chateau Pavie, due to its flashy, attention-grabbing, marble-laden reception area for guests. The new chateau was designed by the noted architect Alberto Pinto.

While large by St. Emilion standards, the front of the chateau is in many ways, traditional. The estimated cost of the renovations is close to a minimum of 15 million Euros.

In 2022, the vineyard was increased with the addition of Chateau Pavie Decesse, following the 2012 Saint Emilion Classification.

了解更多關於 Gerard Perse 傑拉德·佩斯

In 1661, through marriage, the estate passed to the Carles family was renamed Chateau Carle Figeac. By the late 18th century, Chateau Figeac had already been owned by descendants of the de Cazes family for almost five centuries! By that time, the vineyards of Figeac had grown to a massive 200 hectares.

Much of the growth came from a major expansion headed by Elie de Carle before the French Revolution. Elie de Carle also owned what we know of as Chateau Clos Fourtet as well. At 200 hectares, Figeac was one of the largest Bordeaux vineyards in the entire appellation. That is not the case today.

了解更多關於 Michel Rolland

The 45-hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau Pavie is planted with 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. This represents a change in the vineyard with less Merlot and more Cabernet Franc. In addition to replanting, trellis wires throughout the vineyard were raised in order to increase the vines’ foliage.

In total, the vineyard has 37 hectares under the vine. The vineyard is one large block. That alone is almost unique in Saint Emilion, but more important to the character of the wine, here you find various different terroirs. Each has its own micro-climate.

You can divide the soils like this. You have 21 separate parcels that start on the top of the plateau which is where you find deep, limestone soils with clay. At the peak elevation, which is 110 meters, there is more deep, rich, clay in the subsoil.

From there, as you move from the peak and travel further down the slopes, you have more limestone with some clay. At the bottom of the hill, you find sand, clay, and gravel soil. Perhaps the best terroir of the vineyard is located at the peak, just behind the chateau. The vines are old, averaging close to 50 years of age.

The vineyard is well placed, directly southeast of the village. You find Chateau Larcis Ducasse to the east and La Gaffeliere to the west. Another factor making their terroir unique is, not only are they the highest elevation in Saint Emilion, but the slopes jump quickly from 20 meters to 110 meters, which naturally helps with better drainage.

At Pavie, the terroir does not promote early ripening. In fact, Chateau Pavie is often one of the last Saint Emilion estates to finish harvesting. Pavie is also the largest of all the Premier Cru Classe A vineyards at 42 hectares.

The Chateau Pavie vineyard is farmed using sustainable, vineyard management techniques. Part of the goal at Chateau Pavie is to produce wine from ripe grapes and low yields. 70% of the vineyard is farmed using organic methods. It is the goal of the estate to become 100% organic.

To produce the wine of Chateau Pavie, it all starts with a severe level of selection. An initial sorting takes in the vineyards and again using optical sorting. For the vinification, the whole berries are moved by conveyor belt to oak tanks for crushing by gravity.

After a pre-fermentation cold maceration that can last for as long as 8 or 9 days at 8 degrees Celsius, there is a 36-day maceration. The wine is vinified in 20, temperature-controlled, wood vats. The vats are often bled to increase concentration. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels.

The wine of Chateau Pavie is aged in 75% new, French oak barrels for 18 to 24 months. The first 6 months, give or take of aging time are spent with the wine aging on its lees. The amount of new oak and time in the barrel will vary, depending on the characteristics of each Bordeaux vintage. Chateau Pavie produces roughly 12,000 cases of wine per year.

There is a second wine, Aromes de Pavie. However starting in 2018, Aromes de Pavie began only using fruit from a specific 11-hectare parcel of vines located on the east side of their plateau. The wines are also produced in their own cellar. Today, it can be viewed on its own, as a distinct brand.

瀏覽 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe A 這文章

Chateau Pavie 柏菲酒莊出品酒款：

Chateau Pavie Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A

柏菲酒莊

Aromes de Pavie
柏菲酒莊副牌

馬上看看我們其他 Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A 酒款～

St-Emilion GCC A

Chateau Ausone 2008 St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A《ZTF1191C》

ADD TO CART

Chateau Ausone 2008 St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A《ZTF1191C》

HK$4,200.00

Perse 家族還擁有同樣位於聖埃美隆的柏菲德凱斯酒莊（Chateau Pavie Decesse ）、美景夢多酒莊（Chateau Bellevue-Mondotte），以及位於Cotes de Castillon的朗樂士酒莊（Clos Lunelles）和栢菲精神（Esprit de Pavie）。