One of the wines of the vintage is the 2018 Château Pavie, and Gérard Perse continues to produce one of the greatest wines in the world, in just about every vintage. Based on 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 shows the slightly more restrained style of the estate today yet still brings classic Pavie richness, depth, and grandeur. Revealing a deep purple color as well as a sensational bouquet of crème de cassis, damp earth, tobacco, chalk, and lead pencil shavings, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, incredible purity, a dense, concentrated mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like sense of minerality on the blockbuster finish. There's a backward, inward style here that actually reminds me of the 2000. This is another magical, probably immortal wine from this terroir that marries power with elegance perfectly. Don't miss it!

Black ink in color, this could be the most intense wine of the vintage. The intensity is in the color, the palate and in the nose with its licorice, smoke, espresso, crushed rocks, stones, black, red and blue fruit profile. With the weight of dry Port, the wine manages to remain in balance. The fruits are perfectly ripe, expressing purity, length and an incredible depth of flavor and minerality that never wants to quit. There is so much going on here, the wine demands over a decade in the cellar before it begins to unfurl. The wine blends 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=2018+Pavie

The 2018 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has a 3.58 pH and 14.48% alcohol. Very deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with a fabulously expressive nose of crème de cassis, baked plums and blueberry preserves, leading to an impressive array of nuances, featuring notions of dark chocolate, camphor, licorice, rose petals and fertile loam, plus hints of crushed rocks and iron ore. The rich, full-bodied palate offers layer upon layer of opulent black and blue fruits with loads of exotic spice sparks and pretty floral and mineral accents, supported by firm, super plush tannins and remarkable tension, finishing with epic length and depth. This could only be Pavie. It makes for a seductively stylish glass now, but patience will be rewarded if it is afforded 5-7 years in bottle, at least, then drink it over the next 30+ years. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2018 Pavie is deep garnet in color with a touch of purple. Notes of plum preserves, baked blackberries, and molten licorice storm from the glass, leading to a savory undercurrent of black pepper, tapenade, and wild sage. Big, rich, and densely laden, the full-bodied palate is chock full of black and blue fruit preserves, supported by firm, velvety tannins and gripping tension, finishing long and electric. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This is packed with raspberry, plum and boysenberry compote flavors that sail through thanks to the unencumbered feel provided by the polished structure. Fine chalky threads curl throughout as this opens in the glass, with flamboyant flashes of apple wood, anise and violet emerging through the finish. Youthfully dense, but everything is in proportion. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2025 through 2040. – JM

Not so long ago, Pavie would have rejoiced in the massive tannic and alcohol potential of this vintage, but they really have done a great job practicing restraint. It doesn't sacrifice Pavie's power but of all the wines in this particular lineup it's the one that carries the weight of the vintage the best, building power by stealth rather than grabbing it from you. This is great quality, with inky depths to the black fruits, accompanied by liquorice and chocolate, and the beautiful salty lick on the finish really completes the picture - your tongue just licks the wall and it's highly enjoyable! Harvest began on 26 September, later than some in the appellation, with a 38hl/ha yield. Although extraction was kept gentle, with the grapes given a week-long cold soak before fermentation at no more than 28°C, then a five-week maceration (longer than some, but these guys used to do eight weeks or more!), they have achieved a high tannin count of 97IPT and 3.58pH. Read more at https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/france/bordeaux/chateau-pavie-st-emilion-1er-grand-cru-classe-a-2018-29423#m5ijlmWQsDmHBcS4.99

A seductive mix of powerful, opulent blackberry and raspberry fruits cut through with vibrant juice, flint, crushed rocks, chocolate and liquorice. The texture is lucious on the opening, but as you sit with it, the minerality becomes clear and you can almost scrape the sides of its pumice stone tannins. Tasted separately to the rest of the vertical, from a bottle I had at home. 75% new oak for ageing, 38hl/h yield, Gerard Perse owner, Jean-Baptiste Pion winemaker, Michel Rolland consultant.

Tons of ripe plum and blackberry fruit on the nose and, with aeration, licorice and old balsamic-vinegar notes also develop. Rich and beautifully balanced, with surprising elegance for the very warm vintage. Bold and quite tannic finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. Château Quintus vertical tasting. SP.