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98 Robert Parker
96 Wine Spectator
17 Rene Gabriel
Bottled the week of January 16 (a week before I tasted it), the 2009 Pavie Decesse (from a tiny 9-acre vineyard on the limestone slopes above Pavie) is an uncommonly fat, succulent, rich, 1,000-case cuvee with 14.3% alcohol. It boasts an inky/blue/purple hue along with notes of incense, spring flowers, roasted espresso, chocolate, licorice, blackberries and blueberries. Even though it is aged in 100% oak, the wood is virtually non-existent. An inky blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine exhibits a flawless integration of acidity, alcohol and tannin. This opulent, viscous, thick, juicy St.-Emilion will be accessible in 5-7 years and last for three decades.
Producer
Château Pavie Decesse
Unfairly overshadowed by its renowned older sibling Pavie, the similarly owned Château Pavie-Decesse produces powerfully dense and lavish wines under Gérard Perse’s leadership. Acquired just one year before Pavie in 1997, the Grand Cru Classé property essentially shares the same terroir as the famed château with the tract of land planted to Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties. In the center of the Côtes sub-district, the vineyards are high above the rest, found on top of the Saint-Émilion plateau. The limestone beneath is expressed by fresh floral and mineral aspects making the wines at Pavie-Decesse notably unique. Crafted in true Perse style, their rich and opulent reds have always had a tighter, more compact form, full of sweet and dark spiced fruits. Produced in the same spirit of greatness, rivaling even the Great Bordeaux Growths, Pavie-Decesse is an age-worthy Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend with remarkable tannins and hints of vanilla scented oak.