Pavie - St Emilion (Case of 6 Magnums) 2005 (1.5L 6 pack)
James Suckling: 100 Points
This is monumental. Just a baby with a fresh and intense mouthfeel and density. Full-bodied, velvety and layered. Decadent and rich. A folly of a wine. Drink or hold.
Wine Advocate: 100 Points
Gérard Perse believes this is the greatest Pavie he?s made to date although certainly I would argue that list includes the 2000 as well as the 2009 and 2010 among his superstars. This wine which I had both in the 2005 horizontal report in the Wine Advocate and at a mini-vertical with Perse at the restaurant Maison Boulud in Montreal looks to be a 75- to 100-year wine. Dense opaque purple to the rim with a gorgeously promising nose of blackberries cassis graphite and cedar wood just beginning to emerge it tastes more like a three-year-old than wine that is already a decade old. This beauty is intense and full-bodied with magnificent concentration a majestic mouthfeel and a total seamless integration of tannin wood alcohol etc. Beautifully rich full and multidimensional this is a tour de force in winemaking and certainly one of the top dozen or so 2005 Bordeaux. Forget it for another 3-5 years and drink it over the following 50-100 years!
Jeb Dunnuck: 100 Points
A wine I’ve been lucky enough to have many times, the 2005 Château Pavie is unquestionably one of the finest vintages from this Chateau, checking with the likes of the 2000, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018, and 2020. I’d say just outside of its adolescent years, it’s still ruby/purple hued with incredible aromatics of ripe dark fruits, truffly earth, graphite, and leather. Possessing blockbuster richness, full body, velvety, seamless tannins, and no hard edges, this is quintessential Pavie all the way. Drink this magical elixir over the coming 15-20 years.
Vinous: 97 Points
Six years have passed since I last tasted the 2005 Pavie. In that time the wine has moved into its first plateau of maturity. Heady and explosive the 2005 possesses tremendous richness right out of the gate. An infusion of inky dark fruit chocolate leather spice menthol and espresso greets the palate as the 2005 shows off its considerable charms. The style of the era is evident in the wine's rich extracted feel and strong oak inflections. My preference is to drink the 2005 now as early signs of aromatic maturity are starting to set in. Tasted two times.
Wine Spectator: 96 Points
Shows a frankly roasted edge with steeped fig and boysenberry fruit inlaid liberally with roasted apple wood and juniper notes. The structure is a touch austere which leaves it standing a bit apart from the core of fruit. Very weighty in feel this is layered and dense but also more on the muscular extracted side of the ledger. Perhaps this is in a tough phase today. Will certainly hang around for a while so there's time to wait it out. But not quite in the class of the '10 or '03 for me.?Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 7100 cases made.
The Wine Independent: 100 Points
The 2005 Pavie is deep garnet with a touch of brick. It skips out of the glass with bright, lively notes of Morello cherries, plum preserves, red roses, and candied violets followed by hints of menthol, dark chocolate, and underbrush. The full-bodied palate is so vibrant and energetic that it sparkles. Youthful red and black fruit notes comingle with mineral and floral sparks, framed by fine-grained tannins and wonderful tension, finishing with epic length and depth. This is a triumph.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Review date: 2023-12-13
