Chateau Pavie’s 100-point 2010 vintage was the top price performer with Sassicaia 2015 on Liv-ex in September; both seeing over 5 per cent growth in the month. A fine time to be visiting the St Emilion Grand Cru Classe A estate with our clients.
| Wine | Vintage | August 2019
Mid-price | September 2019
Mid-price | Change + |
| Sassicaia | 2015 | £1,795 | £1888 | 5.2% |
| Pavie | 2010 | £2,950 | £3,100 | 5.1% |
| Leoville Las Cases | 2005 | £2,000 | £2,080 | 4.0% |
| Ornellaia | 2013 | £1,200 | £1,243 | 3.5% |
| La Mission Haut Brion | 2009 | £4,350 | £4,500 | 3.4% |
Source: Liv-ex.com 02.10.2019
Delighted to be back at Chateau Pavie, we joined our host, CEO of Vignobles Perse, Philippe Develay and his team with the intention of witnessing the 2019 harvest in full flow. As it turned out, it was a rainy day in St Emilion and all the vineyards were on hold for their Merlot and Cabernet pickers. Not to worry – our ‘bucolic picque-nique’ amidst the vines was transferred to the extremely exclusive Pavie Residences – a suite of beautiful rooms whose renovation has been personally managed by Madame Perse. There, we enjoyed a magnificent lunch with views out over the Pavie vineyard and the Chateau towards the plain of St Emilion.
And what a lunch! Created and served by the Michelin-starred Hostellerie de Plaisance team, the accompanying wines were the Perse-owned, sublimely sophisticated white Chateau Monbousquet 2012 and the magnificent Chateau Pavie 2007, 2012 and 2012 vintages. It goes without saying that this was an extraordinary experience for us all and probably the best harvest lunch ever!
Philippe provided a superb explanation of the history of Chateau Pavie and as we savoured the 2012 Monbousquet, he provided an almost impossible to get experience. He produced two bottles of the embryonic Monbousquet 2019, from the newly filled vats. It was fascinating to be given this incredibly rare insight to the wine production of one of these truly special vineyards.
Chateau Monbousquet was the first vineyard acquired by Gerard Perse in 1993, prior to his purchase of Chateau Pavie in 1998. As you may know, the St Emilion AOC rules forbid the production of white wine, so any such are not classed as St Emilion wines.
The Pavie 2007 was excellent, now twelve years old and drinking beautifully, the 2002 demonstrated the character of a mature Pavie superbly, but the 2012 was magnificent. A great wine still building its story in the bottle and one that will still benefit from at least several more years ageing. It was a privilege to enjoy these great wines with perfectly paired cuisine, with excellent company, sat in the grounds of the vineyard itself.
Following lunch, we explored the Pavie terroir by tuk-tuk, in which we ambled through the terraces and vines to witness the unique geology and elevations of the Pavie estate to the highest point in St Emilion, from which we overlooked the magnificent old town. We were guided through the winery and barrel cellars by Elodie who provided a highly engaging and informative explanation of the wine-making art at Chateau Pavie and probably the highlight of the day, was to meet Mr and Madame Perse themselves.
The 2017 and ’18 vintages were lined up in barrels across the cellar and the vats will now be brimming with the Pavie 2019 Merlot and Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc grapes – we will be providing a commentary on this soon.
There is no doubt about the value of visiting these great producers of the wine our clients own and our guests in St Emilion have all expressed their appreciation of this special day with Chateau Pavie and we thank the team there and at Hostellerie de Plaisance for their wonderful hospitality.
If you are interested in learning more about opportunities to visit the great Chateaux of Bordeaux and other wine producing regions, please contact Katie or Mary-Anne on 0207 384 2261. Or find out more about how Vin-X can help you invest in wine.