Deep garnet in color, the 2012 Pavie prances out of the glass with showy notes of kirsch, black raspberries, and juicy black plums plus touches of lavender, pencil lead, and rose oil. The medium to full-bodied palate is lively and refreshing, with soft, satiny tannins and bags of bright red and black fruits, finishing with a lingering floral lift. This was the first vintage as a 1er GCC A, with a special black and silver label, and the first vintage with 25% Cabernet Franc. Lisa Perrotti-Brown Dec 2023 - The Wine Independent

This shows incredible depth and density for the vintage with dark berry, dark chocolate, spice and chalk character. Full body, firm and velvety tannins and a long and powerful finish. Needs five or six years to soften. Try in 2020. – jamessuckling.com, March 2015

A beauty, with rich and supple plum and blackberry confiture notes that stream along over a dense but velvety structure. The licorice and toast aspect is more restrained here, and there are long, cool menthol, apple wood and earth accents through the finish.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). JM

The 2012 Pavie celebrates its reclassification and upgrade to Class A St.-Emilion by sporting a new black label with gold print. Fortunately, every Pavie has benefitted since Perse began a complete makeover of this estate in 1998. From 47-year-old vines, the 2012 has an inky purple color, judicious toasty oak in the nose interwoven with copious blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, Christmas spices, as well as licorice and graphite. Full-bodied, rich and moderately tannic, it will require 5-7 years of bottle age but should drink well for 20-30 years. Kudos to Chantal and Gerard Perse for their extraordinary commitment to quality, which is so evident in this more challenging vintage than some of the great years like 2009 and 2010. Very low yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare were obtained from this 92-acre estate. 95 points – Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #218, April 2015)

The 2012 Pavie has been impressive on the two occasions I have tasted it so far. Exotic scents of graphite, smoke, new leather and dark fruit open up first. Deep, intense and rich, especially within the context of the year, the 2012 finds greater finesse and nuance with time in bottle. Pavie is a rare 2012 that is going to require time in bottle, as the tannins are imposing at this early stage. I imagine the 2012 will be divine in another few years. Even today, it is exceptionally well-balanced and harmonious in the modern-day flamboyant Pavie style. The 2012 is 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon that spend 28 months in barrel.

(60% Merlot/25% Cabernet Franc/15% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Ripe but quite elegant nose of black fruit, cassis, tar and violet. Some sweet spice. Good weight and intensity. Really juicy ripe fresh fruit, lovely acidity and big, bold but quite ripe tannins. A very subtle - within the style - and engaging Pavie.

[M/CF/CS] Fine ripe, sweet fruit to smell; well balanced in its very particular style; fresh, pure, delicate, transparent and fine fruit within a very firmly tannic frame; sweet, long, complex and well sustained across the palate, gently racy, long to develop and long to finish, with a fine, fragrantly fruity, mouthcoating aftertaste. But the oak tannins leave my palate unpleasantly dry and parched on the finish. It’s a style you have to like. How many years to harmonise? I have no idea. [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2013]

The Grand Vin is a blend of 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped at 28hl/ha and harvested by hand. It is being matured in 80% new oak, 20% one year old. It has a more refined, focused, expressive bouquet compared directly with the Bellevue-Mondotte. It is a little broody compared to the 2011 but it is nicely composed. The palate is full-bodied with linear, supple tannins. It is a compact Pavie, not as generous and precocious as top vintages for sure, but showing impressive precision on the finish. My only complaint is that the persistency needs to be longer in the mouth. Tasted April 2013. – eRobertParker.com, May 2013

Quality 803 | Brand 965 | Economics 909 | buzz brand
Quality: Below the average quality score of its peer group for the 2012 vintage, 870 Brand: We found this wine on 20 of the world's top restaurant wine lists, including Helene Darroze at the Connaught Economics: Above its peer group average price of £101 for the 2012 vintage Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 46,409 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017