Chateau Pavie 2001

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is really beautiful and decadent with mushroom, chocolate, plum and sliced-meat character. Even some foie gras. Full-bodied, tight and linear. Racy finish. Delicious now and beyond."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "A great showing for this wine in the mini-vertical, the 2001 Pavie has a slight lightening at the edge of its dark garnet/plum/purple color and a big, sweet kiss of cedar wood, incense, licorice, blackberry and lead pencil shavings. The wine is dense, very rich, multilayered and finishes with at least a 40- to 45-second aftertaste. This wine seems to be close to full maturity, but should hold there for easily another 15-20 years. It’s a sleeper of the vintage."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "This continues developing and evolving in a positive direction. Popped and poured, this beauty is at maturity offering sensuous textures, ripe, lush, soft, silky fruit, concentration and complexity with a lengthy finish that holds your interest sip after sip. This might get better, but it's drinking so well today, if you own a bottle, you should definitely pop a cork."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This is hitting its stride now, with a very focused core of raspberry, plum and red currant fruit that is showing some secondary notes while melding perfectly with the singed alder and cedar flavors and tobacco and black tea accents. Mineral and sanguine hints chime in on the finish, which lingers with a sense of elegance. Really nice now, but there´s no rush.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Drink now through 2030. 7,500 cases made."

WEINWISSER: "Dunkles Purpur, satt in der Mitte, aussen zart aufhellend. Eine Nase wie bei einem grossen DRC-Burgunder, dicht, nussig, Malznoten und Feigenkerne, vermischt mit überreifen Erdbeeren und Pflaumen. Im Gaumen dick, reich, fast mollig, innen aber mit satten, stützenden und reifen Tanninen, nicht nur in der Nase, sondern auch am Ende wie ein Côte de Nuits schmeckend, am ehesten mit einem Grands Echézeaux aus einem ganz grossen Jahr zu vergleichen. Ein sicher einmal viel Erotik versprühender Pavie, wird auch nicht so lange brauchen, um zu zeigen, was in ihm steckt."

FALSTAFF: "Mittleres Rubingranat, zart unterockert, breiterer Wasserrand. Gereifte Nuancen im Bukett, zart animalische Anklänge, etwas Brombeeren und Cassis, floraler Touch. Saftig, gute Komplexität, dunkelbeerige Frucht, straffe, tragende Tannine, sehr gute Länge, extraktsüß im Abgang, mit gutem Potenzial ausgestattet, ein Wein, nach dem man Ausschau halten sollte."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Richly enveloping nose. Borderline overripeness. Hot chocolate! Thick and sweet and sort of carved out of stone. Quite porty but with some freshness of fruit. Exaggerated but pleasurable. Drying tannins on the finish. Pretty luscious."