This has beautiful presence and finesse with lovely fruit, mineral and light walnut character. Center palate is gorgeous. Long and refined. Perhaps better than the superb 2015.
98-99 points
Deep colour. Lovely dark sweet plum aromas with praline bitter chocolate notes. Plush velvetine textured wine with dense fruits, savoury oak, fine gravelly tannins and a touch bitter at the finish. Freshness, vinosity, and zippy acidity are completely unexpected underlying factors. A surprise wine.
95 points
The 2016 Pavie-Decesse pulses with energy, tension and pure class. Inky red and purplish berry fruit, pomegranate, chocolate, lavender and spice all run through this super-expressive Saint-Émilion. Dark and unctuous in the glass, but also very much medium in body, the 2016 is super refined and elegant. Silky tannins, pulsing, saline minerality and a sense of vibrancy all add to the wine's considerable appeal. The 2016 is a wine of exceptional finesse, class and sensuality. More importantly, it is absolutely memorable 2026-2046
97 points
The 2016 Pavie-Decesse is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc cropped at just 26 hectoliters per hectare and delivers 14.63% alcohol with a pH of 3.43. It was picked on 12 October and will be matured in 100% new oak. It has a very flamboyant nose for the vintage, eschewing the classicism you might find elsewhere in Saint-Emilion with luscious macerated black cherries, blueberry and vanilla pod aromas, a hint of iodine developing in the glass. The palate is full-bodied with succulent, juicy ripe blue and black fruit, the acidity maintaining the freshness and with an almost viscous finish due to the concentration. It is atypical for the vintage, hedonistic and creamy in texture. Go for this if you seek fruit and concentration in 2016.
92-94 points
The 2016 Pavie-Decesse is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc cropped at just 26 hectoliters per hectare and delivers 14.63% alcohol with a pH of 3.43. It was picked on 12 October and will be matured in 100% new oak. It has a very flamboyant nose for the vintage, eschewing the classicism you might find elsewhere in Saint-Emilion with luscious macerated black cherries, blueberry and vanilla pod aromas, a hint of iodine developing in the glass. The palate is full-bodied with succulent, juicy ripe blue and black fruit, the acidity maintaining the freshness and with an almost viscous finish due to the concentration. It is atypical for the vintage, hedonistic and creamy in texture. Go for this if you seek fruit and concentration in 2016. 94-95 points, jamessuckling.com
"The 2016 Pavie Decesse, matured in 100% new oak for 24 months, has a glorious bouquet of well-defined kirsch, blueberry, crème de cassis, dark chocolate and crushed violet aromas that explode from the glass. There’s no holding back here. The palate is medium-bodied and quite pure, offering sappy black fruit, a fine bead of acidity and a touch of spice toward a satiny finish that lingers in the mouth. Very promising. 2024-2060"
94+ Points, Vinous
"Amazing, pure cherries, plums and flowers, as well as crushed stones. It jumps out of the glass. Full body, powerful tannins and a freshness and roundness to it. Lightly salty on the finish. Great structure with finesse. Try after 2024."
99 Points, JamesSuckling.com
St.-Émilion is the star of Bordeaux’s Right Bank, north of the Dordogne River. The rich red wines produced in St.-Émilion, based on Merlot and Cabernet Franc, are less tannic and generally more fruit-driven in flavour than the Cabernet-based wines of Left Bank. Merlot thrives on the plateaus high above the Dordogne, where the soil is filled with sand and clay, a perfect medium for creating opulent, fruit-forward wines. With a typically savoury character, St.-Émilion wines are sometimes called the “Burgundies of Bordeaux.” These refined reds, with loads of finesse, are elegant companions to beef, chicken, pork and duck.
The wines of St.-Émilion were not included in the famous 1855 classification of Bordeaux, which ranked wines of the Left Bank. In 1955, St.-Émilion published its own classification, based on soil analysis, wine quality and reputation of the properties. Unlike the 1855 classification, St.-Emilion’s system requires properties to continuously prove themselves. The list is revised regularly, most recently in 2012. There are two tiers within the classification, Premier Grand Cru Classé and Grand Cru Classé. There are currently just 18 Premier Grand Cru properties and 64 Grand Cru Classé properties.
The St.-Émilion appellation is home to hundreds of individual producers, enhancing the variety of wines made there. Many of the properties remain small, family-run enterprises, unlike the large châteaux of the Left Bank. The area is also the base of France’s controversial micro-châteaux or garagiste wine movement; these innovative winemakers operate outside the traditional classification system, making very high quality (and very expensive) highly extracted wines.
