That said, the 98, 99 and 00 Monbousquet are modern St Emilion done right. I hear more recent vintages, which I haven’t tried, are more over the top though.
So, I translate modern Bordeaux as being smooth with bigger fruit. I like it. I have it with steaks and burgers. This wine in particular was still primary, which fit well for the evening and was tasting. I’m all over the board in wine style and pair more for mood than over style in buying. (I’m married…)
+1 to Troplong Mondot, Larcis Ducasse, La Confession and Monbousquet. My other favorite St Emilion – I think it’s classical, but others might disagree – is called Clos St Julien, not expensive, but its name makes it almost impossible to find.
Suggestions for old school St Em, that tastes like Figeac
I do not think many of the modern names bandied about have the herbal notes it has
Figeac wannabe’s might include
older Soutards, probably pre 2012 I think.
La Tour Figeac
Tour du Pin Figeac (name has changed around here and there may be multiple estates)
Vieux Fortin (not sure if this is still a named estate)
Corbin Michotte
Not all of these will be imported at all times, but look for Figeac or Corbin in the name. Those are all basically right around that area.
If its the heavy cab franc notes that one likes, consider Clos St Julien or Carmes Haut Brion. CsJ is hard to find though.
====
I’d think that if someone like Pavie and Pavie Macquin, Barde Haute will be ok with them - even if internationally styled. I’ve liked the estate for a long time, at least 15+ years. Keeps well.
Had the 2005 Chateu Pavie and a Turley Petite Syrah last night, not sure which I hated more. Then we popped a 2006 Solaia, which I have to admit to liking very very much. Really pretty herbal, mental and perfume notes with a nice range or red to dark fruits and good acid.
Good call on the Carmes Haut Brion, Arv. An old favorite of mine. Will be interesting to see how the more recent vintages of Carmes, Figeac and Conseillante develop as they have brought in modern wine consultants.
Vieux Chateau Certain, granted a Pomerol, remains quite old school, best I can tell.
Mental notes. I like it
LOL. Menthol. My brain may have been fried after the octane from the first two bottles.
I had the 2005 Pavie last weekend and loved it.
U will like Napa, please go there
I kid
Clos de l’oratoire will be your huckleberry, try 2010 or Pavie Decesse could be another option…I think PM is a bit more new world in style.
The two worst Bordeaux I’ve had in the past decade were the 2009 and 2005 Pavies. The latter, tasted blind, was reminiscent of rotting grass clippings macerated with cough syrup and a few handfuls of powdered tannin.
Oh, you’d love the 2000 Pavie Decesse. In its style it is simply gorgeous. Less, well, everything than the Pavie but still a generous opulent style of bordeaux. And a lot cheaper than the Pavie. The 99 and 2001 are also on point
The 2001 Pavie is a wine that I think even Alfert would like, though he might not admit it out loud. That is a beautiful bottle of wine
The 2001 is the best Pavie of the Perse era, IMHO. I agree, Neal. I had the 1998 recently, really quite nice and so different than the Perse Pavie, more on the red spectrum.
The 98 and 99 are both good, in my book, but the 2001 is the best of the lot.
I’m taking the 2000 Pavie Decesse with me on vacation. It has been a couple of years since I have had one.
…if you like the 1999 Ch. Pavie Macquin then definitely try the next vintage!
I was blown away by the beauty, intensity of the 2000 Ch. Pavie Macquin [St Emilion] over a couple of nights. This was one of the rare times I pulled out the delicate hand blown Riedels and put them to work, hoping that my clumsiness would not diminish their number. A quick double decant and then the bouquet explodes into incense, fennel, mint. This 13.5% abv medium bodied blend shows a dense, long palate of black cherries with fine balance - resolved tannin, no unbalanced acidity, nor jammy/extracted fruit. It’s mostly merlot, but there’s a big dollop of cab franc here I suspect - based on technical sheets from more recent vintages - yet it does not show the expected more green/herbal aspect of that varietal’s contribution. I purchased this ‘indent’ (to plagiarize @Ian_A 's charming expression) and have held it since, expecting to open it with enthusiasts, but “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans”, and it’s in my (dwindling!) delicate stems now. I don’t have a good sense on its lifeline (I did like it better on the first night than the second) but I expect it should keep.
This 2000 is a superb wine, with a differentiated character, that is appraised as an A to A+ on my scorecard. It is one of the best wines I have enjoyed this year, acknowledging both my limited range and ability to ‘crosscheck’ quality nowadays. But this AOC is in my wheelhouse, and (fortunate!) holders of this, should consider pulling a couple for consumption at the quarter century mark. I hope this update doesn’t trigger a whole wave of Pavie name related umbrage; there are multiple estates with that in their name, and this is a different chateau from the plump/wide bottled one.
2 Likes
To the OP, I think Ch Fonplegade is similar in some ways to Pavie Macquin, maybe a mini version PM. It has killer location and terroir. Both are modern, can be quite dark and rich in hotter vintages, but are beautifully made with plenty of structure to back up the fruit and concentration. Fonplegade is not quite at the level of PM and the latter seems to be better built for aging while the former drinks beautifully young.
1 Like
Last month I opened a bottle of the 2000 Pavie-Maquin at a boys night out and had it with steak. By that point we had imbibed copious amounts of champagne so I took no notes, but I recall it being more serious than many early reviews pegged it. It certainly was not a plush lush drink.
3 Likes
With very limited experience on the property, I did spring for a trio of the 2000 Pavie Macquin at release and they are still sleeping in the remote storage. Appreciate the recent positive posts by Arv and Pau1.
1 Like
1996+97 Pavie-Macquin are excellent / 97 even better / and both not too pricey