Esprit de Pavie

Chateau Pavie is the largest of the Cotes Premiers Grand Cru’s Classes, it is situated on a long, gentle sloping hillside facing south. It is located South-East of St-Emilion, this slope was one of the first to be planted with vines in the 4th century. Pavie has one of the regions largest and most interesting limestone cave, which is tunneled into the cliff face on the hilltop. It has been suggested that it could have been a commercial quarry, and that perhaps the name Pavie derives from pave, a paving stone, and paviere, the place where the st
ones were quarried.

The Pavie chai wherein the wine is stored until ready for bottling is said to date from the 11th century. At the furthest point one is eight metres under the vineyards of Pavie whose roots can be seen penetrating the roof. The temperature in the cave stays at a constant 12C all year round.
Though the average age of the vines are 45 years old there are some vines that date from 1895 and are the oldest in Saint Emillion. The wines of Pavie though of ancient origin only started gaining full recognition in the 19th century. At the Paris exhibition of 1867 they won a gold medal and from that time on they have won many awards.

Second label: None
Area under vines: 37 ha.
Av. prod.: 15,000 cases
Distr. of vines.: 1 block
Soil: 7ha. low ground, sandy clay
22ha. slopes, light soil on limestone
8ha. plateau, heavy clay
Grape varieties: 55% Merlot
25% Cabernet Franc
20% Cabernet Sauv.
Pruning: Guyot simple (6 buds + 2 buds)
Vines per ha.: 5,400
Av. age of vines: 45 years
Av. yield per ha.: 32hl
Harvesting: Hand picked
Added yeasts: natural
Length of maceration: 20-30 days
Temp. of ferm.: 25-32C
Control of fermentation: Automatic temperature regulated tanks.
Type of vat: Cement
Vin de presse.: added back after the first racking.
Age of casks: 40% new
Time in Barrels : 18 monthsFining: Fresh egg whites
Filtration: none
Type of bottle: Tradiver
Bottled at the chateau: 100%
STORAGE: 7-20Years.
SERVICE TEMPERATURE: 17 C
FOOD/CONSUMPTION: Filet mignon of deer