Chateau Pavie Decesse St. Emilion Bordeaux Wine

Chateau Pavie Decesse

Chateau Pavie Decesse St. Emilion, Bordeaux wine producer profile, with wine tasting notes, wine ratings, a history of the property, information on wine making and terroir, along with wine tasting reviews. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Pavie Decesse, is situated on top of the St. Emilion, limestone plateau. The topography places it above Chateau Pavie. However both Bordeaux wine estates share similar terroir, histories and even owners! Interestingly, Chateau Pavie Decesse can be traced all the way back to ancient Roman times. Historians are aware that vines were planted at the estate in the fourth century. The Romans knew what they were doing because Chateau Pavie Decesse produces one of the top Right Bank wines.

Until 1855, Pavie and Pavie Decesse were part of the same vineyard. That all changed when Ferdinand Bouffard, the owner at the time seperated the vineyards. At that moment, Pavie Decesse was born.

The Bouffard family ended up selling vineyard to the Marzelle family. While the Marzelle family were managing the St. Emilion estate, In 1970, Marzelle died and the Valette family, who already owned Chateau Pavie, took over the vineyards. The Valette family finally were able to purchased Chateau Pavie Decesse in 1990.

Gerard Perse Pavie

In 1997, Chateau Pavie Decesse was sold to Gerard Perse. Perse was just getting his feet wet in St. Emilion. He was already the owner of Chateau Monbousquet. After the sale concluded, Perse ordered extensive work in the vineyards and in all the wine making facilities. To pay tribute to the original owner, Perse took the time to restore the Bordeaux wine barrel cellar to the design that was originally created by Ferdinand Bouffard.

Chateau Pavie and Chateau Pavie Decesse share similar terroir. It could even be argued that they are part of the same vineyard because they constitute a contiguous group of vines. Yet despite their obvious, incestuous relationship, they are truly different properties. Each Bordeaux wine has their own unique terroir and the styles of the St. Emilion wine from both estates are quite different.

In 2002, Chateau Pavie Decesse became a little bit smaller. 6 hectares of Pavie Decesse became a part of Pavie. This convoluted action took place because of the similarity of terroirs, and a request from Gerard Perse. Along with allowing a portion of Pavie Decesse to become part of Pavie, the I.N.A.O also authorized the integration of the La Clusiere vineyards to Château Pavie.

The vineyards of Chateau Pavie Decesse are situated on the St. Emilion limestone plateau. The soils have deposits of clay and limestone. The St. Emilion vineyard is planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, with a vine density of 5,500 vines per hectare. The estate has old vines. Many are at an average age of over 40 years. Yields are always kept low. Following a period of cold maceration, Chateau Pavie Decesse is vinified in three, temperature controlled, oak vats. The wine is aged in 80% new French oak for between 18 and 24 months, depending on the character and quality of the vintage. Not much wine is made at Chateau Pavie Decesse. In an average vintage, the production is close to 650 cases of Chateau Pavie Decesse.

The style of wine produced at Pavie Decesse combines opulent, rich, sensuous textures with minerality, freshness and concentration. This special Bordeaux wine is a hedonistic treat. Due to its lush style, it drinks well young, yet it develops additional complexity when aged. 2000 was the first sublime vintage for this wine during the Perse era. Previous Perse era vintages like 1998 are light in comparison. The wines made before Perse took over the property are undistinguished.

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