86 Wine & Spirits

"Sweet strawberries-and-cream flavors fill this wine’s gracious, rich texture. A warm, black pepper spice shortens the finish, setting it up for roast beef tea sandwiches."

96-98+ Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Released in a special bottle to celebrate the 25th harvest of Gerard Perse, the 2022 Château Pavie checks in as 52% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is in line with recent vintages, although one important factor is that both Pavie Decesse and Bellevue Mondot will no longer be produced and will are now incorporated into the Château Pavie. Given the quality of those two releases, I don't see that affecting the quality of the Grand Vin. The 2022 sports a deep, saturated purple hue as well as a gorgeous bouquet of ripe cassis, blackcurrants, espresso roast, violets, and chalky minerality. Hitting the palate with full-bodied richness, it has a layered, opulent mouthfeel, velvety tannins, integrated oak, and a great finish. This is another heavenly Pavie that's going to shine with just 5-7 years of bottle age and evolve for 30-40 years or more.

94-96 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2022 Pavie is a unique wine that celebrates a number of milestones for the château. It marks the 20th anniversary of Pavie under the helm of Gerard and Chantal Perse, who have taken this once sleepy property to brilliant highs. Two thousand twenty-two is also the first vintage for Pavie since the incorporation of the Pavie Decesse and Bellevue Mondotte properties. From my perspective, it is always sad to see the loss of historical estates, even if they are relatively small because it is a loss of culture. In terms of the wine, it is superb. Black fruit, mocha, chocolate, licorice and spice add to an impression of virile intensity. Many recent vintages of Pavie have hinted towards a more vibrant style, but the 2022 is very strongly marked by the heat and drought of the year, the yields that are lower than typical and the harvest that started late in relative terms. In my view, the 2022 is a bit pushed, at least today. Huge tannins and a strong torrefaction oak imprint need time to soften, and that may or may not happen with élevage.

95-96 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Intense aromas of cherries and spices. Full and layered without being heavy. It starts large and rich, but the tension and tannins tighten down. It's structured and powerful. Velvety, edgy tannins. Very salty at the end. Like an unpolished diamond. It now includes Pavie Decesse and Bellevue. Slightly overdone but wait and see. 52% merlot, 30% cabernet franc and 18% cabernet sauvignon.

96 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Ripe and expressive on the nose, clearly concentrated with opulent aromas but also so much florality - roses, irises and violets with bitter orange peel, chocolate and flint. Smooth and supple, filling and round, this has depth but also real tension giving a push-pull between density and direction. Tannins are fine and have bite as well as flesh - the generous Merlot with more structured Cabernet fighting each other for dominance right now. Layered and mutifaceted with juice and balancing acidity. Feels well made, and deep with both freshness and power. Refined if not totally elegant as it’s got heft, strength and muscles. Characterful and stylish. 3.67pH. Acidity 3.71. A yield of 31hl/ha. The 25th vintage of Gerard Perse at Pavie, and the 10th anniversary of being a Premier Grand Cru Classé A estate. 2022 is the first year to incorporate Pavie-Decesse and Bellevue-Mondotte into the blend. Harvest 19 September - 1 October - the same dates as 2020. Ageing 75% new oak, 25% one year old barrels

95 Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Wonderfully intense and concentrated, this is an impressive Pavie, muscular, intense and well constructed. It has an exuberance to the aromatics that is striking, with incense, baked damson, milk chocolate and creamy black cherry fruits, almost overwhelming until the limestone fingerprints hit in the mid palate to add tentson and salinity, even a hint of savoury freshness. Powerful, will take the full ten years to come around. 75% new oak. Buno Lacoste consultant. First year with the inclusion of Pavie Decesse and Bellevue-Mondotte, bringing it to 42ha, which is the biggest fully classified footprint, with 30ha on the plateau. Harvest 19 to October 1. 10th anniversary of classification and 25th harvest of Gerard Perse.

97 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

There is an opulence and intensity here yet it remains fresh and vivid with orange peel and ripe strawberry aromas and flavors. Medium to full body with firm and racy tannins that give it tension and focus. Clear and naked in so many ways giving it a clarity that is appreciated. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Better in two or three years. Screw cap.

95 Rebecca Gibb MW - Vinous Media

The 2022 Pinot Noir Block 5 doesn't start out as impressive as usual. Compared to the 2021 vintage, it seems less intense and voluminous. Yet it proves to be an athletic, honed Pinot Noir with pure fruit and a real sense of purpose. A taut line of acidity pulses through its core, pushing it towards a firm, long finish. The vintage makes this more restrained. The 2022 has all the essence of the vines without the big shoulders this vineyard can provide. Perhaps not as impressive, but for those who like quieter styles, 2022 provides.

95 Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2022 Block 5 Pinot Noir leads with pronounced oak on the nose, but it’s a gently dusty, raw cocoa, sandalwood sort of character and does not overwhelm the fruit. In the mouth, the fruit is spicy and full, and it behaves in a most attractive fashion. The wine enters gently and plumes through the mid-palate and finish for an expansive, voluminous experience. A wonderful wine, clearly with the most pronounced presence in the lineup of 2022 Pinots in front of me today. Excellent. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

91 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Hints of stewed herbs to the nicely baked cherries, strawberries and some hibiscus and dark spices. Fruity, medium-bodied on the palate with fine-grained tannins and a fresh, medium-long finish. Drink now.

96 Wine Enthusiast

This is a glorious icewine where acidity and sugar are in perfect harmony. The candied orange peel, ginger, straw and toasted walnut and straw are a mere preview of what's to come. These intense flavors of apricot jam, pumpkin pie and lemon drops are matched by electric acidity. Enjoy now until 2035. #65 ON THE Top 100 Cellar Selections 2023

92 Wine Advocate - Wine Advocate

The 2021 Riesling Ice Wine is unoaked and comes in with 219 grams of residual sugar, 10.2 of total acidity and 9.5% alcohol. This is from a year that the winery calls "one of the most challenging harvests on record," due to rainfall around harvest time by table wine standards. The Riesling harvest was a couple of months later, in early January 2022. A strict selection caused lower quantities to be produced, although the winery says with "high quality." Indeed, this seems fresh and lively, with a surprisingly perky feel and a juicy finish. It's on the elegant side this year, not necessarily a bad thing, but it still tastes great. It has the freshness to allow it to age well, so there is no rush. I loved the tangy finish. If you must drink it young, you'll get waves of peaches and apricots (leaning more to peach this year), and it will taste great. Best After 2022

93 Josh Raynolds - Vinous Media

Dark magenta. Ripe cherry, cassis, cracked pepper and incense aromas are complemented by suggestions of menthol, pipe tobacco and woodsmoke. The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 407 shows firm tension and power in the mouth, offering sappy red and dark berry, vanilla, rose pastille and spicecake qualities and a sweetening cola nuance that emerges with aeration. Juicy and energetic on the long, gently chewy finish, which features well-knit tannins and lingering spice and bitter cherry notes. Raised in a combination of French and American oak hogsheads, 35% of them new.

94 Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2021 Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc is aromatically a little sweaty, with white flowers and enoki mushroom, pear and even sweet pea. This is composed and impressive and yet still so young. Having had the benefit of tasting the lineup, I'd say that while I can both appreciate and even encourage drinking these wines in their youth, the complexity and layering that evolves over time is magnificent, and you are missing this element in youth. The trade off of fresh fruit in the short term is not enough to warrant the sacrifice of age-derived complexity. Drink 2024-2036

97 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

"This is incredibly fresh and vivid with orange peel, orange blossoms, cherries and hints of rose stem. Medium-bodied with a sleek and racy palate of creamy, fine tannins and a energetic length and purity. Crunchy. 100% whole cluster. From vineyards planted in 1955. Drink or hold."