German pink to the edge with no sign of aging. Pnp. Quite ready from the start, needs just a little bit time in the glas or opened bottle to reveal a more powerful nose and palate. A mix of black, red and blue fruits with forest floor, pencil shavings, cedar. On the palate first light, but gaining power within 30 minutes with round but present tannins. Intense, complex and a joy to drink. I don't know, what is here to criticize. Today it is a civilized nuanced elegant, yet powerful bordeaux with at least a decade ahead if perfectly stored since release. 5/13/19/10.
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Purchased awhile ago and saved for my daughter’s 21st. She has a bum birth year but I did some research and this was one of the better performing 03’s, supposedly. In reality, I was disappointed although enjoyed the lovely experience of drinking it with her. The nose was sweet fruit and similar on the palate, but the alcohol was just too much for me and ruined all the other good things about this wine. Fortunately, she enjoyed it and appreciated the effort. Much preferred the ‘03 La mission and the ‘03 Abreu Thorvelios. So there are some decent ‘03s to be found. But for the price, I would not purchase another ‘03 Pavie!!
Nose is a bit dead - decent dark fruits and nice full finish with tannin that lingers. A bit jammy. Just missing something. Either an off bottle or just fading.
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Brief decant and off to smith and wollensky for early Sunday dinner. No formal notes Wine was delicious, balanced in a very good spot Great pairing with Cajun ribeye
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nose - mint mouth - massive fruit, very full, with good vibrancy. this wine was more of a beast in its youth. today its a full fruited right bank Bordeaux with more fruit then complexity. Loads of life left. Hold.
Another generous bottle of 2003 Pavie, showing ripe black and red plums, black raspberry, and lots of warm coziness in the form of mature barrel spice ushers the long, plummy finish. A tad bit alcoholic on the nose when compared to the other 03 on the table, giving a cool sensation of menthol. This is another bottle confirming that this is at the very top of its game for my taste. Dont wait too long. Drink
had this SBS with a 2005 The. 2003 from a warmer vintage was more approachable this evening as it showed a nice broad flavor spectrum and was easy going and tasty. No heat, no stewed fruit just a classic well made St Emilion at a great place.
Impressive for an 03, and even more impressive for an 03 from the heavy hand of Pavie. This wine was clearly made in the confused year of Bordeaux, the 03 vintage. I thought that this bottle showed the disciplined style of the winemaker better than many other wines from 03, even from the left bank. It also showed the accelerated aging that many 03's have shown. Its deep, plummy, cedar laden, and starting to develop some notes of barrel spice/asian spice in the background, telling me that this is really at peak maturity for my taste. A long, caressing finish that loses the balance that the palate brought, with a touch of that spice faintly lingering, showing slight fatigue. I think that this is just at the top of its game, but the nose is starting to point down. Drink over next decade for sure.
A very youthful dark purple in color with lightening around the rim. Soaring aromas of cassis and dark plum jam, violets, hint of truffle, and mocha. A rich, plump & layered palate follows through with cassis/blackberry preserves, mocha, minerals, medium (-) acidity, hint of tannins peaking through and a long, palate saturating finish. A massive, modern and opulent 2003 right bank but aging glacially.
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This was easily the outlier wine in the 2003 Bordeaux tasting although up against mostly left bank wines. I was trying to give it the benefit of the doubt but it was slightly roasted with jammy fruit and in the end somewhat sickening and tiring on the palate. Not surprising given the style of winemaking here at the time which was to pick very late at high ripeness and alcohol levels so they had virtually no shot in this super-hot vintage. 80-
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Drinking in its sweet spot, with its blend of crushed rocks, salt, dark red fruits, flowers, wet earth, and bushels of red and black blue fruits, the wine is rich, full-bodied, lush, but not hot, jammy, or out of balance. Popped and poured, this is simply delicious from start to finish. Drink from 2023-2035.
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Drank blind. Again I guessed Tuscan Cabernet. Very dense and heavy with thick grainy tannins. Milk chocolate, blue/blackberry, anise, vanilla, tobacco…. Very Napa like extraction. Probably in the prime drinking window now.
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BYO at R'Evolution in New Orleans. Great wine with a great meal. Even at 20 years old, this still seemed young (dark color, no bricking, good tannins out of the gate). Seems like it has a long life ahead.
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Dinner with RC & friends at China Tang (China Tang, Hong Kong): I remember the fuss over the release of this wine back in the day, when a famous American wine critic declared it perfect, and a British critic disagreed. I never had the chance to drink it until now. Well, so who was right?
First off, this was served blind, and my guess was off by miles. Medium light ruby in color, a little cloudy, with even some bricking on the rim. Distinct floral notes on the bouquet, with minerals, leather, ash. Medium bodied on the plate, the fruit and tannins are beautifully resolved into mellowed, rounded layers that unfurl into a gentle velvety finish. So mature and evolved it was, I thought it might be late 80's, Margaux region maybe? It was thus a mild and pleasant shock to see what it was.
Perhaps ours was not your average bottle, but I'm sure this is not how good old RP saw this wine unfolding 20 years later!
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No decanting, poured with some Holy Grail Upper Prime Picanha steaks. The excellent beefiness on these steaks compliment the aged Pavie through first two glasses wife and I shared. Unfortunately, the wine did get tired quick, which was disappointing to us. Lovely mature BDX wine though I fear the first few years this wine was stored at an indiscriminate off site storage where temperatures were in the 70's. This probably did this wine no favors. Cork was excellent. Just wine felt "tired".
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13.5%abv. Tasted blind. Intense with evolving complexities. Unmistakenly a high quality Right Bank, rich yet precise and elegant no sign of overripe fruits. Well absorbed oak. Arrays of black and red fruits, some graphite, wet earth, sweet spices and toast. With more air and swirling some leather and coffee notes.
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2 separate bottles made it to the table (impressive coincidence), and it was very interesting to assess the bottle variation. The wine bought on release was fresher that that most recently acquired at auction. Both mainly showed gobs of fruit with the telltale Pavie coffee signature. My palate has change over the past fifteen years, and while I was less bowled over than I might have been, I still find this to be a sexy Bordeaux.
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Fresh herbs and dark berry notes on the nose. A massive powerful wine presenting tobacco and tar with rich dark fruits, green pepper and a stiff set of tannins that linger. Delicious and great with food after an hour or so of air but still quite tight and not fully integrated. Give it a few years.
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Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Dark red/purple to rim. Cassis, plum, prunes/raisiny notes. Full bodied, jammy, over-ripe. The 3 years since I opened the prior bottle have not been kind to this wine. Enjoyable as a Napa-esque cocktail wine, it’s now teetering on the brink of flabbiness, but for the substantial tannins holding it up. Not sorry I don’t have any more.
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This was a terrific bottle of wine. First and foremost, it is in a really good place right now (March 2022). Plenty of primary (deep, rich black and blue concentrated, ripe fruit), secondary (delightful bitter herbaceous notes like organo and marjoram), and some tertiary notes (emerging after 3 hours of decant with musky forest floor and leather). The nose was just WOW / Intense and rich. what stood out even more than the gorgeous bouquet was the mouthfeel - unctuous full, thick body. To me, this was a delightful wine and the Wine of the night (with other heavy hitters like 2001 Yalumba Octavius and 2009 Duhart Milon to compete with). I didn’t start of in a Parker or Robinson Court before enjoying this wine, but am squarely in the RP/WS (JS reviewed) perspective of this being a terrific wine, worthy of the flagship effort by a cherished st. Emilion winery. I can’t believe JR would give this a 12/20. That’s just nonsensical. Now, at $400 it’s not a value wine by any stretch but a very strong, elite offering. The tanin levels indicate another 10 years ahead of it, easily.
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Nose of dark currant, light coffee bean, and bacon fat. Powerful, rich, dense palate of dark cherry, cassis, stones, hazelnut, chocolate, cafe au lait, and wet leaves. Finish brings a big swath of earth and iron, followed by dark black plum and black fruits, then crashes into fat tannins, oak, dried herbs and lingering thyme and white pepper. This wine has quite the reputation and we purchased it to see what all the fuss was about. One can see aspects of both the positive and critical viewpoints. In the end, we found it a fine wine, albeit maybe not a great QPR. Drink or hold another 10 years, but I don't see it evolving much more.
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Having recently had a 2000 that was extremely youthful, I was surprised to find this one falling off the cliff. Flat and pruney on day 1 and undrinkable on day 2. Must be some bottle variation as a a few others have noted this on CT whereas many find their bottle to be fresher. Mine was stored at 55 degrees since release in a dedicated wine facility. Completely different from my experience with 03 Montrose which is still enormous.
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Second bottle in a few months. Again very youthful. Chalky and loamy with cedar, pipe, chewy stone fruits, coco nib. Very unctuous and leaning new world in style.
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Pruny and stewed. Massive wine showing all the signs of the heatwave year. Pavie is always big and flamboyant but in a hot year like this, it’s just too much. No balance or freshness.
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Nose is pretty awful. Prune, stewed tomato. Would think it was a shot bottle except this is Pavie, and not different from others (to me!). Palate for sure better. But definitely not for me. Hot. Has some decent dark fruit there but so over the top. Maybe I just don’t get it, as others seem to love it. Note: Just edited this after having another bottle (1/22). Same thoughts (initially didn’t add a rating).
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U Club selection. Limited note. This was still fresh and showing youth. Classic profile of chalky fruits, clay, tobacco and pipe. Hints of coco. Smooth and silky.
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From magnum. Deep purple core; youthful appearance. Notes of ripe plums, black cherry, cassis, mocha, with hints of star anise, campfire and earth. Medium to full bodied, lush, round, and silky, with great concentration and depth. Long and full finish. This wine makes absolutely no apologies for its flamboyant and modern style! That said, it has evolved considerably over the past decade, and is not nearly as “controversial” today as it was in its youth. Not my preferred style, but what a wine!
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Notes of cherries and plums on the nose. Big fruit and husky but ripe tannins, black cherry cola, tobacco, cedar, earthy notes, with a long finish. Decanted from a magnum.
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Drunk over 2 Nights at the beach. This is a very pleasant drink but most definitely drinks like a Cali cab in my book. I like Cali cab. Others may not want that in their Bordeaux
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Similar to first bottle tasted. This is the second and last bottle. Purple color with a bouquet and flavor of currants but quite muted and disappointing. Possibly in a dumb phase, but will never know.
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1 hour decant at home. Good but not a Cos or Montrose from the same vintage ( which are better IMO ). A little disjointed, a little hot. Maybe the heat of the vintage affected the wine or maybe it’s just this bottle
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Blind-tasted alongside a 2003 Pontet-Canet. The wine was decanted almost 4 hours with a substantial amount of sediment. A sweet, red candied fruit nose with alcohol and sweet oak. In the mouth, ripe red fruit, spicy and even a little savory. Boysenberry and plum as well, and the new oak from the nose remains. Last time I had this wine was over ten years ago and it seemed fruit-bomb-ish then. Today it is gravely and austere and feels like it should be kept another 10 or even 20 years.
The next morning the wine showed the same but had a bit of thickness to it. A fun experience but I would never pay the present market prices to have it again.
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Nose is punchy with a lot of oak vanilla above the black fruit. Modern but has a bit of earth about it. Ultra ripe and already showing the scorched character of the vintage. Have had a number of '03 Bordeaux the past few months and this is relatively quite nice. Stops just short of full on glycerine and tar but it is built in that direction. 92 - 93.
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Hmm... had this been served blind, I would have said Dalle Valle Maya from a hot year in Napa. However, it wasn’t served blind and while very good, it is overdone, slightly reductive, and not a classic Bordeaux. I don’t see this getting better with age and recommend serving to your friends who love cult Cali Cab.
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I agree with DHarrison3. I decanted for 2 hours, rebottled and took to dinner. Getting the dregs out made every sip a pleasure. I would call this a blend of old world and new, with a leaning towards new. Very sexy wine.
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Big, ripe and youthful, I enjoyed this a lot but this has a long way to go and certainly benefits from a few hours of air. Very modern in style compared to the 96’ Montrose we drank next to it, almost everyone preferred the Pavie.
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WOTV? Drank with a friend after a 5 hour decant. Black as motor oil with no sediment. Thrilling nose of black berries, Asian spice with a hint of cassis. All agreed this is so dense and spectacular it has at least 5-10 thrilling years left. If a date, this was a 35 year old former porn star:Dressed to kill and able to thrill.
Parker's opinion beats Jancis' on this thrilling bottle
Lush, ripe, rich, full-bodied, ripe, even very ripe, but not over-ripe, the wine is plummy and loaded with smoke, espresso, licorice, stone and dark, ripe plums. This is a good time to be drinking this.
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Decanted for 3 hours. This one was complex, multilayered and had the older wood and earth undertones and loads of black fruit. Really enjoyable. NOt last my last bottle earlier this year which I apparently did not let open up enough.
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This wine is incredibly rich and concentrated with notes of ripe red fruit, mocha, and earth. The tannins are soft and well integrated. This is not everyone's style of wine but for me this wine is nearly perfect. I bought 6 bottles at $179/btl and have 3 left. I should have bought two cases. Live and learn!
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The wine that Parker and Robinson were at opposite poles over. Bought this to see for myself. Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Dark red/purple to rim. Cassis, plum, tar, smoke, oak on the nose, could easily pass as a big Napa cab. Very full bodied, very ripe fruit forward palate, sweet, perhaps approaching jammy but good acidity keeps it fresh, moderate tannins, no complexity, moderately long finish. Very intense wine but more Napa than Bordeaux. Will complexity develop and some semblance of Bordeaux-ness emerge? Not sure, but think it will take another 10 years to find out. I can see the polarizing nature here. If you’re looking for a Bordeaux, you won’t find it here. If big Napa cabs are your thing, this does an excellent job of pushing those buttons. If that style bores you, this wine will put you to sleep. If it offends you, stay away.
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Had side-by-side with the ’03 Angelus. Both of these wines are big and a little blown out. The Pavie achieves more elegance and delineated structure but the Angelus has more rusticity. Loads of black fruit to both, vanilla and polish. I think the Pavie held up to the heat a little better and is showing more proper. Both good, short of amazing.
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Out of 375. 92-93. 92+? Simple. Plums and black currants. Polished. Sleek. No heat. A bit sweet on the 2nd glass. My first reaction knowing this was an expensive Bordeaux was 92. But then I closed my eyes and pretended I was blinded, and thought this could be a 93 balanced/polished but sweet and ripe napa cab. If slightly less sweet, despite the big fruit, could have gone 93-94.
Go and but a new age cali zin for 80 percent of this experience at 25 percent of the cost. Or a 2002 Chevillon NSG 1er for half the cost. Or a To Kalon mondavi for or half the cost.
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Decanted about 30 minutes, this is showing great today. Black cherry, smoke, plum, stone and floral notes pop with ease. Full-bodied, soft, rich and balanced, there is no touch of heat or sensation of overripeness. This beauty is drinking great today. If you have a bottle, pop a cork and check it out.
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Jam-packed with everything. This was a controversial wine upon release due to the warm vintage (Parker loving it, Robinson not so much). I was tricked into believing that this wine had a short life span ahead of it due to previous notes on cellar tracker, I reckon that this vintage of Pavie will peak sometime over the next 20+ years. No rush!
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From 375ml, slow ox for an hour. Pruney and earthy and over-ripe. No pencil or graphite in my two glasses. Kind of between old and new world. IIRC this was a hot vintage.. I'd say the wine at this age is going downhill. Will try my last one of this vintage soon.
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May Meeting of Friendless Drinkers Club (Vancouver Club): Decanted 1.5 hours before serving but could have used more aeration. Blockbuster wine. Full bodied, solid tannins level. Lots of dark plums, raspberry with woody and graphite aftertaste. Very powerful wine
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Purple, almost dark black. I have never had a wine smell so much of sweet blackberries! The incredible black fruits on this was mind blowing. Very balanced. Whilst youthful, this did appear ready. Served blind during dinner with TH, K and VO.
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from magnum nose-licorice mouth - rich, ripe, almost mocha infused, and a touch raisin-y, however the big surripe fruit is nicely balanced by its refreshing juiciness. Lots of power here. My sense is the 03 pavie from standard bottle size has already peaked.
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I was expecting much more new world flavors because of the producer and vintage. A lot of raisin in this wine with dark fruits. Very young (yeah, still) wine but you can drink it today or in 5 years without any issues. Very elegant, smooth, with a typical Bordeaux nose mixed with a little sunshine. Will I buy at $300+ ? No. It is a very good wine but nothing quite unique or extremely memorable. It would be a good value at $150, but north of that I can name much better options.
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Lush entry with a bit of busy viney heat on the entry. The palate is seamless, smooth and plush. Modern Pavie and 2003 on the right bank? I expected to hate it; but it grew on me. It has attractive red fruits and the superior terroir starts to shine through all the gloss and make up. Revisiting at the end of the evening it had evolved into an attractive wine with alluring soy and Asian spicey notes.
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2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): Nose shows ripe dark fruit, plum, vanilla. A touch of raisin. Palate is full bodied, soft and voluptuous with ripe dark fruit, a touch of alcoholic warmth, moderate acidity and a good length fruity finish. Interesting if not overly enjoyable.
2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): Dark fruited nose. Richer and thicker. A sense of a tad more alcohol here. Full but actually quite smooth. Not gloopy. There’s a touch of freshness on the mid palate to finish. ***1/2
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Loads of silky dark fruit--black cherries, plum--with lurking minerality, though too much oak for my taste. Delicious modern Bordeaux meets Napa, but prefer classic Medocs to right bank blockbusters.
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Nose of green peppers and herbs. Wonderfully fruity with raspberries, red currant and cherries. Velvet smooth with fine tannins. Great length. This is a class act but doesn’t quite live up to its celebrity status.
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Garnet without any signs of aging at age 15. First a bit reduced nose of black currant, cherries, charcoal and herbs as well. On the palate thick and concentrated but not unbalanced like some british reviewer wrote. The tannin is present, but round and smooth and acidity delivers enough freshness. Very long. It is a bit dominated by the fruit chord. If it adds more complexity and elegance after longer airation (it doesn't), I would give it an even higher score. Now: 5/13/18/9 This should develope effortlessly for ten to twenty years if optimal stored. 96
Postscript: After 15 hours the last 0,1-0,2 l show signs of oxidation (no decantation). So maybe my drinking date given above is a bit optimistic. 95
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Wine Dinner #161 - Super-Tuscans (Urbane Restaurant, Brisbane): A ring-in served blind in a line-up of Super-Tuscans this wine cried out Right Bank Bordeaux with an extra structure and minerality that with the Masseto fruit may have added up to perfection. The surprise was that it was the 2003 Pavie as it tasted very correct with lovely dark plum, blackcurrant, cassis, violet and truffle inflected fruit that was perfectly balanced by its structure. Clearly the terroir is winning through here as the seemingly over the top character I discerned when I tasted this in 2006 has been tamed by time. A lovely and typical bottle of high quality St Emilion.
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(Non) Blind 2004 and Older Bordeaux (Meritage): Having had this wine twice before and being quite unimpressed, I felt this bottle was starting to turn the corner. It is still clearly young in nature. But I didn't feel it was hot at all. I enjoyed the potential and the young Bordeaux qualities of this bottle. If I owned this wine, I would sit on it for at least 5 years. Maybe longer. Probably longer. Such is the nature of Bordeaux.
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I love Pavie wines, just love them and this one didn't disappoint. Pure RB Bordeaux through and through with some nice age on it. Pulled it out b/c some great wine friends were in town and there was a bone-in ribeye coming to the table. That + I thought this was the right occasion. Lots of good depth, layers, earth and light dirt on the nose. Very romantic flavors of spice, floral notes, and graphite on the palette. 2 minute finish. Beautiful
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2003 Bordeaux at 15 years courtesy of Mark Taylor; 3/17/2018-3/18/2018 (Atlanta, GA): Is this Pauillac? Scorchy and high pitched with a huge palate. Seaweed and some green notes have me leaning to Cos, but the spicy mint and menthol on an absolutely plush, silky, blanketing palate have me thinking Pichon Lalande. Incredibly fine and silky tannins with texture that stands out. Guessed as Lalande, but this was Pavie. Ranked 1 out of 6 and the group #4.
Mature with medium ruby in colour, floral aroma, and you won't regret to drink it now. Powerful and rich of sweet and black cherry. Air for over 30 minutes gave more fragrance of fruits. A good choice for dinner with family and friends.
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Concentrated, lush rich and not overripe, though, there is a mild touch of heat in the opulent finish. The wine kicks off with its nose of dark, red berries, espresso, licorice, and earth. This is a good time to be drinking this, although, there is no hurry to pop a cork.
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On the nose, dark fruit of sweet prunes, dates and plums. On the palate there’s blackberry and cassis. Wood fire elements. Still a bit tannic fior an 03.
I feel this review is a touch critical for a wine I find great pleasure in. So close to excellent.
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Impressive nose, packed with coffee, sweet tocacco and ceder wood Significant sediments almost opaque with a brown rim Full-bodied, relatively low acidity, strong tannins and it is even a bit drying and a bit too oaky I can see why it stirs some controvesy among critics, and I personally think the oak is a bit over for personal enjoyment The strong oak is appropriate, perhaps, when you are in a flight of 10+ wines.
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A Pavie that has all the elements of Saint-Emilion but lack a bit of depth and integration. Don't know if it is going to improve because the tannin is already softening. 90 20190317 Greatly evolved. Right at its peak. 94
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Drank from double mag, a big and robust red, great to accompany food than to drink by itself. Not sure if its at a dumb phase or not, not as impressive as I recall drinking abt 7-8years ago, problem for me is the acidity level is rather low for a Bordeaux.
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Good black fruit, dark coco nose and flavours. Powerful and dry, not as sickly as last time I tried. However finish unpleasantly medicinal. Alcoholic overtones. Disappointing compared to last bottle.
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Full throttled, delivering lush and velvety dark fruits, with hints of Lilly, licorice, and truffle. Surprisingly good delineation and grip for such a hedonistic wine. What a joy to experience!
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No formal notes. Nose with enormous amounts of charred oak and over extracted artificial darker fruits mixed with some alcohol heat. Palate shows a very jammy and oak infested Napa styled bomb. Sweet, jammy, unbalanced, woody, alcoholic, over extracted and over concentrated, lots of dark and overripe plums and clumsy cassis fruits. Thick and sticky, burnt and way to hot. The vintage did not help in this case either, only made it even worse. What I personally would call a Parker wine. (Have not checked what score WA gave it, but would guess between 100 and 200 something). Another over done new-worldish Napa styled and uninteresting powerhouse. Not my style, at all. Would maybe be good as a base in a powerful red wine sauce or marinade? I simply don't get it, what's the point?
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Nose: Wow! Blueberry, blackberry compote, licorice, scorched earth, graphite and cocoa notes. Big dose of oak still integrating, but giving a nice oak/spice layer to the nose. Palate: Minerally slate notes are wrapped with sexy black fruits, graphite, chocolaty green pepper, burnt caramel, smoke and some anise spice. Finish: Concentrated blackberry and a payload of tannins. Still a bit hard in the finish now.
This is a great bottle of wine, but not a great St. Emilion. Sexy and balanced, but more Cult Napa than Bordeaux. I wanted to like this more, but the lack of place holds it back. May evolve more, but time will tell.
Decanted 1 hour drank over 3 hrs. Slight orange rim on decanting but otherwise dark clear ruby color. Fantastic nose, deep graphite and dark fruit. Mid palate of juicy dark fruit and dusty tannins with some green herbal notes. Moderate pleasing gentle finish that could be longer. This shorter finish only downside. Blind I would have guessed higher end Sonoma cab. Certainly has years but think it's in its drinking window.
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Poker night - Bordeaux single blind - 00 & 03 Pavie, 98 TR, 05 LD and etc. (My house - Northern Virginia): Expressive nose, surprisingly fresh no longer showing prune, mostly black fruit, flowers and mineral. The fruit is decidedly darker and the overall expression is more youthful than the 00 served in the flight. This has reached the youthful peak and drinking beautifully. There is a hint of dry tannins. Paul correctly guesses the vintage then the chateau. We are all impressed.
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Mid dark garnet, brick edges; big fruit nose; prunes, berry, cocoa, wood; mid-body; fine fruit extract; long, deep, balanced finish. Will continue to improve. w/filet
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Tasted blind. Medium ruby turning rust at the rim. Very Old World Bordeaux featuring damp earth, mushrooms, black currants, dark chocolate, lead pencil. Medium body and thin. Flat, short finish. Drink now until 2028.
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velvety texture, upfront cassis and blackberry, minerals, extremely smooth and well balanced, long lingering finish. This wine somehow amplified food flavours, even making carrots taste better! The best wine we've had so far... leaves us wanting more
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Speaks to the quality of wines at SATT that this was 4th or 5th of 12 wines served. A powerhouse Bordeaux, this has dark blackberry, currant, plum and smoke flavors. This is my kind of wine - need to find a few bottles
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Super bowl wine with chips, cheese, sliders, wings and all kings of bad food. This and all of the other wines we opened were allowed 6 plus hours of decant. Ok now to the wine:
Fabulous graphite and aged cooked blackberries on the pallete. This is not a velvety nor smooth wine as it attacks the mouth and tongue with complex flavors. Finish is tannic and lingering notes of graphite.
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3 - 4 hours of decanting really made a difference. The plan was for about 2 hours of air, but we did not get to the bottle, and I am sure it helped. The wine offered this fabulous, tobacco, rock, plum, earthy character, with a richness, but no sense of over ripeness. It was long, soft and complex.
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I have had a case of 12 of which 8 are left. I have tried them over the last 4 years with my last tasting in 2013. My thoughts were that the wine is years away from being ready to consume and I thought that try some new inventory which might mitigate my experiences which were good but not great. 91-92 range
First night The wine was closed and dry. The finish was enormously long but left me with a dry mouth feel. The fruits bordered on prune and a tinge of anise. I am thinking that these are no different than my experiences from 2 years ago. (90-91 range)
The second night This wine showed a big punch. Powerful and with an intensity which I expect from a GREAT ST. EMILLION. This was rich and delivered enormous fruit of licorice ripened blackberry and a finish of chocolate ( A solid 93)
The third night This wine was the best tonight. It was creamy and loads of vanilla explode from the glass onto the palette. The chocolate finish of last night turned to vanilla with a mid-palette of graphite and a finish of earth and cocoa. There is a background of limestone and wet forest floor in this wine which has still more complexity. There is even some floral quality to the finish. (96-97 range wine)
Years and years remain for a peak version of this wine. One of the better wines I think I have in the cellar.
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not sure what all the controversy is about? this wine is excellent. maybe it had some issues in it's youth but it's settled down now and is in an excellent drinking place right now. tons of fruit but not overdone.
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Once the cork is out so are the aromas. Great wine all together. The nose is of pomegranate, ripe fruits and wet stones. The structure is solid with slow developing legs and long finish.
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Right Bank Premier Grand Cru Classe "A" Bordeaux tasting (Karl's house): Dark opaque ruby color. Very dark fruit, blackberry, licorice, truffle, and rich chocolate. A full-bodied mouthfeel, with nice complexity on the palate. A medium-plus length finish with average level of acidity. It was interesting to compare this to the 2003 Angelus; this wine was much darker and richer, with a bit less acidity and freshness. Still, the nose on this wine can get you hooked.
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Powerful, rich, intense, with a boatload of rich, ripe fruits, crushed stone, licorice and floral aromatics. Ready to drink, but still youthful for a 2003 St. Emilion, the wine is opulent, fat, mouth filling and leaves you with a long finish of ripe, juicy dark plums, dark black cherries, earth and cocoa.
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In a great place right now. Yes, slightly more fruit on the palate but integrated so fluidly that it is an asset. Really strutting its pedigree with terrior and earthen notes on the finish.
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Not sure what the transatlantic fuss was about. This is unmistakably elegant, rich, complex, perfumed Bordeaux. Tightly wrapped cherry and minerals wrapped in silk tail off into a perfumed and nicely dry finish. As rich and ripe as it is, there is a sense of weightlessness that characterizes only the greatest wines of France and the world.
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Coravined-96, breathed a total of 3 hours, not yet ready, but what a wonderful, special wine, red fruit, lovely bouquet and finish, this is now one of my favorite wines.
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Second Sunday Group: Valtellina (Neil's): Double decanted before the tasting. Earthy dark fruit with plum and floral undertones. Nice concentration on the palate with flavors od dark fruit, spice and earth. Good finish. Drinking very well with a couple of hours of air.
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Memorial Day Mondo Event - Burghounds & Bordelais: Amazing what a few years in the bottle will do to a wine. I had this vintage of Pavie two years ago and it was tough as nails not showing much. Two years later and BAM, this wine is starting to strut its stuff. Everyone thought this was left bank Bordeaux due to the sheer depth & concentration. Once the wine was revealed, we all understood why, thanks to the Gerard Perse wine making style. However, I did not get the over extraction or over ripeness you might expect from the 2003 vintage. This was showing great on this night.
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Burg & Bordeaux $100+ (Duluth, GA): Intense color, maroon with brighter rim; blueberry, cedar, green notes, dusty, cigar, modern, oak; silkier on the palate, cedar, seamless, fruit is Right Bank, concrete on the finish; nice balance, another '03 that is coming together with more improvement in its future.
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Decanted for an hour and the nose on this wine is intoxicating and full of sweet blackberry and cherry, lead pencil, stone and cedar which lead way to a rich, full bodied wine that is jam packed with layers of ripe blue and blackberry jam, dark chocolate and spice notes that echo on the long finish.
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Super structure and very well integrated. Strong minerals with grippy tannins yet polished. This wine needs more time in the bottle and it will be unbelievable.
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Dinner with Petaluma Wine Group (Risibisi): Good fruit with some bright acid. A bit rich, silky with medium dark fruit. Great texture, hot but balanced with good acid. A modern styled Bordeaux, but clearly Bordeaux. None of us would have mistaken this for a California wine, and in fact it was very different from the Napa Cabernet we drank next to it. Ready to drink but no rush. Excellent.
Decanted this for several hours.
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Rich ripe plush sweet chocolate good cherry fruits. Dense pretty nice depth long rich with green pepper finish. Black spices. Front end so much better then the finish. Overall lovely. Long life ahead.
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Definitely not a 99 point wine but not a 12 pointer either. Nice nose and very round and smooth. In the end, it lacked complexity, though. Seems like a fairly simple round ripe wine. Still some tannins left
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Amazing nose of soy, flowers, white pepper and some spices. The palate is the perfect consistency for this time of night. Tannic still but delicious and long.
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Dinner with Peter, Jesse and the Donohughs (Nadaman): only had half an hour in decanter but already showing much better than past bottles from previous years. maybe just hitting the window now. powerful, exciting stuff.
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Power, concentration, intensity, ripe fruits and rocks make up the true blend for this wine. The wine is rich, dense and has a long life to look forward to. I know some people do not like the wine, but I love it! It's definitely better with an hour or two of air.
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Of the three reds, this was it for me. The Cheval Blanc, Gracia and Pavie all pared beautifully. Similar in many ways, just done better. The Pavie nose has floral notes and earthly under tones on the nose. First sip, more depth, more fruit, more concentration and definition. Sipping one, than the other, I'm amazed how these three entice the palate and play off each other. But without a doubt, the Pavie packs the nose and delights me the most. My friend Bela prefers the Cheval Blanc. His son, the Pavie.
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big, jammy, chewy, blackberries, still a baby in the bottle fresh, perfect acidity tried a sip or two and decided to decant to let open up delicious not sure how other Cellartracker reviewers has issues with this wine. it is spectacular. i expect they had storage issues (one said like "see thru" pinot in the glass?? this wine is dark, opaque...no "see thru" so not sure what happened to their wine.) this is a great wine with many years (decades) of life left enjoy!
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This wine is just okay. I am disappointed. Tannins a bit sharp, fruit is negligible, it's like a "see thru" Pinot in the glass. It's definitely drinkable, and maybe my expectations were too high.
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Great nose, just intoxicating! It's still young but very drinkable right now, great balance and still waiting for some secondary characteristics to show up.
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- Medium forming legs and aromas of blackberry. It's balanced and has flavours of fig and blackberry with a medium/full body. Linear texture with a medium finish - Perfect time to drink this. I have 5 left and they'll be gone within a year.
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Monthly Tasting Group: Right Bank Bordeaux (Levain, Mpls): Very dark/purple red color. Decanted for 3 hours. Drank 1 glass over 2 hours. Probably the most disappointing wine of the evening given its pedigree. I had hoped for much more. This was young, tight, oaky, hot, overripe black fruit. The palate has full body, deep black fruit, good concentration, spicy but currently is shrouded in tannin and oak and suffers from its alcohol. Will 5-10 years soften this and bring forth an attractive wine? Maybe... 90pts(?)
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Relative to the '05 also served, this showed more appropriate typicity. Still not my style though... I found this to be drying and oaky with red fruits, somewhat lacking in structure. Does finish long and savory.
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Out of the bottle excellent. After 1/2 hour blossomed into cherries and rhubarb. Great accompaniment to a summer fare of veal chops, corn on the cob and heirloom tomatoes.
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Outstanding wine! Still so young and fresh. Could still benefit from more cellaring but amazingly enjoyable now. Very powerful deep dark ruby color in the glass. But very smooth and fantastic fruit forward wine. Finished a bit short but was WOTN!
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Interestingly mature, clear colour. Beguiling nose of cassis. On the palate kirsch, hot cherries, sweet cassis. Probably missing some acidity for the long run but still great.
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Mike declared this to be the best California wine he's ever had. Damning with faint praise, to be sure. Dark fruit, very soft palate, hardly any definition. Not for me. Fairway Cafe with the guys.
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Crushed stone, fennel, smoke, caramel and black cherry liqueur. The mineral essence is starting to show through on the palate and in the nose. Packed with layers of ripe, sweet berries, spice and earth, this is fat, lush and mouth filling with good intensity of flavor.
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popped and decanted for 30 min nose - boysenberry, blueberry, mint, cocoa. fragrantly full and sweet mouth - absolutely exploding with luscious and mouthwatering dark fruit, wow!, tastes amazing, really very nicely balanced, with great minerality, and not overdone. Has lovely red licorice/liqueur quality on the midpalate with a long and round tannic finish. Much riper in style than the '01 Pavie consumed several days prior. I would say, drink on its own, without food, and savour every sip. Perhaps that might sum up the brouhaha ten years out. I never tasted this in its youth, so I dont know what else to say about the controversy surrounding this. ' Port is best from the Douro not St.Emilion' actually raises an interesting question. Is wine about the pleasure that it brings or is it supposed to be true to some other ideal in addition (terroir? tradition?). While I agree this is not a very typical bottle of Bordeaux, or St. Emilion for that matter, I really dig it. If I had tasted this blind and had to guess its origin, I might suspect it to be a mid-aged high end Napa cabernet with a unusual smack of minerality.
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Intense, thick, lush, rich, fresh and packed with intense levels of sweet, pure fruits, minerality, oak, and frankly, pleasure, this is still young and is only going to get better with age.
Opened and decanted about 2 hours ahead. Although drinking well with no tannin showing, another 5 years to mellow wouldn't hurt, Beautiful purple plum in color. Nice nose of cassis, blackberry, rose and camphor. Big palate of blackberry, cassis, earth, cherry and licorice. Delicious, but needs some time to soften.
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Wonderful wine. Tight and tannic when first opened, however, with a hour to breathe really opened up.
Wonderful fruit, aromatic beyond belief. Great example of Pavie. Better than the 2004 and 1999. Closer stylistically to the 04. Very concentrated. Would say this is a perfect wine, however, compared to 03 Latour and 89 Haut Brion, just have to dial it back a few notches.
Wonderful fruit and spice on the nose. Loaded with black current, blueberry and ripe cherry favors. Evolved over two hours. One of my more memorable Merlot based Bordeauxs that I have had. Did not buy many 03's, but other than 03 Latour this has so far surpassed the others.
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Lovely wine, rich and sweet fruit but perfectly balanced. Nose and back palate of minerals that only the best Bordeaux's have. Still young, but drank well after popping cork and drinking 4 hrs later.
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Purple color with a bouquet and flavor of black currants, but not enough oomph at this point. It may be in a closed period and will revive. I hope so. The 1998 was magnificent.
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Occasional dinner group; Bordeaux 2003 plus some extras.: Served blind and after it was revealed a great disappointment. Remembering the polemic between Parker and Robinson, tasting the wine at this moment, I think Robinson was right. My blind notes were limited, because the wine was out of balance. They were: Bouquet with chocolate, very ripe black fruits and tar. On the palate overripe blackberry juice and almost port-like. Although there are luxurious elements, the wine is unbalanced and lacks refinement. Not sure what to say about future expectations. Or is it the bottle? Probably not, but I would like to retaste blind again in a few years from now.
Port-achtige neus met enorm dik fruit, rozijnen, vijgen. In de mond overdreven alcoholisch, overextractie, balans moet je zoeken met een telescoop. Harde tannines, eigenlijk gewoon een akelige wijn. Ik had het niet verwacht, maar Jancis heeft hierbij de spijker op de kop geslagen.
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2003 Bordeaux Horizontal (San Antonio, TX): Only right bank at BWC event. Very rich aromas of blackberries, oak, raisins. Very sweet, as expected for such a hot vintage, with black cherries, figs. Acidity not up to par with the '04 vintage, which I prefer.
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Still young, tight and not showing it's full potential. Great fruit and structure, just needs much more time. I'll wait another 5+ years before trying my next bottle.
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94-95: followed an 03 Cos d'Estournel and made a heck of a 1-2 punch on the palate. Massively fruit and young, this wine had decidedly more acidity than the Cos. Heavy, silky, and pleasing all the way around, the finish was good but not stellar. At the time, this wine stood above the Cos.
The next day, however, the Cos remained on my mind and the Pavie receded. Both wines stand out, particularly in this challenging vintage. The Pavie has years of life left, but not at my house -- I'd drink them all now if I could!
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Day 1 - Tasted right out of the bottle and it was very tight, stubborn and slightly green with a ton of woody notes. Two hours later it opened slightly, but still not yielding - 85 points. Day 2 - fully opened up and very enjoyable. No green notes, no wood, and full of fruit - 93 points. Don't touch these for another 10 years and if you have any double magnums try and pawn them off on someone in their twenties.
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Although this has always been a good early drinker, this has gotten better as of late. Dark fruit, chocolate, some pencil shavings, tobacco and long creamy finish.
Intense nose of beef, chocolate, soy sauce, black fruits and wet leaves. Tense and large scaled on the palate. Ripe fruits with solid acid, soy, dense and chewy. A wine I wish we sat with for six hours. As it was we killed it in two. I like it a lot.
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Nice sweet sour black cherry nose. Great density with wonderful structure, showy black cherry fruits. Toasty, vanilla finish. Packed and creamy dark sweet fruits with impressive balance.
Big wine, got better as the evening progressed. Decanted and then drank over several hours. Very dark color. Initial impressions were of a closed wine, with lots of dark fruit, hints of forest floor, and lots of oak and tannins. After the wine warmed and aerated, it was very smooth, with black fruits, tobacco, and cedar. Big and intense wine, but very enjoyable.
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Dinner at Goosefoot (Goosefoot, Chicago IL): Nose: Very big nose with extracted tones of black fruits, black cherry compote, spices, black tar, and cedary oak tones. It's rich, but with depth and a larger quality to it.
Taste: Full bodied, but smoother than I would've imagined with tones of black cherries, oak, spices, and black fruits.
Overall: This is a full throttled wine, but there is a balance in its largeness. While the oak is prominent, it doesn't fully take over the nose or palate.
Decanted and served blind, I liked this a lot; it was smooth, luscious and so satisfying; really nice fruit showing through including ripe plum, blueberry and black cherry and it left such a wonderful coating on the palate from its long finish; I guessed it to be a Masseto.
Decanted 3 hours I think. I read Jancis Robinson's review right before drinking it, confident that she had missed the mark. Well, she didn't miss by much. Lots of tannins, LOTS of alcohol. I can feel the burn on the finish. This is either Parkerized or not ready.
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St. Emilion Grand Cru-ing (Our House): Dark purple color. Decanted around 3 hours. Nose is tight, anise, cardamom, indistinct black fruits, spice. The palate is very dense, brooding, layered but hidden behind a wall of oak and tannin, prune, cranberry, mineral. Black fruit is here too but still way in the bakcground. Very backward and in need of serious cellar time. 92(+) pts.
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With an attention seeking perfume filled with licorice, smoke, coffee, black cherry liqueur, truffle and stone, the wine is really starting to drink well. The rich, fat, sweet, pure, opulently textured fruit feels great on your palate. An hour or two in the decanter improve the experience. But if you do not have time to decant, do not worry, you'll get a lot of bang for the buck if you pop and pour.
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03 Bordeaux (Pavie, Poyferre, Troplong) (Out to dinner): Contrary to my expectations, this is still youthful and while perhaps more advanced the the 00, still a puppy and in need of five years at least. Splash decanted for about 20 minutes. The nose has lots of cassis, coffee, some cigar tobacco and the slightest stewed fruit note. On the palate, this is big with firm tannins. Lots of black cherries, some dark chocolate, again, a slight raisin note, but not enough to be an issue. This is really delicious if atypical. If it is too big for some, it seems like it has the stuffing to last 20 more years when it should be tamer. Gone quickly.
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See Leve's note - I am not in total agreement since I don't pick uo on orange rind, limestone, or truffles. But there is a lot of dark fruit, licorice, smoke, coffee and chocolate. This is a big wine - borderline over the top - just a touch jammy - won't appeal to many who like their Bords tamer. 2003 was one of the hottest Bord vintages on record so what do you expect? If you like California wines you will love this. I agree that holding is indicated - this may settle down to something simply sublime.
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The wine was decanted about an hour. The wine opened up but we wish we could have given it a little more time. It was big and ripe with dark fruit, mineral and oak. The wine was full-bodied with soft, chewy tannins and dark fruit on the palate. We all enjoyed the wine but agreed that it still needed more age
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An intoxicating aroma of smoke, licorice, earth, black cherry, orange rind, incense, limestone, truffles, fresh cut herbs, coffee bean and blackberry demand to get noticed. Deep in color, with visible glycerine in the tears that stain the glass, the wine offers fat layers of ripe, juicy, sweet, pure, black plum, blueberry, dark chocolate and spice. The wine continued to improve in the glass for at least 4 hours. It might have kept going, but I could not keep my hands off it. The delicious finish lasts for at least 45 seconds. While some tasters found this wine to be over the top when young, it's calmed down and offers a great, tasting experience. If you have multiple bottles, it's worth popping a bottle to see how 2003 Pavie is developing.
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Decanted and consumed at our favorite local option, Garibaldi's. Paired with a well prepared filet garnished with fingerling potatoes, roasted shallots, sautéed spinach and horseradish. Still young, but I think the 70% merlot makes it very approachable now. I didn't get the sense of port although it is definitely mouth-coating wine. I also did not notice much oak as noted in other reviews. I'm not a big fan of oak.
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Inaugural Great Steak-Off (Clarksville, Maryland): I had my share of the 03 Pavie and it is a chameleon. Every bottle seems to be slightly different. This is one of the best showings as the fruit expression is cool. Certainly ripe and big but not overdone. Blue to black fruits, crème de cassis, licorice, mineral and lavender. Very cool palate impression, silky but precise and noticeable tannins. Extremely impressive showing.
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GJE CRD 2008 and EP 2011; 3/29/2012-4/4/2012 (Bordeaux, France): In this vertical, this shined. Certainly bigger and riper but not overdone and overripe. Mocha, coffee, some vegetal but not bothersome. Dense, chewy yet silky palate and well integrated tannins. A great showing.
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Terroir of St Emilion (Roberson Wine, South Ken, London): Ah! The Famously controversial 2003 Pavie. Dark red. Sweet red fruit nose, and lots of oak. Mocha notes. Tannins are very much alive yet approachable. Lots of extraction. To us this felt like a well round wine, well built but wrapped in an unnecessary cloak of oak which sort of takes so much away. 90-91.
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Bdx and others (Bin 555): Showed the '03 vintage. Nose was rich and roasted with strong coffee and mocha edge and hint of heat. Palate was raisiny, dark currants, low acidity and strong prominent chunky tannins. Adds a touch of peppermint with air to the medium length finish. Doesn't come across as bdx at all. I doubt time will benefit this wine. Not flawed, per se, but really showing the ripeness and roasted nature of '03 while remaining complex. Well below the '01 and '05. Not my style.
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Hafif çe mat,mor röfleli derin yakut renkli.Hafifçe tatlımsı izlenim bırakan ön burnunda erik,kiraz gibi meyveler,is,tütün,deri,silik zeytin,sigara kutusu,baharat notaları mevcut.Arkada kuru yaban mersini,kuru meyve bukeleri de mevcut.Tam gövdeli,ortanın biraz üstü seviyede aside sahip.Konsantre yapısı ile iskeleti sağlam.Burundaki tatlımsı izlenim damaktada sürüyor.Baharat ve siyah meyve hissediliyor.Tanenler belirgin ama oldukça entegre.Yine siyah olgun meyvelerin gücünün hissedildiği bitimi uzun ama ılık bir bitim.
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Hafif çe mat,mor röfleli derin yakut renkli.Hafifçe tatlımsı izlenim bırakan ön burnunda erik,kiraz gibi meyveler,is,tütün,deri,silik zeytin,sigara kutusu,baharat notaları mevcut.Arkada kuru yaban mersini,kuru meyve bukeleri de mevcut.Tam gövdeli,ortanın biraz üstü seviyede aside sahip.Konsantre yapısı ile iskeleti sağlam.Burundaki tatlımsı izlenim damaktada sürüyor.Baharat ve siyah meyve hissediliyor.Tanenler belirgin ama oldukça entegre.Yine siyah olgun meyvelerin gücünün hissedildiği bitimi uzun ama ılık bir bitim.
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Dark ruby with brick highlights. Tight at the very start, the nose easily opens up to display liqueur like aromas of cassis and damson along with mocha, licorice and a touch of sweet spice. Some floral accents like violets add up to its complexity. As the nose also suggests, this is bold and still a bit aggressive, almost spirity making me think in blind tasting that this is from the New World.
Decanted for two hours and it was very approachable. Kind of a new world Bordeaux. A wonderful easy to drink, full bodied wine. Not much controversy here...excellent.
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Pretty nice nose, but not incredibly aromatic. The front palate of this wine was rather stunning...a big gush of nice, structured ripe fruit, but then it almost instantly fell off into nothing for the mid and back palate. This wine clearly would be in the 95+ territory had the initial flavors carried on, but I still gave it a 91 solely because of how enjoyable the initial couple seconds was.
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Porty, over-ripe nose that reminds me of an aged Turley zinfandel! Certainly not a style that I associate with St. Emilion! Tastes of aged brambly fruit - surprisingly, not over-ripe in the mouth but fells pretty hot. I get the hype in terms of its amazing fruit and structure but it really is forging new territory. As a zin, I would give this 94+ points, but as a bordeaux, I do have a difficult time understanding the wine. I imagine this wine will age for decades and may come right in a manner that allows its opulence to become a vibrant factor in the wine's dotage, but for now, I can't score this. I felt similar misgivings with the 2007 Clos des Papes - but at least the Clos des Papes is a CNdP!
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soooooooooooooo big. In the rarefied world of fine wine, this is vin diesel to rousseau's ralph fiennes. All caps and exclamation marks. The glass half full view is that this will age into something beautiful, akin to the famously porty 1947 Cheval Blanc. The glass half empty view is that this is not very different from a $40 barossa. Only took three sips and left it on the side (and we were at a steakhouse, for christ's sake!!!!). Made the 01 grange des peres 01 look like burgundy...
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Blind Night (Kevin): My guess was right bank Bordeaux. Quite green and tannic. What a monumental disappointment. How can this wine show so badly. Was much better a few years ago. Either an off bottle or just going through a very bad phase. 14% alcohol. Brought by Josh.
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double blind. not decanted, which i presume will be the ready criticism of the following: could there be a more over rated piece o crap wine ever vinified? doubtful. everything that is wrong with the parkerization of the so called hedonistic drinking experience. anti-flavor elite? proudly. you couldn't pound an ounce of decent fruit out of this with a jackhammer. while a couple of lumberjacks saw thru the trunk of a tree, lie underneath and allow the wood shavings and chips to fall on your tongue; and then for good measure, lick a volcanic rock as a chaser. pure torture to drink.
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After all the glowing CT reviews I decided to open another one and was disappointed. It was good but still closed down. Saved some for tomorrow and hope it will open up some more. Drank with an 88 Mouton and Margaux.
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Incredibly powerful Wine ! Amazing how this normally very jammy wine has got so strong character, like a left bank Bordeaux ! Very YOUNG, loaded of coffee dark concentrated fruit, loads of wood, forest flor, but: too YOUNG for this time to really enjoy ! Needs 2-3 years to become the very well known Pavie in its best shape of entchanting JOY ! 94 / 100 but has got more potential to come !!!
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This is not the Macquin! I hope you do not end up with the wrong one. It is the "Pavie, Pavie" and what a delight! I thought I would try it, and I just couldn't wait to be sure that the Christmas dinner had a great wine and this is so luscious that I may not share them. What a long finish with many, many layers. It will last cellared for many, maybe 30 or more years. I was worried about the 14% but it is not hot, just full and fabulous. A new wine for me. Now the 2002 Pichon is my second favorite. Noticed it was $235 in the shop.
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DECANTED FOR 3.5 HOURS, RICH BLACK FRUITS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR WITH LEATHER, CASSIS, AND A TOUCH OF CHOCOLATE. ELEGANT WINE WITH GREAT COMPLEXITY AND A VERY LONG FINISH. WILL GO FOR A LONG TIME
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A stunning wine. Massive nose, the type you don't want to pull your nose out of the glass. Huge on the palate but perfectly balanced. The finish reveals several layers of secondary flavors and goes on and on and on. Drank with a group and we were all stunned. Believe the hype.
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Horizontale Bordeaux 2003: Horizontale 2003 Bouche droite, riche mais fine, dense et très savoureux, il survole le groupe avec insolence. Je crois y voir un peu de poivron rouge et pense ainsi qu’il s’agit de Valandraud. Dense, long et authentique, sans lourdeur malgré le millésime. Je n’aurais pas pensé que Pavie me paraitrait le moins moderne du groupe! Superbe. 94-95 pts
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Black cherry, blueberry, licorice, crushed stone, espresso and cherry liqueur get the perfume going. This potent elixir is rich, fat, round, and lush in the mouth. The powerful finish is filled with intense, ripe, licorice coated black and blue fruits. This exciting Bordeaux wine, does not show any signs of over ripeness that is found in some wines from this hot, dry vintage.
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Decanted 3 hours, drank over the following 2. The colour kind of gives this away in the sense that there's nothing tame or reserved about this wine. I can see from other notes that many have thought this extraordinary (according to RP's scale). I on the other hand prefer the '02 over the '03 as I enjoy detail versus raw power and heft. The wine comes across as dense, and pure but at the price of extraction, which makes the silkiness seem contrived. I was pleasantly surprised by the acidity, given that it was able to provide lift to so much sheer density. This was missing the character and sense of place I've come to enjoy in previous vintages; the polish having been replaced by sheer size. A hedonist's dream come true. Drink 2013-2038, approx $170.
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Ah, the infamous 03' Pavie. This wine is opaque purple in the glass with a maroon robe. The nose explodes with mostly dense fig, black currant, cooked red fruit, and port-like notes (yes, strange for a St. Emilion) followed by leather, smoked meat, tea leaf, and cocoa dust. There is no sutblety here. The wine enters the palate with a round, creamy mouthfeel, thick on the tongue with flavors of dark berries, dried herbs, and black olives. This is huge, but manages to remain elegantly structured with pitch perfect acidity and fine grained tannins. The finish is a bit smoky, a bit spicy, and a bit sweet with smoldering campfire and kirsch notes. Alcohol doesn't show and oak is somewhat restrained. All controversy aside, the wine loses points for reminding me of a heavily extracted, old-worldy Barossa Shiraz (Elderton Command anyone?), but it is still complex, interesting, and above all delicious. I imagine its immaculate structure and purity of fruit will give this one alot of legs.
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very young, too young in fact but dark plummy fruit, followed by a long tight massively tannic finish. Very pleasant and to be returned to in a few years (at least 3)
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Let me position this wine for you, I like MD Velvet Glove for big fruit, and SQN for perfect harmony, this is neither, but the French version of both, very very pleasant, easy to enjoy, sips or gulps, I like the balance of fruit and tanin, the finish is short but noticeable, last time I enjoyed this wine was on release, its changed in a nice way probably would have made 100pts with a few hours of air time, but it was a BYOB pop and pour VD dinner, the girls loved it
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Considerably different and settled from how I remember this a couple of years ago. Bold coffee notes. Medium-grain tannins turn surprisingly raw on the finish. Dark fruits. Good elements, hard to see where this will go; tannin structure makes me a bit nervous.
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Decanted five hours. Gorgeous dark garnet that will stain anything; quite dense. Exotic and opulent. The finish sails for decades and the palate is coated, coated and coated again. There's definitely acid that is evident and really adds to the perfection of this. She is full figured, voluptuous, and dressed in velvet. What a head turner! The nose is a ripe bouquet of raisin, black berry, dark dried cherry, black tea, jam and leather. Fresh and complete. The cherry and black tea are outspoken on the finish. This is exuberant, ostentatious and provocative, yet elegant. I can see why the "Claret Elite" did not appreciate it as much. It is a new world wine in style with it's essence breaking through, alluding to a St. Emilion Bordeaux from another ripe year in the same vein as '29, '45, '47 and '82. Admirers of Tignanello would appreciate this. One of the best of the vintage and will last for decades. Still could use a few more years and will probably go through a backwards phase at some point. Stupefier. Drink 2014 - .
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Did not disappoint. Sleek sexy wine staying true to Bordeaux, but with sexy feminine edge. Rich round ripe dark cherry fruit with sweet dark chocolate. Creamy mouthfeel with nice concentration and nearly lush quality. Silky smooth filled with nice minerals. Great balance featuring well integrated acidity and soft tannins. A bit one dimentiosnal, but loads of enjoyment with further potential on aging quite clear. Each pour improved over the hour it was opened and consumed. Recommend a couple hours of decanting, but was open knit with a simple pop and pou into decanter.
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One true thing about great vintage of a great wine is...
The wine is always elegant, Pavie 2003 represents the very nice cool and panorame scent of St.Emilion aroma. I hardly believe this is from 2003 vintage. The body is quite full, firm tannin, lovely dense, delicious.
Aftertaste is deep and long, powerful finished but I prefer La Mondotte.
Pavie Vertical: Concentrated, red with hints of brick color. Complex, compact, deep smell with blackcurrant, cherry, tobacco, cedar and some dried fruit. Also, actually, hints of port. (Hints, I said...) Very, very concentrated taste. Huge. Smooth tannins but gazillions of them. This wine is definitely on the border of being too much... But what a wine!
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When opened, flowers, wet stones and wheat/brown rice. After a few hour decant, the nose turned towards menthol, iodine, and smoke, similar to a Chave. The tannins are big, drying and slightly chewey. There is also good acidity, better than many of the '03's that I have had. The palate is shut down at this point, no fruit, but given the vintage, you know it has to be there. There are only dark flavors at this point including tobacco, espresso and leather. Reminds me of the '00 few years ago. I think this will age well, but it will take patience.
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Ruby color. Very tight and closed, though after a couple hours it was giving up an excellent nose of currant, dark fruits and sweet oak. You could just feel everything in the right place on the palate, wanting to shout out how great it is, but instead just got whispers of future potential. This will be great down the road.
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Still a nice wine but I prefer the 98,99,00,01,02. Black center with dark rim, charcoal, crème de cassis, melted licorice, espresso roast, and blackberries. The heat of the vintage really shows thru right now making the wine a bit over the top but don't see any reason this will not improve over time. The limestone is really expressive in this vintage.
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Deep ruby color. Black fruit with a nice french oak component on the nose. Tastes of blackberry, currant, violet, leather and earth. Rich mid palate with good balance. Firm tannins. Wound up tight. Completely closed down and not giving an inch. It's difficult to evaluate at this stage but evident this will be a very nice wine with some bottle age.
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Initially closed, tannic and oak-dominated. After a couple of hours, notes of spice and coffee emerge on the nose along with blackberry fruit. Tart earthy finish.
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Tasted at The Sampler. While I didn't quite get the Jancis R. portyness, this is pretty ridiculous stuff. No signs of structure whatsoever, just masses and masses of primary fruit. I by no means hated it as a taste, but nothing to do with what Bordeaux should be like. Completely outclassed by both Pavie 85 and in a totally different way Canon La-Gaffilere 70. Although there is obviously body to the fruit here, I don't think it has the structure to age either. If you want this kind of wine, look to the New World and pay a fifth of the price....
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Big ripe fruit just bursting in the mouth. Coffee notes and opulence all around. Decanted for two + hours. Very nice wine, really young, but glad I was able to try it at an early age
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Young, grapey bubble gum type flavors. Plush, heavily Merlot influenced. Distinctly modern St. Emilion in character. Big, ripe wine that needs time to show what it's about.
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14% alcohol. 60% merlot, 30% cab franc, 10% cabernet. 375ml. decanted. this was as hard as nails. my first taste of this, so i will presume it is closed/ shut down. nice nose, but angular and tannic on the palate. beyond that, there is no value in discussing it.
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Dinner at Bistro 607 with a large crowd. Dark, deep, rich purple color. This is a big, brawny young Bordeaux with huge fruit on the palate and searing tannins on a very long finish. To me it drinks more like Cabernet Sauvignon that either Merlot or Cabernet Franc. I can see where the Port-like comparisons come from, and it was getting to be dessert time by the time this was opened. Probably best with a cheese plate and also probably best 20 years down the road. 50+13+13+8+8 = 92+
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Stacked and packed but giving just a little glimpse of it's potential. Hold. While enjoyable now these are not ready and will be much better down the road!
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Controversy? what controversy, quick decant after 15 min this was singing...Jeb's notes from 9/29/07 are on the money. Nose was full of fabulous dark ripe fruit almost like a top notch Ausi. cab. but the taste & finish is all Bordeaux.... bottle sucked down in under 1 hr...As good a young Bordeaux as any...
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House Cleaning; 6/21/2007-6/24/2007 (Home Sweet Home): Difficult to evaluate at this point, but a nice wine with lots of potential. Smoky, meat, graphite nose. Signficant fruit with tremendous unresolved backbone. Notable tannins put hair on the tongue. Obviously much too early, but an interesting experiment nevertheless. Update Day 2 - it came together nicely, with a rich smokiness on the palate. Long finish. Still too early, but easier to see where its going. Not being one to wish the years away, but I do look forward to seeing what this is like 10 years out.
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Red Carpet: Blk as coffee, dark, powerful, understated too; silky silk!! dry leaves, forest; licorice-coffee flavors; well-bal, FINE t’s; long fin. tons of pedigree here. But to me just probably too big, or not in right to drink this without a big expensive fatty steak.
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Very young -- the last time I had this wine I was able to decant for over 12 hours. I believe this was only decanted for a few hours. Amazing potential. Very fragrant, with blackberries and blueberries mixed with some cigar box. 92-96
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Day 2: Bottle emptied halfway and re-corked and left for 24hrs. Dark ruby red colour. An obvious sweet nose of strawberry and eucalyptus with underlying sweaty socks. A Very potent nose—a little overripe. The monstrous tannins lightened up only a fraction with 24hrs to breathe. Flavours difficult to extract due to the tannins once again, but got dark cherry flavours with a woody and smoky finish. Id give this 15-20 years.
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Day 1: Opened and served right away. Deep dark ruby red/purple in colour. Sweet nose at first, with aromas of sweet sweaty socks, cigar, cotton candy and underlying sour cherries. Huge mouth feel. A mountain of tannins that grip your entire palate. This is a monster wine. It was difficult to extract flavours from this wine as the tannins were almost mouth numbing. 2 minutes and 2 sips of water later I could still taste and feel the tannins. Sour cherry flavours was all I could distinguish. After being open for an hour, the sweetness simmered down and the nose became more earthy and dirty. The flavour profile expanded a tad on this second glass and gave me flavours of sour cherries and pine cones. A long 1 minute finish with cigar and mocha flavours. I can’t wait for those tannins to settle down because this muscular wine will be exceptional.
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Amazingly fragrant, powerful wine, with great complexity and strong tannins at the moment. A wine that will need time for the tannins to relax, but the backbone is amazing and it should be even better in the future. 92-97
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2003 Bordeaux Tasting at Wine Watch (Ft. Lauderdale, FL): This was decanted for 3.5 hours before tasting. Very concentrated and needs much more time to fully integrate all the components. Should wait 6 years before attempting tasting again. Has a good bit of structure and some acidity despite the vintage. Of course, plenty of fruit to match the tannins. Should be very interesting down the road.
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Opened 2PM, immediately showing strong aromas and flavors of mixed berries, just short of jamminess. Strong tannins, not overwhelming, no hint of alcohol, balanced in mouth.
By 10 PM, showed all of the good characteristics of the vintage, i.e. the smokiness, sweet fruit and concentration.
I don't know what the controversy is about this juice— it is very very fine now, and in 10-20 years, I imagine spectacular.
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Dare I disagree with Bob and Jancis? First wine I headed for at the Farr Xmas Tasting at Vintners Hall EC4. Decanted from a double magnum - the colour was extraordinary - deep, rich, almost impenetrable. Bouquet of red fruit, but not the powerhouse I'd heard about. Taste a little closed up: fine, but not extraordinary. I found the Pichon Baron 1996 every part it's equal (actually superior). I suspect it will improve, but I'm not good at predicting the future, so on this I defer to RP. Wasn't worth over £1000 a case in bond, which was what I really wanted to find out, but also certainly wasn't the Ribena that JR described.
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A think there is some serious upside here - that is the reason for the high rating. Give this five to seven years and I think it will be really really excellent.
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Hard to judge - Very subtle nose of red fruit, dense with big silky tannins that never seem to let up, however, lacking complexity, even given its young age, very long finish with hints of dark chocolate, cedar and tea leaf
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Deep red. A classic dusty nose of blackcurrant, minerals, tobacco and vanilla. It is even more intense than Montrose, but a lot more accessible. I couldn't help but just stand and smile like some kind of a silly person... Rating: 95
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My first try of this wine -purchased from WineEx. This was incredible -very young-but incredible. Not heavy or hot at all, but very concentrated. Not over-ripe or zin-like. Very obviously Bordeaux. Deep color, some strong tannins, but it drank well the day it arrived. I assume it will shut down but worth trying if you have enough.
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Big blast of violet and mocha. A touch less velvety than I expected and a bit light on the extract and sweetness for 03. This reminds me of the young 98, before it shut down, at least on the nose. On the palate, tannins are fine, but acidity seems a bit hollow. Eager to see where this goes, but have to wonder if secondary fruit will have any structure left to hang on. Tasty as can be tonite...for the fatailist, this is a wine to enjoy now.
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4/6/2024 - Caruso Likes this wine: 97 Points
German pink to the edge with no sign of aging. Pnp. Quite ready from the start, needs just a little bit time in the glas or opened bottle to reveal a more powerful nose and palate. A mix of black, red and blue fruits with forest floor, pencil shavings, cedar. On the palate first light, but gaining power within 30 minutes with round but present tannins. Intense, complex and a joy to drink. I don't know, what is here to criticize. Today it is a civilized nuanced elegant, yet powerful bordeaux with at least a decade ahead if perfectly stored since release. 5/13/19/10.
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4/2/2024 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 92 Points
Purchased awhile ago and saved for my daughter’s 21st. She has a bum birth year but I did some research and this was one of the better performing 03’s, supposedly.
In reality, I was disappointed although enjoyed the lovely experience of drinking it with her. The nose was sweet fruit and similar on the palate, but the alcohol was just too much for me and ruined all the other good things about this wine.
Fortunately, she enjoyed it and appreciated the effort.
Much preferred the ‘03 La mission and the ‘03 Abreu Thorvelios. So there are some decent ‘03s to be found. But for the price, I would not purchase another ‘03 Pavie!!
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1/5/2024 - EyeDoc wrote: 92 Points
Nose is a bit dead - decent dark fruits and nice full finish with tannin that lingers. A bit jammy. Just missing something. Either an off bottle or just fading.
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1/1/2024 - redknife Likes this wine: 94 Points
Brief decant and off to smith and wollensky for early Sunday dinner.
No formal notes
Wine was delicious, balanced in a very good spot
Great pairing with Cajun ribeye
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12/29/2023 - simonchope Likes this wine:
plums with more plums
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12/16/2023 - soyhead wrote:
nose - mint
mouth - massive fruit, very full, with good vibrancy. this wine was more of a beast in its youth. today its a full fruited right bank Bordeaux with more fruit then complexity. Loads of life left. Hold.
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10/14/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote: 95 Points
Another generous bottle of 2003 Pavie, showing ripe black and red plums, black raspberry, and lots of warm coziness in the form of mature barrel spice ushers the long, plummy finish. A tad bit alcoholic on the nose when compared to the other 03 on the table, giving a cool sensation of menthol. This is another bottle confirming that this is at the very top of its game for my taste. Dont wait too long. Drink
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7/19/2023 - bon vivant wrote: 95 Points
had this SBS with a 2005 The. 2003 from a warmer vintage was more approachable this evening as it showed a nice broad flavor spectrum and was easy going and tasty. No heat, no stewed fruit just a classic well made St Emilion at a great place.
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6/24/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote: 95 Points
Impressive for an 03, and even more impressive for an 03 from the heavy hand of Pavie. This wine was clearly made in the confused year of Bordeaux, the 03 vintage. I thought that this bottle showed the disciplined style of the winemaker better than many other wines from 03, even from the left bank. It also showed the accelerated aging that many 03's have shown. Its deep, plummy, cedar laden, and starting to develop some notes of barrel spice/asian spice in the background, telling me that this is really at peak maturity for my taste. A long, caressing finish that loses the balance that the palate brought, with a touch of that spice faintly lingering, showing slight fatigue. I think that this is just at the top of its game, but the nose is starting to point down. Drink over next decade for sure.
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4/22/2023 - devraj Likes this wine: 95 Points
A very youthful dark purple in color with lightening around the rim. Soaring aromas of cassis and dark plum jam, violets, hint of truffle, and mocha. A rich, plump & layered palate follows through with cassis/blackberry preserves, mocha, minerals, medium (-) acidity, hint of tannins peaking through and a long, palate saturating finish. A massive, modern and opulent 2003 right bank but aging glacially.
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4/12/2023 - AWBryce wrote:
Lovely, right bank sweet fruit on the nose, some forest floor, well resolved and silky, v long finish. Another impressive 03
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3/2/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 80 Points
This was easily the outlier wine in the 2003 Bordeaux tasting although up against mostly left bank wines. I was trying to give it the benefit of the doubt but it was slightly roasted with jammy fruit and in the end somewhat sickening and tiring on the palate. Not surprising given the style of winemaking here at the time which was to pick very late at high ripeness and alcohol levels so they had virtually no shot in this super-hot vintage. 80-
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2/14/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Drinking in its sweet spot, with its blend of crushed rocks, salt, dark red fruits, flowers, wet earth, and bushels of red and black blue fruits, the wine is rich, full-bodied, lush, but not hot, jammy, or out of balance. Popped and poured, this is simply delicious from start to finish. Drink from 2023-2035.
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2/4/2023 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 Points
Drank blind. Again I guessed Tuscan Cabernet. Very dense and heavy with thick grainy tannins. Milk chocolate, blue/blackberry, anise, vanilla, tobacco…. Very Napa like extraction. Probably in the prime drinking window now.
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1/27/2023 - Cow Town Likes this wine: 94 Points
BYO at R'Evolution in New Orleans. Great wine with a great meal. Even at 20 years old, this still seemed young (dark color, no bricking, good tannins out of the gate). Seems like it has a long life ahead.
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1/12/2023 - ilee Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dinner with RC & friends at China Tang (China Tang, Hong Kong): I remember the fuss over the release of this wine back in the day, when a famous American wine critic declared it perfect, and a British critic disagreed. I never had the chance to drink it until now. Well, so who was right?
First off, this was served blind, and my guess was off by miles. Medium light ruby in color, a little cloudy, with even some bricking on the rim. Distinct floral notes on the bouquet, with minerals, leather, ash. Medium bodied on the plate, the fruit and tannins are beautifully resolved into mellowed, rounded layers that unfurl into a gentle velvety finish. So mature and evolved it was, I thought it might be late 80's, Margaux region maybe? It was thus a mild and pleasant shock to see what it was.
Perhaps ours was not your average bottle, but I'm sure this is not how good old RP saw this wine unfolding 20 years later!
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12/31/2022 - benny wrote: 95 Points
Popped and poured. Very elegant wine. Sorry my last bottle.
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11/18/2022 - SCM Fan Likes this wine: 90 Points
No decanting, poured with some Holy Grail Upper Prime Picanha steaks. The excellent beefiness on these steaks compliment the aged Pavie through first two glasses wife and I shared. Unfortunately, the wine did get tired quick, which was disappointing to us. Lovely mature BDX wine though I fear the first few years this wine was stored at an indiscriminate off site storage where temperatures were in the 70's. This probably did this wine no favors. Cork was excellent. Just wine felt "tired".
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9/9/2022 - AdinG wrote: 94 Points
Tasting well. Still tight . Velvety flavor with nice pepperary secondary tones. Think it can still cellar for 10+ years.
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9/3/2022 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful wine . Lots of depth, currant, cigar box flavors. Long fonish
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7/16/2022 - wineappellation Likes this wine: 94 Points
13.5%abv. Tasted blind. Intense with evolving complexities. Unmistakenly a high quality Right Bank, rich yet precise and elegant no sign of overripe fruits. Well absorbed oak. Arrays of black and red fruits, some graphite, wet earth, sweet spices and toast. With more air and swirling some leather and coffee notes.
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7/8/2022 - soyhead wrote:
2 separate bottles made it to the table (impressive coincidence), and it was very interesting to assess the bottle variation. The wine bought on release was fresher that that most recently acquired at auction. Both mainly showed gobs of fruit with the telltale Pavie coffee signature. My palate has change over the past fifteen years, and while I was less bowled over than I might have been, I still find this to be a sexy Bordeaux.
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6/13/2022 - snaff wrote: 94 Points
Fresh herbs and dark berry notes on the nose. A massive powerful wine presenting tobacco and tar with rich dark fruits, green pepper and a stiff set of tannins that linger. Delicious and great with food after an hour or so of air but still quite tight and not fully integrated. Give it a few years.
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5/10/2022 - dbg wrote:
Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Dark red/purple to rim. Cassis, plum, prunes/raisiny notes. Full bodied, jammy, over-ripe. The 3 years since I opened the prior bottle have not been kind to this wine. Enjoyable as a Napa-esque cocktail wine, it’s now teetering on the brink of flabbiness, but for the substantial tannins holding it up. Not sorry I don’t have any more.
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3/4/2022 - AjitK wrote: 95 Points
This was a terrific bottle of wine. First and foremost, it is in a really good place right now (March 2022). Plenty of primary (deep, rich black and blue concentrated, ripe fruit), secondary (delightful bitter herbaceous notes like organo and marjoram), and some tertiary notes (emerging after 3 hours of decant with musky forest floor and leather). The nose was just WOW / Intense and rich. what stood out even more than the gorgeous bouquet was the mouthfeel - unctuous full, thick body. To me, this was a delightful wine and the Wine of the night (with other heavy hitters like 2001 Yalumba Octavius and 2009 Duhart Milon to compete with). I didn’t start of in a Parker or Robinson Court before enjoying this wine, but am squarely in the RP/WS (JS reviewed) perspective of this being a terrific wine, worthy of the flagship effort by a cherished st. Emilion winery. I can’t believe JR would give this a 12/20. That’s just nonsensical. Now, at $400 it’s not a value wine by any stretch but a very strong, elite offering. The tanin levels indicate another 10 years ahead of it, easily.
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2/15/2022 - benny wrote: 95 Points
Drinking well now. Decanted for 1 hour. Drank over two. In a good place.
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1/22/2022 - VAGenius Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nose of dark currant, light coffee bean, and bacon fat. Powerful, rich, dense palate of dark cherry, cassis, stones, hazelnut, chocolate, cafe au lait, and wet leaves. Finish brings a big swath of earth and iron, followed by dark black plum and black fruits, then crashes into fat tannins, oak, dried herbs and lingering thyme and white pepper. This wine has quite the reputation and we purchased it to see what all the fuss was about. One can see aspects of both the positive and critical viewpoints. In the end, we found it a fine wine, albeit maybe not a great QPR. Drink or hold another 10 years, but I don't see it evolving much more.
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1/7/2022 - Topper wrote: 87 Points
Having recently had a 2000 that was extremely youthful, I was surprised to find this one falling off the cliff. Flat and pruney on day 1 and undrinkable on day 2. Must be some bottle variation as a a few others have noted this on CT whereas many find their bottle to be fresher. Mine was stored at 55 degrees since release in a dedicated wine facility. Completely different from my experience with 03 Montrose which is still enormous.
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12/17/2021 - T.E.D. wrote: 93 Points
Second bottle in a few months. Again very youthful. Chalky and loamy with cedar, pipe, chewy stone fruits, coco nib. Very unctuous and leaning new world in style.
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12/13/2021 - Jack wrote: 95 Points
Still a baby. Much calmer on the second night. Long decant or open the day before, enjoy a glass and drink on day 2.
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12/11/2021 - King Julien wrote: 95 Points
Decanted about 2 hours.
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10/9/2021 - nywine68 Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Pruny and stewed. Massive wine showing all the signs of the heatwave year. Pavie is always big and flamboyant but in a hot year like this, it’s just too much. No balance or freshness.
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10/8/2021 - rcg62 Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Nose is pretty awful. Prune, stewed tomato. Would think it was a shot bottle except this is Pavie, and not different from others (to me!). Palate for sure better. But definitely not for me. Hot. Has some decent dark fruit there but so over the top. Maybe I just don’t get it, as others seem to love it. Note: Just edited this after having another bottle (1/22). Same thoughts (initially didn’t add a rating).
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9/22/2021 - T.E.D. wrote: 93 Points
U Club selection. Limited note. This was still fresh and showing youth. Classic profile of chalky fruits, clay, tobacco and pipe. Hints of coco. Smooth and silky.
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8/24/2021 - JTobin Likes this wine: 96 Points
1 hour decant. Tasting fabulous now.
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7/24/2021 - tbabes wrote: 98 Points
From magnum. Deep purple core; youthful appearance. Notes of ripe plums, black cherry, cassis, mocha, with hints of star anise, campfire and earth. Medium to full bodied, lush, round, and silky, with great concentration and depth. Long and full finish. This wine makes absolutely no apologies for its flamboyant and modern style! That said, it has evolved considerably over the past decade, and is not nearly as “controversial” today as it was in its youth. Not my preferred style, but what a wine!
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7/18/2021 - Lipsman wrote: 93 Points
Notes of cherries and plums on the nose. Big fruit and husky but ripe tannins, black cherry cola, tobacco, cedar, earthy notes, with a long finish. Decanted from a magnum.
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7/9/2021 - Mr T wrote:
Drunk over 2
Nights at the beach. This is a very pleasant drink but most definitely drinks like a Cali cab in my book. I like Cali cab. Others may not want that in their Bordeaux
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5/16/2021 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 89 Points
Similar to first bottle tasted. This is the second and last bottle. Purple color with a bouquet and flavor of currants but quite muted and disappointing. Possibly in a dumb phase, but will never know.
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5/16/2021 - JMellet Likes this wine: 97 Points
Dinking perfectly right now... I may as well rate it 100... it was perfect!
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4/9/2021 - Kevnzworld wrote: 93 Points
1 hour decant at home.
Good but not a Cos or Montrose from the same vintage ( which are better IMO ).
A little disjointed, a little hot. Maybe the heat of the vintage affected the wine or maybe it’s just this bottle
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3/17/2021 - randyjc wrote: 92 Points
Blind-tasted alongside a 2003 Pontet-Canet. The wine was decanted almost 4 hours with a substantial amount of sediment. A sweet, red candied fruit nose with alcohol and sweet oak. In the mouth, ripe red fruit, spicy and even a little savory. Boysenberry and plum as well, and the new oak from the nose remains. Last time I had this wine was over ten years ago and it seemed fruit-bomb-ish then. Today it is gravely and austere and feels like it should be kept another 10 or even 20 years.
The next morning the wine showed the same but had a bit of thickness to it. A fun experience but I would never pay the present market prices to have it again.
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2/7/2021 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 92 Points
Nose is punchy with a lot of oak vanilla above the black fruit. Modern but has a bit of earth about it. Ultra ripe and already showing the scorched character of the vintage. Have had a number of '03 Bordeaux the past few months and this is relatively quite nice. Stops just short of full on glycerine and tar but it is built in that direction. 92 - 93.
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1/1/2021 - Meeth Likes this wine: 89 Points
Lots of fruit. Balamced tannins. Very good
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12/9/2020 - PimpDaddy2Kool Likes this wine: 93 Points
Needs about two hour decant then it's good to go. Delicious. Still has some more milage but hey why wait?
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10/23/2020 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Hmm... had this been served blind, I would have said Dalle Valle Maya from a hot year in Napa. However, it wasn’t served blind and while very good, it is overdone, slightly reductive, and not a classic Bordeaux. I don’t see this getting better with age and recommend serving to your friends who love cult Cali Cab.
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8/5/2020 - mactheknife Likes this wine: 95 Points
I agree with DHarrison3. I decanted for 2 hours, rebottled and took to dinner. Getting the dregs out made every sip a pleasure. I would call this a blend of old world and new, with a leaning towards new. Very sexy wine.
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7/12/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 96 Points
Big, ripe and youthful, I enjoyed this a lot but this has a long way to go and certainly benefits from a few hours of air. Very modern in style compared to the 96’ Montrose we drank next to it, almost everyone preferred the Pavie.
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5/22/2020 - dharrison93 Likes this wine: 96 Points
WOTV? Drank with a friend after a 5 hour decant.
Black as motor oil with no sediment.
Thrilling nose of black berries, Asian spice with a hint of cassis.
All agreed this is so dense and spectacular it has at least 5-10 thrilling years left.
If a date, this was a 35 year old former porn star:Dressed to kill and able to thrill.
Parker's opinion beats Jancis' on this thrilling bottle
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3/27/2020 - curtr Likes this wine:
A little tight & modern, very big, drink 2022-33.
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3/4/2020 - RusisWine wrote: 94 Points
More decanting needed to make this sing. Great fruit and balance.
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2/15/2020 - Jgoz123 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dinner Eleven Madison Park
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2/10/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Lush, ripe, rich, full-bodied, ripe, even very ripe, but not over-ripe, the wine is plummy and loaded with smoke, espresso, licorice, stone and dark, ripe plums. This is a good time to be drinking this.
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1/31/2020 - peternelson Likes this wine:
Driking well but don't remember much on this one unfortunately. Heritage Wine Blind Tasting Finals after-party at Jean-George Las Vegas
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12/26/2019 - bonedoc wrote:
Xmas dinner, roast tenderloin, limited notes. 92
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12/1/2019 - Elkcims Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. This one was complex, multilayered and had the older wood and earth undertones and loads of black fruit. Really enjoyable. NOt last my last bottle earlier this year which I apparently did not let open up enough.
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11/26/2019 - spendergast Likes this wine: 98 Points
This wine is incredibly rich and concentrated with notes of ripe red fruit, mocha, and earth. The tannins are soft and well integrated. This is not everyone's style of wine but for me this wine is nearly perfect. I bought 6 bottles at $179/btl and have 3 left. I should have bought two cases. Live and learn!
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11/18/2019 - dbg wrote:
The wine that Parker and Robinson were at opposite poles over. Bought this to see for myself. Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Dark red/purple to rim. Cassis, plum, tar, smoke, oak on the nose, could easily pass as a big Napa cab. Very full bodied, very ripe fruit forward palate, sweet, perhaps approaching jammy but good acidity keeps it fresh, moderate tannins, no complexity, moderately long finish. Very intense wine but more Napa than Bordeaux. Will complexity develop and some semblance of Bordeaux-ness emerge? Not sure, but think it will take another 10 years to find out. I can see the polarizing nature here. If you’re looking for a Bordeaux, you won’t find it here. If big Napa cabs are your thing, this does an excellent job of pushing those buttons. If that style bores you, this wine will put you to sleep. If it offends you, stay away.
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11/14/2019 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 92 Points
Had side-by-side with the ’03 Angelus. Both of these wines are big and a little blown out. The Pavie achieves more elegance and delineated structure but the Angelus has more rusticity. Loads of black fruit to both, vanilla and polish. I think the Pavie held up to the heat a little better and is showing more proper. Both good, short of amazing.
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11/8/2019 - SARED wrote: 92 Points
Out of 375. 92-93. 92+? Simple. Plums and black currants. Polished. Sleek. No heat. A bit sweet on the 2nd glass. My first reaction knowing this was an expensive Bordeaux was 92. But then I closed my eyes and pretended I was blinded, and thought this could be a 93 balanced/polished but sweet and ripe napa cab. If slightly less sweet, despite the big fruit, could have gone 93-94.
Go and but a new age cali zin for 80 percent of this experience at 25 percent of the cost. Or a 2002 Chevillon NSG 1er for half the cost. Or a To Kalon mondavi for or half the cost.
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8/12/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Decanted about 30 minutes, this is showing great today. Black cherry, smoke, plum, stone and floral notes pop with ease. Full-bodied, soft, rich and balanced, there is no touch of heat or sensation of overripeness. This beauty is drinking great today. If you have a bottle, pop a cork and check it out.
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7/12/2019 - Mad Dog Mikey Likes this wine: 94 Points
Jam-packed with everything. This was a controversial wine upon release due to the warm vintage (Parker loving it, Robinson not so much). I was tricked into believing that this wine had a short life span ahead of it due to previous notes on cellar tracker, I reckon that this vintage of Pavie will peak sometime over the next 20+ years. No rush!
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7/5/2019 - michael47 wrote: 94 Points
Surprisingly lush and tannic for a 16 year old. Dark and rich.
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7/3/2019 - Elkcims wrote: 92 Points
From 375ml, slow ox for an hour. Pruney and earthy and over-ripe. No pencil or graphite in my two glasses. Kind of between old and new world.
IIRC this was a hot vintage.. I'd say the wine at this age is going downhill. Will try my last one of this vintage soon.
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5/18/2019 - Friendless Drinkers Club Likes this wine: 96 Points
May Meeting of Friendless Drinkers Club (Vancouver Club): Decanted 1.5 hours before serving but could have used more aeration. Blockbuster wine. Full bodied, solid tannins level. Lots of dark plums, raspberry with woody and graphite aftertaste. Very powerful wine
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4/29/2019 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 96 Points
Purple, almost dark black. I have never had a wine smell so much of sweet blackberries! The incredible black fruits on this was mind blowing. Very balanced. Whilst youthful, this did appear ready. Served blind during dinner with TH, K and VO.
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2/23/2019 - soyhead wrote:
from magnum
nose-licorice
mouth - rich, ripe, almost mocha infused, and a touch raisin-y, however the big surripe fruit is nicely balanced by its refreshing juiciness. Lots of power here. My sense is the 03 pavie from standard bottle size has already peaked.
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2/19/2019 - wren460 wrote: 93 Points
I was expecting much more new world flavors because of the producer and vintage. A lot of raisin in this wine with dark fruits. Very young (yeah, still) wine but you can drink it today or in 5 years without any issues. Very elegant, smooth, with a typical Bordeaux nose mixed with a little sunshine. Will I buy at $300+ ? No. It is a very good wine but nothing quite unique or extremely memorable. It would be a good value at $150, but north of that I can name much better options.
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1/17/2019 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 92 Points
Lush entry with a bit of busy viney heat on the entry. The palate is seamless, smooth and plush. Modern Pavie and 2003 on the right bank? I expected to hate it; but it grew on me. It has attractive red fruits and the superior terroir starts to shine through all the gloss and make up. Revisiting at the end of the evening it had evolved into an attractive wine with alluring soy and Asian spicey notes.
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1/17/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Flickinger Customer Appreciation Tasting (Casino Club - Chicago IL): Tasting from magnum, brief note. Very ripe and somewhat jammy, but clearly well balanced with very good length and even better length. Exceeded my expectations given vintage and Pavie style.
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1/17/2019 - Paul D wrote: 88 Points
2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): Nose shows ripe dark fruit, plum, vanilla. A touch of raisin. Palate is full bodied, soft and voluptuous with ripe dark fruit, a touch of alcoholic warmth, moderate acidity and a good length fruity finish. Interesting if not overly enjoyable.
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1/17/2019 - SimonG wrote: 90 Points
2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): Dark fruited nose. Richer and thicker. A sense of a tad more alcohol here. Full but actually quite smooth. Not gloopy. There’s a touch of freshness on the mid palate to finish. ***1/2
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12/26/2018 - bonedoc wrote:
All ‘03’s, double decanted and drank over 3 hours.
Pavie : lighter in body, ripe fruit, but a short finish. Disappointing compared to the other 2 wines. 91
Ducru Beaucaillou: ripe, forward, round, medium finish. 93
Pontet canet : darker profile, a touch of spice, longer finish. 93
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12/15/2018 - Jjfredlake Likes this wine:
Drank while playing “hoo drinking” game at Holiday Party. Tough to keep up. Great juice.
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12/13/2018 - soyhead wrote:
Off bottle, sadly, we couldn’t settle on corked or cooked or whatever but sadly this was not the 03 Pavie that I know and love.
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10/29/2018 - danibus Likes this wine: 92 Points
Loads of silky dark fruit--black cherries, plum--with lurking minerality, though too much oak for my taste. Delicious modern Bordeaux meets Napa, but prefer classic Medocs to right bank blockbusters.
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8/8/2018 - Wuhan Joe Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose of green peppers and herbs. Wonderfully fruity with raspberries, red currant and cherries. Velvet smooth with fine tannins. Great length. This is a class act but doesn’t quite live up to its celebrity status.
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5/12/2018 - Caruso Likes this wine: 95 Points
Garnet without any signs of aging at age 15. First a bit reduced nose of black currant, cherries, charcoal and herbs as well. On the palate thick and concentrated but not unbalanced like some british reviewer wrote. The tannin is present, but round and smooth and acidity delivers enough freshness. Very long. It is a bit dominated by the fruit chord. If it adds more complexity and elegance after longer airation (it doesn't), I would give it an even higher score. Now: 5/13/18/9
This should develope effortlessly for ten to twenty years if optimal stored. 96
Postscript: After 15 hours the last 0,1-0,2 l show signs of oxidation (no decantation). So maybe my drinking date given above is a bit optimistic. 95
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5/9/2018 - drjb Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wine Dinner #161 - Super-Tuscans (Urbane Restaurant, Brisbane): A ring-in served blind in a line-up of Super-Tuscans this wine cried out Right Bank Bordeaux with an extra structure and minerality that with the Masseto fruit may have added up to perfection. The surprise was that it was the 2003 Pavie as it tasted very correct with lovely dark plum, blackcurrant, cassis, violet and truffle inflected fruit that was perfectly balanced by its structure. Clearly the terroir is winning through here as the seemingly over the top character I discerned when I tasted this in 2006 has been tamed by time. A lovely and typical bottle of high quality St Emilion.
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4/29/2018 - Sen4469 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Open and poured this time. Once again very good.
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4/24/2018 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
(Non) Blind 2004 and Older Bordeaux (Meritage): Having had this wine twice before and being quite unimpressed, I felt this bottle was starting to turn the corner. It is still clearly young in nature. But I didn't feel it was hot at all. I enjoyed the potential and the young Bordeaux qualities of this bottle. If I owned this wine, I would sit on it for at least 5 years. Maybe longer. Probably longer. Such is the nature of Bordeaux.
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4/14/2018 - Sen4469 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Very good and powerful wine with plenty of life ahead.
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4/7/2018 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 95 Points
I love Pavie wines, just love them and this one didn't disappoint. Pure RB Bordeaux through and through with some nice age on it. Pulled it out b/c some great wine friends were in town and there was a bone-in ribeye coming to the table. That + I thought this was the right occasion. Lots of good depth, layers, earth and light dirt on the nose. Very romantic flavors of spice, floral notes, and graphite on the palette. 2 minute finish. Beautiful
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3/17/2018 - Eric wrote:
2003 Bordeaux at 15 years courtesy of Mark Taylor; 3/17/2018-3/18/2018 (Atlanta, GA): Is this Pauillac? Scorchy and high pitched with a huge palate. Seaweed and some green notes have me leaning to Cos, but the spicy mint and menthol on an absolutely plush, silky, blanketing palate have me thinking Pichon Lalande. Incredibly fine and silky tannins with texture that stands out. Guessed as Lalande, but this was Pavie. Ranked 1 out of 6 and the group #4.
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2/17/2018 - Smart Likes this wine: 98 Points
Mature with medium ruby in colour, floral aroma, and you won't regret to drink it now. Powerful and rich of sweet and black cherry. Air for over 30 minutes gave more fragrance of fruits. A good choice for dinner with family and friends.
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2/17/2018 - LB88 wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for one hour, a little funk on the length and lacks a little finish but overall a very good wine and ready to drink over the next few years!
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1/20/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Concentrated, lush rich and not overripe, though, there is a mild touch of heat in the opulent finish. The wine kicks off with its nose of dark, red berries, espresso, licorice, and earth. This is a good time to be drinking this, although, there is no hurry to pop a cork.
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12/27/2017 - dglebo wrote:
On the nose, dark fruit of sweet prunes, dates and plums. On the palate there’s blackberry and cassis. Wood fire elements. Still a bit tannic fior an 03.
I feel this review is a touch critical for a wine I find great pleasure in. So close to excellent.
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12/20/2017 - apple1813 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Impressive nose, packed with coffee, sweet tocacco and ceder wood
Significant sediments almost opaque with a brown rim
Full-bodied, relatively low acidity, strong tannins and it is even a bit drying and a bit too oaky
I can see why it stirs some controvesy among critics, and I personally think the oak is a bit over for personal enjoyment The strong oak is appropriate, perhaps, when you are in a flight of 10+ wines.
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12/2/2017 - onboisduvin Likes this wine: 90 Points
A Pavie that has all the elements of Saint-Emilion but lack a bit of depth and integration. Don't know if it is going to improve because the tannin is already softening. 90
20190317 Greatly evolved. Right at its peak. 94
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11/22/2017 - PimpDaddy2Kool Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 90 minutes...good to go. Wine is in a great place now. Why wait?
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11/14/2017 - Pacalet Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank from double mag, a big and robust red, great to accompany food than to drink by itself. Not sure if its at a dumb phase or not, not as impressive as I recall drinking abt 7-8years ago, problem for me is the acidity level is rather low for a Bordeaux.
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11/8/2017 - PSC wrote: 92 Points
Good black fruit, dark coco nose and flavours. Powerful and dry, not as sickly as last time I tried. However finish unpleasantly medicinal. Alcoholic overtones. Disappointing compared to last bottle.
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10/1/2017 - tbabes wrote: 97 Points
Full throttled, delivering lush and velvety dark fruits, with hints of Lilly, licorice, and truffle. Surprisingly good delineation and grip for such a hedonistic wine. What a joy to experience!
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9/15/2017 - bonedoc wrote: 92 Points
Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Plummy, ripe, didn't have a lot of complexity. Certainly a modern style. Drink or hold 5-10 yrs.
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9/2/2017 - tomoem wrote: 96 Points
I reiterate many of my recent notes here. This is the real deal for a right bank wine. Simply one of the great ones for the 2003 vintage.
Give it another 5-10 years to better resolve the tannins. If it needs to be opened please decant for 4-8 hours.
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8/15/2017 - Ramberg wrote: 83 Points
No formal notes.
Nose with enormous amounts of charred oak and over extracted artificial darker fruits mixed with some alcohol heat.
Palate shows a very jammy and oak infested Napa styled bomb.
Sweet, jammy, unbalanced, woody, alcoholic, over extracted and over concentrated, lots of dark and overripe plums and clumsy cassis fruits.
Thick and sticky, burnt and way to hot.
The vintage did not help in this case either, only made it even worse.
What I personally would call a Parker wine. (Have not checked what score WA gave it, but would guess between 100 and 200 something).
Another over done new-worldish Napa styled and uninteresting powerhouse.
Not my style, at all.
Would maybe be good as a base in a powerful red wine sauce or marinade?
I simply don't get it, what's the point?
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7/4/2017 - RockinCabs wrote:
Nose: Wow! Blueberry, blackberry compote, licorice, scorched earth, graphite and cocoa notes. Big dose of oak still integrating, but giving a nice oak/spice layer to the nose. Palate: Minerally slate notes are wrapped with sexy black fruits, graphite, chocolaty green pepper, burnt caramel, smoke and some anise spice. Finish: Concentrated blackberry and a payload of tannins. Still a bit hard in the finish now.
This is a great bottle of wine, but not a great St. Emilion. Sexy and balanced, but more Cult Napa than Bordeaux. I wanted to like this more, but the lack of place holds it back. May evolve more, but time will tell.
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6/18/2017 - Cirrhotic Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted 1 hour drank over 3 hrs. Slight orange rim on decanting but otherwise dark clear ruby color. Fantastic nose, deep graphite and dark fruit. Mid palate of juicy dark fruit and dusty tannins with some green herbal notes. Moderate pleasing gentle finish that could be longer. This shorter finish only downside. Blind I would have guessed higher end Sonoma cab. Certainly has years but think it's in its drinking window.
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5/26/2017 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Poker night - Bordeaux single blind - 00 & 03 Pavie, 98 TR, 05 LD and etc. (My house - Northern Virginia): Expressive nose, surprisingly fresh no longer showing prune, mostly black fruit, flowers and mineral. The fruit is decidedly darker and the overall expression is more youthful than the 00 served in the flight. This has reached the youthful peak and drinking beautifully. There is a hint of dry tannins. Paul correctly guesses the vintage then the chateau. We are all impressed.
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5/19/2017 - sdwineguru Likes this wine: 93 Points
Mid dark garnet, brick edges; big fruit nose; prunes, berry, cocoa, wood; mid-body; fine fruit extract; long, deep, balanced finish. Will continue to improve. w/filet
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4/5/2017 - Life At Your Leisure 🍷 wrote: 88 Points
Tasted blind. Medium ruby turning rust at the rim. Very Old World Bordeaux featuring damp earth, mushrooms, black currants, dark chocolate, lead pencil. Medium body and thin. Flat, short finish. Drink now until 2028.
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2/22/2017 - AlbertaOenologist Likes this wine: 96 Points
velvety texture, upfront cassis and blackberry, minerals, extremely smooth and well balanced, long lingering finish.
This wine somehow amplified food flavours, even making carrots taste better!
The best wine we've had so far... leaves us wanting more
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2/16/2017 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 96 Points
Speaks to the quality of wines at SATT that this was 4th or 5th of 12 wines served. A powerhouse Bordeaux, this has dark blackberry, currant, plum and smoke flavors. This is my kind of wine - need to find a few bottles
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2/5/2017 - tomoem Likes this wine: 95 Points
Super bowl wine with chips, cheese, sliders, wings and all kings of bad food. This and all of the other wines we opened were allowed 6 plus hours of decant. Ok now to the wine:
Fabulous graphite and aged cooked blackberries on the pallete. This is not a velvety nor smooth wine as it attacks the mouth and tongue with complex flavors. Finish is tannic and lingering notes of graphite.
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2/3/2017 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 95 Points
Still quite primary with dark fruit core and moderate tannins.
clearly needs 5+ more years.
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1/28/2017 - soyhead wrote:
N - earth, grapeskin , funky
M - touch reminiscent of the 03 angelus , funky , complex fruited, and surprisingly evolved. Good to great
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1/15/2017 - CabIsKing wrote: 97 Points
Great nose of dark fruits and hints of floral. Big and bold on the tongue with a huge, long finish. Very good juice.
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12/14/2016 - Winetex wrote: 94 Points
A nice taste at a wine dinner. It was a huge wine with complexity. I wish I could have enjoyed it more but it went way too well with the food. Yowza.
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12/3/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
3 - 4 hours of decanting really made a difference. The plan was for about 2 hours of air, but we did not get to the bottle, and I am sure it helped. The wine offered this fabulous, tobacco, rock, plum, earthy character, with a richness, but no sense of over ripeness. It was long, soft and complex.
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10/17/2016 - tomoem Likes this wine: 96 Points
I have had a case of 12 of which 8 are left. I have tried them over the last 4 years with my last tasting in 2013. My thoughts were that the wine is years away from being ready to consume and I thought that try some new inventory which might mitigate my experiences which were good but not great. 91-92 range
First night
The wine was closed and dry. The finish was enormously long but left me with a dry mouth feel. The fruits bordered on prune and a tinge of anise. I am thinking that these are no different than my experiences from 2 years ago. (90-91 range)
The second night
This wine showed a big punch. Powerful and with an intensity which I expect from a GREAT ST. EMILLION. This was rich and delivered enormous fruit of licorice ripened blackberry and a finish of chocolate ( A solid 93)
The third night
This wine was the best tonight. It was creamy and loads of vanilla explode from the glass onto the palette. The chocolate finish of last night turned to vanilla with a mid-palette of graphite and a finish of earth and cocoa. There is a background of limestone and wet forest floor in this wine which has still more complexity. There is even some floral quality to the finish. (96-97 range wine)
Years and years remain for a peak version of this wine. One of the better wines I think I have in the cellar.
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10/3/2016 - jamie24 Likes this wine: 94 Points
not sure what all the controversy is about? this wine is excellent. maybe it had some issues in it's youth but it's settled down now and is in an excellent drinking place right now. tons of fruit but not overdone.
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9/26/2016 - rashcar Likes this wine: 96 Points
Once the cork is out so are the aromas. Great wine all together. The nose is of pomegranate, ripe fruits and wet stones. The structure is solid with slow developing legs and long finish.
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9/23/2016 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 95 Points
Right Bank Premier Grand Cru Classe "A" Bordeaux tasting (Karl's house): Dark opaque ruby color. Very dark fruit, blackberry, licorice, truffle, and rich chocolate. A full-bodied mouthfeel, with nice complexity on the palate. A medium-plus length finish with average level of acidity. It was interesting to compare this to the 2003 Angelus; this wine was much darker and richer, with a bit less acidity and freshness. Still, the nose on this wine can get you hooked.
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9/11/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Powerful, rich, intense, with a boatload of rich, ripe fruits, crushed stone, licorice and floral aromatics. Ready to drink, but still youthful for a 2003 St. Emilion, the wine is opulent, fat, mouth filling and leaves you with a long finish of ripe, juicy dark plums, dark black cherries, earth and cocoa.
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9/1/2016 - ledwards wrote: 96 Points
In a great place right now. Yes, slightly more fruit on the palate but integrated so fluidly that it is an asset. Really strutting its pedigree with terrior and earthen notes on the finish.
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7/15/2016 - Henry Miller Likes this wine: 97 Points
Not sure what the transatlantic fuss was about. This is unmistakably elegant, rich, complex, perfumed Bordeaux. Tightly wrapped cherry and minerals wrapped in silk tail off into a perfumed and nicely dry finish. As rich and ripe as it is, there is a sense of weightlessness that characterizes only the greatest wines of France and the world.
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6/23/2016 - Coffeecup Likes this wine: 96 Points
Coravined-96, breathed a total of 3 hours, not yet ready, but what a wonderful, special wine, red fruit, lovely bouquet and finish, this is now one of my favorite wines.
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6/12/2016 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Second Sunday Group: Valtellina (Neil's): Double decanted before the tasting. Earthy dark fruit with plum and floral undertones. Nice concentration on the palate with flavors od dark fruit, spice and earth. Good finish. Drinking very well with a couple of hours of air.
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5/28/2016 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Memorial Day Mondo Event - Burghounds & Bordelais: Amazing what a few years in the bottle will do to a wine. I had this vintage of Pavie two years ago and it was tough as nails not showing much. Two years later and BAM, this wine is starting to strut its stuff. Everyone thought this was left bank Bordeaux due to the sheer depth & concentration. Once the wine was revealed, we all understood why, thanks to the Gerard Perse wine making style. However, I did not get the over extraction or over ripeness you might expect from the 2003 vintage. This was showing great on this night.
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5/27/2016 - Rezy13 wrote: 92 Points
Burg & Bordeaux $100+ (Duluth, GA): Intense color, maroon with brighter rim; blueberry, cedar, green notes, dusty, cigar, modern, oak; silkier on the palate, cedar, seamless, fruit is Right Bank, concrete on the finish; nice balance, another '03 that is coming together with more improvement in its future.
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5/27/2016 - zding wrote: 92 Points
Ruby color, wrapped by raspberry and vanilla. Velvet body yet full of sediments, oak and cedar, reminiscence of lead, iron and blood.
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5/8/2016 - Donjcorleone Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for an hour and the nose on this wine is intoxicating and full of sweet blackberry and cherry, lead pencil, stone and cedar which lead way to a rich, full bodied wine that is jam packed with layers of ripe blue and blackberry jam, dark chocolate and spice notes that echo on the long finish.
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5/8/2016 - Parkster Likes this wine: 95 Points
Super structure and very well integrated. Strong minerals with grippy tannins yet polished. This wine needs more time in the bottle and it will be unbelievable.
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4/28/2016 - MRichman wrote:
Dinner with Petaluma Wine Group (Risibisi): Good fruit with some bright acid. A bit rich, silky with medium dark fruit. Great texture, hot but balanced with good acid. A modern styled Bordeaux, but clearly Bordeaux. None of us would have mistaken this for a California wine, and in fact it was very different from the Napa Cabernet we drank next to it. Ready to drink but no rush. Excellent.
Decanted this for several hours.
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4/25/2016 - Zinlady Likes this wine: 96 Points
Had with rack of lamb. So good. Velvet. Big. Dark. Lots of sediment. Full of flavor. Wow
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4/2/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rich ripe plush sweet chocolate good cherry fruits. Dense pretty nice depth long rich with green pepper finish. Black spices. Front end so much better then the finish. Overall lovely. Long life ahead.
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1/28/2016 - patwjr wrote: 94 Points
Bottle slightly off but still very good. Expect future ones to be great.
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1/20/2016 - nywine68 wrote:
Definitely not a 99 point wine but not a 12 pointer either. Nice nose and very round and smooth. In the end, it lacked complexity, though. Seems like a fairly simple round ripe wine. Still some tannins left
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12/29/2015 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Amazing nose of soy, flowers, white pepper and some spices. The palate is the perfect consistency for this time of night. Tannic still but delicious and long.
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10/24/2015 - Lord Rayas wrote: 97 Points
Dinner with Peter, Jesse and the Donohughs (Nadaman): only had half an hour in decanter but already showing much better than past bottles from previous years. maybe just hitting the window now. powerful, exciting stuff.
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9/12/2015 - Zorg wrote: 93 Points
Bottle slightly off but still very very good.
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7/30/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Power, concentration, intensity, ripe fruits and rocks make up the true blend for this wine. The wine is rich, dense and has a long life to look forward to. I know some people do not like the wine, but I love it! It's definitely better with an hour or two of air.
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7/12/2015 - shadow wrote: 98 Points
Of the three reds, this was it for me. The Cheval Blanc, Gracia and Pavie all pared beautifully. Similar in many ways, just done better.
The Pavie nose has floral notes and earthly under tones on the nose. First sip, more depth, more fruit, more concentration and definition.
Sipping one, than the other, I'm amazed how these three entice the palate and play off each other.
But without a doubt, the Pavie packs the nose and delights me the most. My friend Bela prefers the Cheval Blanc. His son, the Pavie.
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6/28/2015 - AWBryce Likes this wine: 92 Points
Plums, raspberry, cigar box nose. Still very young and the fruit is fresh. Good acidity, red fruits on the palate, high tannin. This will go for ages.
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5/16/2015 - Dehrmann Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark fruit, bold, heavy tannins - needs decanting
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4/26/2015 - McKraftyWino Likes this wine: 95 Points
big, jammy, chewy, blackberries,
still a baby in the bottle
fresh, perfect acidity
tried a sip or two and decided to decant to let open up
delicious
not sure how other Cellartracker reviewers has issues with this wine.
it is spectacular.
i expect they had storage issues (one said like "see thru" pinot in the glass?? this wine is dark, opaque...no "see thru" so not sure what happened to their wine.)
this is a great wine with many years (decades) of life left
enjoy!
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4/3/2015 - woofy wrote: 89 Points
This wine is just okay. I am disappointed. Tannins a bit sharp, fruit is negligible, it's like a "see thru" Pinot in the glass. It's definitely drinkable, and maybe my expectations were too high.
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11/22/2014 - pakabear Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great nose, just intoxicating! It's still young but very drinkable right now, great balance and still waiting for some secondary characteristics to show up.
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11/15/2014 - BradE wrote:
I don't get this wine, and simply don't like it. The group was divided about 50/50. Either loved it or hated it. I was in the later camp.
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10/21/2014 - dulcamara wrote:
- Medium forming legs and aromas of blackberry. It's balanced and has flavours of fig and blackberry with a medium/full body. Linear texture with a medium finish - Perfect time to drink this. I have 5 left and they'll be gone within a year.
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10/20/2014 - galewskj wrote: 86 Points
Consistent with previous note from 2012. This is quite hot, and I can't get past that.
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10/19/2014 - rocknroller wrote:
Monthly Tasting Group: Right Bank Bordeaux (Levain, Mpls): Very dark/purple red color. Decanted for 3 hours. Drank 1 glass over 2 hours. Probably the most disappointing wine of the evening given its pedigree. I had hoped for much more. This was young, tight, oaky, hot, overripe black fruit. The palate has full body, deep black fruit, good concentration, spicy but currently is shrouded in tannin and oak and suffers from its alcohol. Will 5-10 years soften this and bring forth an attractive wine? Maybe... 90pts(?)
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9/13/2014 - joshbryer wrote:
Relative to the '05 also served, this showed more appropriate typicity. Still not my style though... I found this to be drying and oaky with red fruits, somewhat lacking in structure. Does finish long and savory.
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8/22/2014 - dglebo wrote: 93 Points
Out of the bottle excellent. After 1/2 hour blossomed into cherries and rhubarb. Great accompaniment to a summer fare of veal chops, corn on the cob and heirloom tomatoes.
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7/12/2014 - King JR wrote: 95 Points
Outstanding wine! Still so young and fresh. Could still benefit from more cellaring but amazingly enjoyable now. Very powerful deep dark ruby color in the glass. But very smooth and fantastic fruit forward wine. Finished a bit short but was WOTN!
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7/5/2014 - woofy Likes this wine: 93 Points
With a little time to breathe, this wine opens up very nicely. I'm enjoying this one with a cigar.
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6/29/2014 - MikeZ wrote:
After a fantastic showing last week with another bottle, this bottle was pretty closed and a bit of a clunker...
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5/11/2014 - Rafili Likes this wine: 96 Points
Amazing nose, great fruit and an elegant finish.
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4/19/2014 - mwanasheria wrote: 95 Points
Interestingly mature, clear colour. Beguiling nose of cassis. On the palate kirsch, hot cherries, sweet cassis. Probably missing some acidity for the long run but still great.
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3/27/2014 - Pknut wrote:
Mike declared this to be the best California wine he's ever had. Damning with faint praise, to be sure. Dark fruit, very soft palate, hardly any definition. Not for me. Fairway Cafe with the guys.
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3/24/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Crushed stone, fennel, smoke, caramel and black cherry liqueur. The mineral essence is starting to show through on the palate and in the nose. Packed with layers of ripe, sweet berries, spice and earth, this is fat, lush and mouth filling with good intensity of flavor.
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2/8/2014 - soyhead Likes this wine:
popped and decanted for 30 min
nose - boysenberry, blueberry, mint, cocoa. fragrantly full and sweet
mouth - absolutely exploding with luscious and mouthwatering dark fruit, wow!, tastes amazing, really very nicely balanced, with great minerality, and not overdone. Has lovely red licorice/liqueur quality on the midpalate with a long and round tannic finish. Much riper in style than the '01 Pavie consumed several days prior. I would say, drink on its own, without food, and savour every sip. Perhaps that might sum up the brouhaha ten years out. I never tasted this in its youth, so I dont know what else to say about the controversy surrounding this. ' Port is best from the Douro not St.Emilion' actually raises an interesting question. Is wine about the pleasure that it brings or is it supposed to be true to some other ideal in addition (terroir? tradition?). While I agree this is not a very typical bottle of Bordeaux, or St. Emilion for that matter, I really dig it. If I had tasted this blind and had to guess its origin, I might suspect it to be a mid-aged high end Napa cabernet with a unusual smack of minerality.
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12/18/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Intense, thick, lush, rich, fresh and packed with intense levels of sweet, pure fruits, minerality, oak, and frankly, pleasure, this is still young and is only going to get better with age.
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12/6/2013 - cos82 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened and decanted about 2 hours ahead. Although drinking well with no tannin showing, another 5 years to mellow wouldn't hurt, Beautiful purple plum in color. Nice nose of cassis, blackberry, rose and camphor. Big palate of blackberry, cassis, earth, cherry and licorice. Delicious, but needs some time to soften.
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11/12/2013 - Yagil wrote: 94 Points
Great 2003 Bordeaux (Wine Road Tel-Aviv): blind tasting
dark red-brown
nose: ripe cherries, earthy
palate: rich ripe cherries, woody, grip tannins, long quality finish
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11/6/2013 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Drank @ Bin 54 in Chapel Hill
Wonderful wine. Tight and tannic when first opened, however, with a hour to breathe really opened up.
Wonderful fruit, aromatic beyond belief. Great example of Pavie. Better than the 2004 and 1999. Closer stylistically to the 04. Very concentrated. Would say this is a perfect wine, however, compared to 03 Latour and 89 Haut Brion, just have to dial it back a few notches.
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11/2/2013 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 97 Points
Wonderful fruit and spice on the nose. Loaded with black current, blueberry and ripe cherry favors. Evolved over two hours. One of my more memorable Merlot based Bordeauxs that I have had. Did not buy many 03's, but other than 03 Latour this has so far surpassed the others.
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10/27/2013 - bonedoc wrote: 95 Points
Lovely wine, rich and sweet fruit but perfectly balanced. Nose and back palate of minerals that only the best Bordeaux's have. Still young, but drank well after popping cork and drinking 4 hrs later.
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10/13/2013 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 88 Points
Purple color with a bouquet and flavor of black currants, but not enough oomph at this point. It may be in a closed period and will revive. I hope so. The 1998 was magnificent.
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10/11/2013 - Zweder wrote: 88 Points
Occasional dinner group; Bordeaux 2003 plus some extras.: Served blind and after it was revealed a great disappointment. Remembering the polemic between Parker and Robinson, tasting the wine at this moment, I think Robinson was right. My blind notes were limited, because the wine was out of balance. They were: Bouquet with chocolate, very ripe black fruits and tar. On the palate overripe blackberry juice and almost port-like. Although there are luxurious elements, the wine is unbalanced and lacks refinement. Not sure what to say about future expectations. Or is it the bottle? Probably not, but I would like to retaste blind again in a few years from now.
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10/11/2013 - Strikermax wrote: 87 Points
Port-achtige neus met enorm dik fruit, rozijnen, vijgen. In de mond overdreven alcoholisch, overextractie, balans moet je zoeken met een telescoop. Harde tannines, eigenlijk gewoon een akelige wijn.
Ik had het niet verwacht, maar Jancis heeft hierbij de spijker op de kop geslagen.
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7/8/2013 - shadow wrote: 97 Points
Not the wine I remember, still rish, and meaty, extra dark roast, its put on some muscle and is letting its tannins peek through.
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6/30/2013 - macker100 wrote: 91 Points
2003 Bordeaux Horizontal (San Antonio, TX): Only right bank at BWC event. Very rich aromas of blackberries, oak, raisins. Very sweet, as expected for such a hot vintage, with black cherries, figs. Acidity not up to par with the '04 vintage, which I prefer.
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6/20/2013 - patwjr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still young, tight and not showing it's full potential. Great fruit and structure, just needs much more time. I'll wait another 5+ years before trying my next bottle.
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6/9/2013 - BBinSC wrote: 95 Points
94-95: followed an 03 Cos d'Estournel and made a heck of a 1-2 punch on the palate. Massively fruit and young, this wine had decidedly more acidity than the Cos. Heavy, silky, and pleasing all the way around, the finish was good but not stellar. At the time, this wine stood above the Cos.
The next day, however, the Cos remained on my mind and the Pavie receded. Both wines stand out, particularly in this challenging vintage. The Pavie has years of life left, but not at my house -- I'd drink them all now if I could!
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6/8/2013 - sandwich Likes this wine: 93 Points
Day 1 - Tasted right out of the bottle and it was very tight, stubborn and slightly green with a ton of woody notes. Two hours later it opened slightly, but still not yielding - 85 points.
Day 2 - fully opened up and very enjoyable. No green notes, no wood, and full of fruit - 93 points. Don't touch these for another 10 years and if you have any double magnums try and pawn them off on someone in their twenties.
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5/27/2013 - pakabear wrote: 95 Points
- Crimsom color.
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5/26/2013 - pakabear wrote: 95 Points
Although this has always been a good early drinker, this has gotten better as of late. Dark fruit, chocolate, some pencil shavings, tobacco and long creamy finish.
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4/29/2013 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Intense nose of beef, chocolate, soy sauce, black fruits and wet leaves. Tense and large scaled on the palate. Ripe fruits with solid acid, soy, dense and chewy. A wine I wish we sat with for six hours. As it was we killed it in two. I like it a lot.
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1/13/2013 - KenK wrote: 97 Points
Nice sweet sour black cherry nose.
Great density with wonderful structure, showy black cherry fruits. Toasty, vanilla finish. Packed and creamy dark sweet fruits with impressive balance.
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12/23/2012 - skifree Likes this wine: 94 Points
Big wine, got better as the evening progressed. Decanted and then drank over several hours. Very dark color. Initial impressions were of a closed wine, with lots of dark fruit, hints of forest floor, and lots of oak and tannins. After the wine warmed and aerated, it was very smooth, with black fruits, tobacco, and cedar. Big and intense wine, but very enjoyable.
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12/13/2012 - KeithAkers wrote: 88 Points
Dinner at Goosefoot (Goosefoot, Chicago IL): Nose: Very big nose with extracted tones of black fruits, black cherry compote, spices, black tar, and cedary oak tones. It's rich, but with depth and a larger quality to it.
Taste: Full bodied, but smoother than I would've imagined with tones of black cherries, oak, spices, and black fruits.
Overall: This is a full throttled wine, but there is a balance in its largeness. While the oak is prominent, it doesn't fully take over the nose or palate.
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12/8/2012 - Blake Brown Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted and served blind, I liked this a lot; it was smooth, luscious and so satisfying; really nice fruit showing through including ripe plum, blueberry and black cherry and it left such a wonderful coating on the palate from its long finish; I guessed it to be a Masseto.
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11/11/2012 - galewskj wrote: 88 Points
Decanted 3 hours I think. I read Jancis Robinson's review right before drinking it, confident that she had missed the mark. Well, she didn't miss by much. Lots of tannins, LOTS of alcohol. I can feel the burn on the finish. This is either Parkerized or not ready.
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11/10/2012 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
St. Emilion Grand Cru-ing (Our House): Dark purple color. Decanted around 3 hours. Nose is tight, anise, cardamom, indistinct black fruits, spice. The palate is very dense, brooding, layered but hidden behind a wall of oak and tannin, prune, cranberry, mineral. Black fruit is here too but still way in the bakcground. Very backward and in need of serious cellar time. 92(+) pts.
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11/10/2012 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
St. Emilion Tasting featuring Pavie, Pavie Decesse and Troplong Mondot (Kevin's House (Minneapolis)): Wonderful out of the bottle into the decanter. Licorice, spices, cigar, clove and dust. Finishing the last pour over the course of 3 hours. Complex wine and super age worthy. No doubt this will continue to evolve. Nice earth quality on the finish and long. Decanted 3 hours and 2 vinturi.
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11/5/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
With an attention seeking perfume filled with licorice, smoke, coffee, black cherry liqueur, truffle and stone, the wine is really starting to drink well. The rich, fat, sweet, pure, opulently textured fruit feels great on your palate. An hour or two in the decanter improve the experience. But if you do not have time to decant, do not worry, you'll get a lot of bang for the buck if you pop and pour.
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11/1/2012 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
The 03 Bordeaux dinner at RIS in DC (RIS Restaurant, Washington DC): Wine No. 11 - Sexy, opulent, big, ripe, excellent concentration. Cool impression. By process of the elimination, it has to be ducru but I doubt it.
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9/9/2012 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 96 Points
03 Bordeaux (Pavie, Poyferre, Troplong) (Out to dinner): Contrary to my expectations, this is still youthful and while perhaps more advanced the the 00, still a puppy and in need of five years at least. Splash decanted for about 20 minutes. The nose has lots of cassis, coffee, some cigar tobacco and the slightest stewed fruit note. On the palate, this is big with firm tannins. Lots of black cherries, some dark chocolate, again, a slight raisin note, but not enough to be an issue. This is really delicious if atypical. If it is too big for some, it seems like it has the stuffing to last 20 more years when it should be tamer. Gone quickly.
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9/8/2012 - EyeDoc wrote: 95 Points
See Leve's note - I am not in total agreement since I don't pick uo on orange rind, limestone, or truffles. But there is a lot of dark fruit, licorice, smoke, coffee and chocolate. This is a big wine - borderline over the top - just a touch jammy - won't appeal to many who like their Bords tamer. 2003 was one of the hottest Bord vintages on record so what do you expect? If you like California wines you will love this. I agree that holding is indicated - this may settle down to something simply sublime.
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9/1/2012 - EmilyE wrote: 94 Points
The wine was decanted about an hour. The wine opened up but we wish we could have given it a little more time. It was big and ripe with dark fruit, mineral and oak. The wine was full-bodied with soft, chewy tannins and dark fruit on the palate. We all enjoyed the wine but agreed that it still needed more age
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6/30/2012 - 83AJ wrote: 93 Points
Silky smooth, color lighter then 2000, classy stuff! No rush to drink, but nice to serve if you're in a jam
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6/30/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
An intoxicating aroma of smoke, licorice, earth, black cherry, orange rind, incense, limestone, truffles, fresh cut herbs, coffee bean and blackberry demand to get noticed. Deep in color, with visible glycerine in the tears that stain the glass, the wine offers fat layers of ripe, juicy, sweet, pure, black plum, blueberry, dark chocolate and spice. The wine continued to improve in the glass for at least 4 hours. It might have kept going, but I could not keep my hands off it. The delicious finish lasts for at least 45 seconds. While some tasters found this wine to be over the top when young, it's calmed down and offers a great, tasting experience. If you have multiple bottles, it's worth popping a bottle to see how 2003 Pavie is developing.
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6/15/2012 - jeff nowak wrote:
from 375 ml. bloody horrid. spoofililated cubed.
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5/28/2012 - Invinoverytas wrote: 96 Points
Decanted and consumed at our favorite local option, Garibaldi's. Paired with a well prepared filet garnished with fingerling potatoes, roasted shallots, sautéed spinach and horseradish. Still young, but I think the 70% merlot makes it very approachable now. I didn't get the sense of port although it is definitely mouth-coating wine. I also did not notice much oak as noted in other reviews. I'm not a big fan of oak.
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5/25/2012 - Eric wrote: 87 Points
Hmm, I really wanted to like this, but, quite honestly, it is pure spoof. I have a heck of a lot left in the cellar and hope this comes around.
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5/11/2012 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Inaugural Great Steak-Off (Clarksville, Maryland): I had my share of the 03 Pavie and it is a chameleon. Every bottle seems to be slightly different. This is one of the best showings as the fruit expression is cool. Certainly ripe and big but not overdone. Blue to black fruits, crème de cassis, licorice, mineral and lavender. Very cool palate impression, silky but precise and noticeable tannins. Extremely impressive showing.
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4/1/2012 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
GJE CRD 2008 and EP 2011; 3/29/2012-4/4/2012 (Bordeaux, France): In this vertical, this shined. Certainly bigger and riper but not overdone and overripe. Mocha, coffee, some vegetal but not bothersome. Dense, chewy yet silky palate and well integrated tannins. A great showing.
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3/8/2012 - Papies wrote: 90 Points
Terroir of St Emilion (Roberson Wine, South Ken, London): Ah! The Famously controversial 2003 Pavie. Dark red. Sweet red fruit nose, and lots of oak. Mocha notes. Tannins are very much alive yet approachable. Lots of extraction. To us this felt like a well round wine, well built but wrapped in an unnecessary cloak of oak which sort of takes so much away. 90-91.
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2/22/2012 - Lord Rayas wrote: 88 Points
tight, thick, not giving much at this stage. a real monster. not really my style
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12/21/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 89 Points
Bdx and others (Bin 555): Showed the '03 vintage. Nose was rich and roasted with strong coffee and mocha edge and hint of heat. Palate was raisiny, dark currants, low acidity and strong prominent chunky tannins. Adds a touch of peppermint with air to the medium length finish. Doesn't come across as bdx at all. I doubt time will benefit this wine. Not flawed, per se, but really showing the ripeness and roasted nature of '03 while remaining complex. Well below the '01 and '05. Not my style.
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11/19/2011 - ŞarapTutkunları wrote: 93 Points
Hafif çe mat,mor röfleli derin yakut renkli.Hafifçe tatlımsı izlenim bırakan ön burnunda erik,kiraz gibi meyveler,is,tütün,deri,silik zeytin,sigara kutusu,baharat notaları mevcut.Arkada kuru yaban mersini,kuru meyve bukeleri de mevcut.Tam gövdeli,ortanın biraz üstü seviyede aside sahip.Konsantre yapısı ile iskeleti sağlam.Burundaki tatlımsı izlenim damaktada sürüyor.Baharat ve siyah meyve hissediliyor.Tanenler belirgin ama oldukça entegre.Yine siyah olgun meyvelerin gücünün hissedildiği bitimi uzun ama ılık bir bitim.
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11/19/2011 - Ilker Ozdemir wrote: 93 Points
Hafif çe mat,mor röfleli derin yakut renkli.Hafifçe tatlımsı izlenim bırakan ön burnunda erik,kiraz gibi meyveler,is,tütün,deri,silik zeytin,sigara kutusu,baharat notaları mevcut.Arkada kuru yaban mersini,kuru meyve bukeleri de mevcut.Tam gövdeli,ortanın biraz üstü seviyede aside sahip.Konsantre yapısı ile iskeleti sağlam.Burundaki tatlımsı izlenim damaktada sürüyor.Baharat ve siyah meyve hissediliyor.Tanenler belirgin ama oldukça entegre.Yine siyah olgun meyvelerin gücünün hissedildiği bitimi uzun ama ılık bir bitim.
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10/29/2011 - Umay Ceviker wrote: 91 Points
Dark ruby with brick highlights. Tight at the very start, the nose easily opens up to display liqueur like aromas of cassis and damson along with mocha, licorice and a touch of sweet spice. Some floral accents like violets add up to its complexity. As the nose also suggests, this is bold and still a bit aggressive, almost spirity making me think in blind tasting that this is from the New World.
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7/5/2011 - drgrape wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for two hours and it was very approachable. Kind of a new world Bordeaux. A wonderful easy to drink, full bodied wine. Not much controversy here...excellent.
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6/16/2011 - wineguy21 wrote: 91 Points
Pretty nice nose, but not incredibly aromatic. The front palate of this wine was rather stunning...a big gush of nice, structured ripe fruit, but then it almost instantly fell off into nothing for the mid and back palate. This wine clearly would be in the 95+ territory had the initial flavors carried on, but I still gave it a 91 solely because of how enjoyable the initial couple seconds was.
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6/1/2011 - Marc wrote:
Porty, over-ripe nose that reminds me of an aged Turley zinfandel! Certainly not a style that I associate with St. Emilion! Tastes of aged brambly fruit - surprisingly, not over-ripe in the mouth but fells pretty hot. I get the hype in terms of its amazing fruit and structure but it really is forging new territory. As a zin, I would give this 94+ points, but as a bordeaux, I do have a difficult time understanding the wine. I imagine this wine will age for decades and may come right in a manner that allows its opulence to become a vibrant factor in the wine's dotage, but for now, I can't score this. I felt similar misgivings with the 2007 Clos des Papes - but at least the Clos des Papes is a CNdP!
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4/12/2011 - don_quichotte wrote:
soooooooooooooo big. In the rarefied world of fine wine, this is vin diesel to rousseau's ralph fiennes. All caps and exclamation marks. The glass half full view is that this will age into something beautiful, akin to the famously porty 1947 Cheval Blanc. The glass half empty view is that this is not very different from a $40 barossa. Only took three sips and left it on the side (and we were at a steakhouse, for christ's sake!!!!). Made the 01 grange des peres 01 look like burgundy...
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2/25/2011 - spendergast wrote: 98 Points
Decanted 90 minutes. A massive and powerful wine with great balance. One of the nicest wines I've tried in a while.
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2/16/2011 - kstoddard wrote: 87 Points
Blind Night (Kevin): My guess was right bank Bordeaux. Quite green and tannic. What a monumental disappointment. How can this wine show so badly. Was much better a few years ago. Either an off bottle or just going through a very bad phase. 14% alcohol. Brought by Josh.
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2/16/2011 - jeff nowak wrote:
double blind. not decanted, which i presume will be the ready criticism of the following: could there be a more over rated piece o crap wine ever vinified? doubtful. everything that is wrong with the parkerization of the so called hedonistic drinking experience. anti-flavor elite? proudly. you couldn't pound an ounce of decent fruit out of this with a jackhammer. while a couple of lumberjacks saw thru the trunk of a tree, lie underneath and allow the wood shavings and chips to fall on your tongue; and then for good measure, lick a volcanic rock as a chaser. pure torture to drink.
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12/24/2010 - Jack wrote: 91 Points
After all the glowing CT reviews I decided to open another one and was disappointed. It was good but still closed down. Saved some for tomorrow and hope it will open up some more. Drank with an 88 Mouton and Margaux.
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12/23/2010 - GlöckliWein wrote: 94 Points
Incredibly powerful Wine ! Amazing how this normally very jammy wine has got so strong character,
like a left bank Bordeaux ! Very YOUNG, loaded of coffee dark concentrated fruit, loads of wood,
forest flor, but: too YOUNG for this time to really enjoy ! Needs 2-3 years to become
the very well known Pavie in its best shape of entchanting JOY ! 94 / 100 but has got more potential to come !!!
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12/22/2010 - Time4Wine wrote: 98 Points
This is not the Macquin! I hope you do not end up with the wrong one. It is the "Pavie, Pavie" and what a delight! I thought I would try it, and I just couldn't wait to be sure that the Christmas dinner had a great wine and this is so luscious that I may not share them. What a long finish with many, many layers. It will last cellared for many, maybe 30 or more years. I was worried about the 14% but it is not hot, just full and fabulous. A new wine for me. Now the 2002 Pichon is my second favorite. Noticed it was $235 in the shop.
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12/20/2010 - buckeye76 wrote: 98 Points
DECANTED FOR 3.5 HOURS, RICH BLACK FRUITS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR WITH LEATHER, CASSIS, AND A TOUCH OF CHOCOLATE. ELEGANT WINE WITH GREAT COMPLEXITY AND A VERY LONG FINISH. WILL GO FOR A LONG TIME
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11/2/2010 - JOsgood wrote: 98 Points
A stunning wine. Massive nose, the type you don't want to pull your nose out of the glass. Huge on the palate but perfectly balanced. The finish reveals several layers of secondary flavors and goes on and on and on. Drank with a group and we were all stunned. Believe the hype.
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9/5/2010 - Lord Rayas wrote:
tight and unyielding. needs a few more years.
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8/26/2010 - d'Artagnan wrote: 95 Points
Horizontale Bordeaux 2003: Horizontale 2003
Bouche droite, riche mais fine, dense et très savoureux, il survole le groupe avec insolence. Je crois y voir un peu de poivron rouge et pense ainsi qu’il s’agit de Valandraud. Dense, long et authentique, sans lourdeur malgré le millésime. Je n’aurais pas pensé que Pavie me paraitrait le moins moderne du groupe!
Superbe. 94-95 pts
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8/12/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Black cherry, blueberry, licorice, crushed stone, espresso and cherry liqueur get the perfume going. This potent elixir is rich, fat, round, and lush in the mouth. The powerful finish is filled with intense, ripe, licorice coated black and blue fruits. This exciting Bordeaux wine, does not show any signs of over ripeness that is found in some wines from this hot, dry vintage.
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8/9/2010 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Decanted 3 hours, drank over the following 2. The colour kind of gives this away in the sense that there's nothing tame or reserved about this wine. I can see from other notes that many have thought this extraordinary (according to RP's scale). I on the other hand prefer the '02 over the '03 as I enjoy detail versus raw power and heft. The wine comes across as dense, and pure but at the price of extraction, which makes the silkiness seem contrived. I was pleasantly surprised by the acidity, given that it was able to provide lift to so much sheer density. This was missing the character and sense of place I've come to enjoy in previous vintages; the polish having been replaced by sheer size. A hedonist's dream come true. Drink 2013-2038, approx $170.
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8/5/2010 - noppakit s. wrote: 96 Points
Once again with Pavie 2003 ( Testing with Margaux '98, La Mouline '84 and Le Puy 2006 )
Still seductive, tempting, full and delicious, deep impact finished.
Drink now - 2030................96+/100.....................
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6/8/2010 - Rupert wrote: 89 Points
Chateau Pavie vertical 1959 to 2006 (Institute of Directors, London): Browning, elusive nose, fresh, smooth and milky, but then unpleasantly grippy - not at all what I'd expected - not hot or porty at all, just amazingly extracted and tannic
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4/21/2010 - Sweet_Berry_Wine!! wrote: 94 Points
Ah, the infamous 03' Pavie. This wine is opaque purple in the glass with a maroon robe. The nose explodes with mostly dense fig, black currant, cooked red fruit, and port-like notes (yes, strange for a St. Emilion) followed by leather, smoked meat, tea leaf, and cocoa dust. There is no sutblety here. The wine enters the palate with a round, creamy mouthfeel, thick on the tongue with flavors of dark berries, dried herbs, and black olives. This is huge, but manages to remain elegantly structured with pitch perfect acidity and fine grained tannins. The finish is a bit smoky, a bit spicy, and a bit sweet with smoldering campfire and kirsch notes. Alcohol doesn't show and oak is somewhat restrained. All controversy aside, the wine loses points for reminding me of a heavily extracted, old-worldy Barossa Shiraz (Elderton Command anyone?), but it is still complex, interesting, and above all delicious. I imagine its immaculate structure and purity of fruit will give this one alot of legs.
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2/21/2010 - chatters wrote:
very young, too young in fact but dark plummy fruit, followed by a long tight massively tannic finish. Very pleasant and to be returned to in a few years (at least 3)
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2/13/2010 - shadow wrote: 98 Points
Let me position this wine for you, I like MD Velvet Glove for big fruit, and SQN for perfect harmony, this is neither, but the French version of both, very very pleasant, easy to enjoy, sips or gulps, I like the balance of fruit and tanin, the finish is short but noticeable, last time I enjoyed this wine was on release, its changed in a nice way
probably would have made 100pts with a few hours of air time, but it was a BYOB pop and pour VD dinner, the girls loved it
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2/13/2010 - plhew wrote: 97 Points
Great wine built for the long term. Delicious now but will be much better after another few years in bottle.
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1/9/2010 - psmith wrote:
Considerably different and settled from how I remember this a couple of years ago. Bold coffee notes. Medium-grain tannins turn surprisingly raw on the finish. Dark fruits. Good elements, hard to see where this will go; tannin structure makes me a bit nervous.
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1/1/2010 - Matt Scott wrote: 98 Points
Decanted five hours. Gorgeous dark garnet that will stain anything; quite dense. Exotic and opulent. The finish sails for decades and the palate is coated, coated and coated again. There's definitely acid that is evident and really adds to the perfection of this. She is full figured, voluptuous, and dressed in velvet. What a head turner! The nose is a ripe bouquet of raisin, black berry, dark dried cherry, black tea, jam and leather. Fresh and complete. The cherry and black tea are outspoken on the finish. This is exuberant, ostentatious and provocative, yet elegant. I can see why the "Claret Elite" did not appreciate it as much. It is a new world wine in style with it's essence breaking through, alluding to a St. Emilion Bordeaux from another ripe year in the same vein as '29, '45, '47 and '82. Admirers of Tignanello would appreciate this. One of the best of the vintage and will last for decades. Still could use a few more years and will probably go through a backwards phase at some point. Stupefier. Drink 2014 - .
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11/8/2009 - KenK wrote: 95 Points
Did not disappoint. Sleek sexy wine staying true to Bordeaux, but with sexy feminine edge. Rich round ripe dark cherry fruit with sweet dark chocolate. Creamy mouthfeel with nice concentration and nearly lush quality. Silky smooth filled with nice minerals. Great balance featuring well integrated acidity and soft tannins. A bit one dimentiosnal, but loads of enjoyment with further potential on aging quite clear. Each pour improved over the hour it was opened and consumed. Recommend a couple hours of decanting, but was open knit with a simple pop and pou into decanter.
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10/19/2009 - noppakit s. wrote: 96 Points
Big Name : A Night of St.Emilion 2003
One true thing about great vintage of a great wine is...
The wine is always elegant, Pavie 2003 represents the very nice cool and panorame scent of St.Emilion aroma. I hardly believe this is from 2003 vintage. The body is quite full, firm tannin, lovely dense, delicious.
Aftertaste is deep and long, powerful finished but I prefer La Mondotte.
Drink 2011 - 2027.......................94-96/100.........................
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9/26/2009 - peblin wrote: 97 Points
Pavie Vertical: Concentrated, red with hints of brick color.
Complex, compact, deep smell with blackcurrant, cherry, tobacco, cedar and some dried fruit. Also, actually, hints of port. (Hints, I said...)
Very, very concentrated taste. Huge. Smooth tannins but gazillions of them. This wine is definitely on the border of being too much... But what a wine!
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5/3/2009 - JJL wrote: 92 Points
When opened, flowers, wet stones and wheat/brown rice. After a few hour decant, the nose turned towards menthol, iodine, and smoke, similar to a Chave. The tannins are big, drying and slightly chewey. There is also good acidity, better than many of the '03's that I have had. The palate is shut down at this point, no fruit, but given the vintage, you know it has to be there. There are only dark flavors at this point including tobacco, espresso and leather. Reminds me of the '00 few years ago. I think this will age well, but it will take patience.
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4/19/2009 - cadamson wrote: 92 Points
Ruby color. Very tight and closed, though after a couple hours it was giving up an excellent nose of currant, dark fruits and sweet oak. You could just feel everything in the right place on the palate, wanting to shout out how great it is, but instead just got whispers of future potential. This will be great down the road.
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4/17/2009 - jivey wrote: 93 Points
Still a nice wine but I prefer the 98,99,00,01,02. Black center with dark rim, charcoal, crème de cassis, melted licorice, espresso roast, and blackberries. The heat of the vintage really shows thru right now making the wine a bit over the top but don't see any reason this will not improve over time. The limestone is really expressive in this vintage.
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4/17/2009 - kstoddard wrote: 93 Points
Deep ruby color. Black fruit with a nice french oak component on the nose. Tastes of blackberry, currant, violet, leather and earth. Rich mid palate with good balance. Firm tannins. Wound up tight. Completely closed down and not giving an inch. It's difficult to evaluate at this stage but evident this will be a very nice wine with some bottle age.
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2/8/2009 - vinamok wrote: 95 Points
a wine with huge concentration, but need some more time to develop. a great wine but give it 10 more years.
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1/23/2009 - quigley13 wrote: 96 Points
This is an awesome huge wine. I don't know what the controversy is all about. This is great stuff. Give it 5 more years or so to really blossom.
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10/24/2008 - beezer6 wrote: 94 Points
Grand Bordeaux Tasting w/ Jill (Binny's South Loop - Chicago, IL): Binny's South Loop October Bordeaux Wine Tasting.
Rich dark chocolate and dark fruit.
Very Old World in style.
Tremendous effort. Absolutely in love with Pavie on my first experience.
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5/13/2008 - HenryW wrote: 91 Points
Initially closed, tannic and oak-dominated. After a couple of hours, notes of spice and coffee emerge on the nose along with blackberry fruit. Tart earthy finish.
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3/15/2008 - abh wrote:
Tasted at The Sampler. While I didn't quite get the Jancis R. portyness, this is pretty ridiculous stuff. No signs of structure whatsoever, just masses and masses of primary fruit. I by no means hated it as a taste, but nothing to do with what Bordeaux should be like. Completely outclassed by both Pavie 85 and in a totally different way Canon La-Gaffilere 70. Although there is obviously body to the fruit here, I don't think it has the structure to age either. If you want this kind of wine, look to the New World and pay a fifth of the price....
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3/10/2008 - zimmy07 wrote: 93 Points
Big ripe fruit just bursting in the mouth. Coffee notes and opulence all around. Decanted for two + hours. Very nice wine, really young, but glad I was able to try it at an early age
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3/9/2008 - psmith wrote:
Young, grapey bubble gum type flavors. Plush, heavily Merlot influenced. Distinctly modern St. Emilion in character. Big, ripe wine that needs time to show what it's about.
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3/3/2008 - jeff nowak wrote:
14% alcohol. 60% merlot, 30% cab franc, 10% cabernet. 375ml. decanted. this was as hard as nails. my first taste of this, so i will presume it is closed/ shut down. nice nose, but angular and tannic on the palate. beyond that, there is no value in discussing it.
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1/1/2008 - redpine42 wrote: 98 Points
Sad that this was my only bottle. I think this is the finest Bordeaux I've ever had. Nice balance, with a great finish.
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12/7/2007 - JeffGMorris wrote: 92 Points
Dinner at Bistro 607 with a large crowd. Dark, deep, rich purple color. This is a big, brawny young Bordeaux with huge fruit on the palate and searing tannins on a very long finish. To me it drinks more like Cabernet Sauvignon that either Merlot or Cabernet Franc. I can see where the Port-like comparisons come from, and it was getting to be dessert time by the time this was opened. Probably best with a cheese plate and also probably best 20 years down the road. 50+13+13+8+8 = 92+
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11/14/2007 - Jack wrote:
Stacked and packed but giving just a little glimpse of it's potential. Hold. While enjoyable now these are not ready and will be much better down the road!
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11/6/2007 - bon vivant wrote: 98 Points
Controversy? what controversy, quick decant after 15 min this was singing...Jeb's notes from 9/29/07 are on the money. Nose was full of fabulous dark ripe fruit almost like a top notch Ausi. cab. but the taste & finish is all Bordeaux.... bottle sucked down in under 1 hr...As good a young Bordeaux as any...
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9/5/2007 - Svaros wrote: 86 Points
Very smoky nose (cigarettes, not oak). Some raisin on the palate.
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6/21/2007 - vanpe003 wrote:
House Cleaning; 6/21/2007-6/24/2007 (Home Sweet Home): Difficult to evaluate at this point, but a nice wine with lots of potential. Smoky, meat, graphite nose. Signficant fruit with tremendous unresolved backbone. Notable tannins put hair on the tongue. Obviously much too early, but an interesting experiment nevertheless. Update Day 2 - it came together nicely, with a rich smokiness on the palate. Long finish. Still too early, but easier to see where its going. Not being one to wish the years away, but I do look forward to seeing what this is like 10 years out.
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6/1/2007 - peternelson wrote: 95 Points
Red Carpet: Blk as coffee, dark, powerful, understated too; silky silk!! dry leaves, forest; licorice-coffee flavors; well-bal, FINE t’s; long fin. tons of pedigree here. But to me just probably too big, or not in right to drink this without a big expensive fatty steak.
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5/4/2007 - win wrote: 92 Points
Very young -- the last time I had this wine I was able to decant for over 12 hours. I believe this was only decanted for a few hours. Amazing potential. Very fragrant, with blackberries and blueberries mixed with some cigar box. 92-96
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3/10/2007 - godx wrote: 93 Points
Day 2: Bottle emptied halfway and re-corked and left for 24hrs. Dark ruby red colour. An obvious sweet nose of strawberry and eucalyptus with underlying sweaty socks. A Very potent nose—a little overripe. The monstrous tannins lightened up only a fraction with 24hrs to breathe. Flavours difficult to extract due to the tannins once again, but got dark cherry flavours with a woody and smoky finish. Id give this 15-20 years.
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3/9/2007 - godx wrote: 93 Points
Day 1: Opened and served right away. Deep dark ruby red/purple in colour. Sweet nose at first, with aromas of sweet sweaty socks, cigar, cotton candy and underlying sour cherries. Huge mouth feel. A mountain of tannins that grip your entire palate. This is a monster wine. It was difficult to extract flavours from this wine as the tannins were almost mouth numbing. 2 minutes and 2 sips of water later I could still taste and feel the tannins. Sour cherry flavours was all I could distinguish. After being open for an hour, the sweetness simmered down and the nose became more earthy and dirty. The flavour profile expanded a tad on this second glass and gave me flavours of sour cherries and pine cones. A long 1 minute finish with cigar and mocha flavours. I can’t wait for those tannins to settle down because this muscular wine will be exceptional.
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3/9/2007 - win wrote: 94 Points
Amazingly fragrant, powerful wine, with great complexity and strong tannins at the moment. A wine that will need time for the tannins to relax, but the backbone is amazing and it should be even better in the future. 92-97
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2/3/2007 - vinole wrote: 94 Points
2003 Bordeaux Tasting at Wine Watch (Ft. Lauderdale, FL): This was decanted for 3.5 hours before tasting. Very concentrated and needs much more time to fully integrate all the components. Should wait 6 years before attempting tasting again. Has a good bit of structure and some acidity despite the vintage. Of course, plenty of fruit to match the tannins. Should be very interesting down the road.
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1/21/2007 - JasonD wrote: 92 Points
12 hour decant. Heavy roasted meat, espresso, and dark fruits. Showing to much oak at this time to be great.
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1/20/2007 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
CFTG Dinner at Mark Pecken's (Mark Pecken's): No detailed note.
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1/2/2007 - Robertito wrote:
Opened 2PM, immediately showing strong aromas and flavors of mixed berries, just short of jamminess. Strong tannins, not overwhelming, no hint of alcohol, balanced in mouth.
By 10 PM, showed all of the good characteristics of the vintage, i.e. the smokiness, sweet fruit and concentration.
I don't know what the controversy is about this juice— it is very very fine now, and in 10-20 years, I imagine spectacular.
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11/29/2006 - MRichman wrote:
2003 Bordeaux Horizontal at Post House, NYC
Tannic, but with nice plush sweet fruit. Lots of tobacco. Long finish with very classy toasted oak. Smooth & clean.
B+/A-
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11/14/2006 - Colonel Lawrence wrote: 92 Points
Dare I disagree with Bob and Jancis?
First wine I headed for at the Farr Xmas Tasting at Vintners Hall EC4.
Decanted from a double magnum - the colour was extraordinary - deep, rich, almost impenetrable.
Bouquet of red fruit, but not the powerhouse I'd heard about.
Taste a little closed up: fine, but not extraordinary. I found the Pichon Baron 1996 every part it's equal (actually superior).
I suspect it will improve, but I'm not good at predicting the future, so on this I defer to RP.
Wasn't worth over £1000 a case in bond, which was what I really wanted to find out, but also certainly wasn't the Ribena that JR described.
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11/4/2006 - EyeDoc wrote: 95 Points
A think there is some serious upside here - that is the reason for the high rating. Give this five to seven years and I think it will be really really excellent.
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10/28/2006 - duchamp wrote: 92 Points
Hard to judge - Very subtle nose of red fruit, dense with big silky tannins that never seem to let up, however, lacking complexity, even given its young age, very long finish with hints of dark chocolate, cedar and tea leaf
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10/8/2006 - gorm wrote: 95 Points
Deep red. A classic dusty nose of blackcurrant, minerals, tobacco and vanilla. It is even more intense than Montrose, but a lot more accessible. I couldn't help but just stand and smile like some kind of a silly person... Rating: 95
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9/13/2006 - EBoyer wrote: 96 Points
My first try of this wine -purchased from WineEx. This was incredible -very young-but incredible. Not heavy or hot at all, but very concentrated. Not over-ripe or zin-like. Very obviously Bordeaux. Deep color, some strong tannins, but it drank well the day it arrived. I assume it will shut down but worth trying if you have enough.
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9/5/2006 - mdlazar wrote: 94 Points
Big blast of violet and mocha. A touch less velvety than I expected and a bit light on the extract and sweetness for 03. This reminds me of the young 98, before it shut down, at least on the nose. On the palate, tannins are fine, but acidity seems a bit hollow. Eager to see where this goes, but have to wonder if secondary fruit will have any structure left to hang on. Tasty as can be tonite...for the fatailist, this is a wine to enjoy now.
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