Chateau Pavie Decasse Vintage 1990

Château Pavie-Decesse acquired its Grand Cru Classé title in the original 1955 classification of Saint-Emilion and has remained in the list of grands crus through the subsequent iterations. Unlike its neighbors, châteaux Pavie and Pavie Macquin  it has not broken into the ranks of the premiers grands crus classés in recent years.

The château's history is closely linked to that of Château Pavie, a Bordeaux estate dating back to the Fourth Century. The four-hectare (10-acre) estate was separated from Château Pavie in 1885 by the then owner, Ferdinand Bouffard. French businessman Gérard Perse acquired Pavie-Decesse in 1997 and Pavie in 1998, and has reunited the two through a joint vineyard management system.

The wines, however, remain separate, and each has a distinctive terroir. The vineyard at Château Pavie-Decesse lies solely on the Saint-Émilion limestone plateau. 1990 was an outstanding vintage for the wines of Bordeaux.

Typical blend, Merlot, Cabernet Franc 75cl bottle Abv 13.5%

Bottle condition, capsule good, label good, wine level base of neck

Mature yet vigorous, this seems close to peak for my mileage with a silky texture but still bumptious fruit and body. Some floral, fresher scents on the bouquet belie the signature here, which is quintessentially '90 in style, quite roasted and a touch porty-pruney. What saves it from going over the top is a rustic, old vine energy (I don't know if the vines are old at P-D and I doubt they were in 1990, but it has a vinous VV profile... though in this case it could be from the drought conditions during the growing season concentrating and darkening the fruit, rather than old vines). Sappy, dark, rugged, this is lots of fun to drink, making up for what it lacks in elegance with volume and character.

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