Château Pavie 2012

Château Pavie sits on Bordeaux's right bank in Saint-Émilion, an appellation on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1999. It was classified Premier Grand Cru Classé "B" in 1955, promoted to "A" in 2012, and had that rank confirmed in the 2022 Saint-Émilion classification, which left only two estates at the top tier, Pavie and Figeac.

The vineyard is a single contiguous block facing south, looking out over the appellation with Saint-Émilion's slope and medieval village above it to the north, and it spans three distinct terroirs. The limestone plateau, 85 to 110 metres above the Dordogne, has clay-limestone soils with asteriated limestone close to the surface; it holds about two-thirds of the vines and most of the Merlot.

The slope, around 55 metres, carries a thick clay layer — the molasse du Fronsadais — over friable limestone, and is planted to Cabernet Franc. The foot of the slope, around 35 metres, is lighter sandy-clay with some gravel and grows Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot

accounts for about half the vineyard, Cabernet Franc for 30% of the plots, and Cabernet Sauvignon for 20% of the composition — high for the Libourne area, where around 7% is typical.

The estate credits limestone with absorbing winter rain and keeping soils cool in summer, prevailing winds with lowering disease pressure, and the slope with drainage and shelter from north winds and frost. Michel Rolland has consulted, and yields were cut from 55 to 30 hectolitres per hectare.