5 | Wine | Saint Emilion | Page 2

"This is nicely aromatic, with aromas of warm blueberry coulis and blackberry preserves stepping out ahead of chocolate, roasted alder, tobacco and charcoal notes. Offers lots of grippy structure with a briary edge, but stays juicy, compact and focused, so should cellar well."

"Very fresh, showing enticing plum, currant and boysenberry fruit, with lots of mouthwatering minerality and a long, spice-filled finish. Dense but pure. A suave wine in the making."

"A deep purple color is accompanied by massive notes of blackberries, incense, fruitcake, camphor and toasty oak intermixed with a crushed chalk-like minerality (a hallmark of this vineyard). The wine has softened considerably in bottle, and while it seems more structured than the 2010, it reveals a degree of accessibility." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"A remarkable success in this vintage, Pavie’s 92 acre vineyard situated on the limestone soils of the spectacular south-facing Cote Pavie (one of the greatest terroirs of Bordeaux) was cropped at 30 hectoliters per hectare. A blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, with an atypical (for a 2008) alcohol level of 14.5% that is higher than in its 2010 counterpart, the opaque purple-colored 2008 exhibits sweet, smoky barbecue notes intermixed with creme de cassis, black cherry, toast and crushed chalk. Deep, intense and full-bodied with surprisingly civilized tannins for such a young Pavie, it reveals wonderful breadth of flavor, a savory texture and a layered mouthfeel." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"I love the purity of fruit in this wine. ...with perfectly ripe blackberry, blueberry and raspberry on the nose. Complex and full-bodied, with hints of new oak and wonderfully polished tannins that caress the palate. Long, long finish. This is not the blockbuster it was from barrel, but rather a complete, balanced and gorgeous red."

"Full-bodied in texture, it offers up loads of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruit intermixed with some cedar, vanilla and a touch of spring flowers. Impressively built, with good acidity and light tannin, this is a superb example of wine that reaches its prime in 3 or 4 years and lasts two decades. It’s right up there with their brilliant 2005." -Robert Parker

"Concentrated black fruits intermixed with spring flowers, some high class, subtle toasty oak, graphite and a touch of blackberry and cassis all jump from the glass of this dense, full-bodied, formidably endowed, massive wine. It needs a good 5-7 years of cellaring. This could turn out to be one of the longest-lived wines ever made at Fonplegade, lasting 25-30 or more years." -Robert Parker

"A sleeper of the vintage. ...this impressive, full-bodied, surprisingly concentrated 2008 offers an opaque ruby/purple color as well as a glorious perfume of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, blueberry liqueur and cassis. Full-bodied and impressively broad and savory with silky tannins, it is an unqualified success in the vintage." Reviewed by Robert Parker.