Region: Bordeaux, France

Varietal: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes: This total charmer has a sweet bouquet of black cherries, licorice, and spice to go with a mouthfilling, pure, balanced style on the palate that’s already delicious. It certainly has estate character and is ideal for enjoying over the coming decade or so. I’d happily drink bottles.

Producer: As owners of the iconic Châteaux, Pavie, Pavie-Decesse, Monbousquet, Bellevue-Mondotte, and Clos Lunelles, Gérard Perse and the Perse Family have redefined their legacy. Beginning in the 90's, Gérard and his family set forth to re-invigorate some of the most sought after wines of the Right Bank. Tremendous investment in each winery, vineyard, as well as the expertise of the legendary Bordeaux winemaker Michel Rolland, has reestablished each Châteaux as the best of their appellations.

Vineyard and Winemaking: Fast-forward to 2008, Monsieur Perse along with his team saw a re-imagined expression of the complexity of terroirs found on the Right Bank. By selecting premium holdings from young vines of Château Pavie and blending the fruit with two estate-owned vineyards in Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux, Esprit de Pavie was born. The sites selected for Esprit de Pavie from the Dordogne Valley -- characterized by sandy-gravelly foothills, clay hillsides and clay-limestone plateau -- manifest supple fruit, dense tannin and structure, with intense depth of flavor. This is world-class wine at its finest -- no other premier estate in Bordeaux offers this quality to price.