The Feast on the Hill: Why Pavie 2016 Is a Right Bank Treasure Worthy of the Gods
Bacchus recalls the night he turned Château Pavie into a banquet hall for kings and thieves - and why the 2016 vintage still deserves a place at your own table for decades to come.
The Night Pavie Became a Banquet
I had no invitation. I made one. The harvest was done, the vines resting under a clear Saint-Émilion sky. I came to Pavie with a retinue of gods and goddesses, and we took the upper terraces as our own. The château’s windows glowed faintly in the distance, but all the life was with us on the hill.
We rolled out barrels, split them open, and poured the 2016 into goblets the size of helmets. We roasted lamb over vine cuttings. We sang until the limestone echoed. Word spread down into the town - soon the winemaker arrived, half terrified, half-grinning, and I handed him a cup.
He drank, stopped mid-sentence, and looked at me with the awe mortals reserve for omens. Pavie 2016 was black-fruited and muscular, yet it moved with the grace of a hawk in flight. It was the rare vintage that didn’t just fill a glass - it filled the night. I told him, “This will not be remembered as wine. It will be remembered as an era. Guard it. Trade it. Pass it to your children - but never waste it on those who cannot taste the divine.”
The Vintage That Had It All
The 2016 growing season gave Bordeaux something close to perfection. A wet spring kept the vines lush, a warm and even summer built concentration, and cool September nights sharpened acidity and aromatics. Pavie’s limestone-clay amphitheater amplified the magic - Merlot came in with dense, velvet weight, Cabernet Franc brought precision and spice.
Critics fell in line. Lisa Perrotti-Brown of Wine Advocate gave it 100 points. James Suckling offered 99. Vinous followed with 98, calling it “epic.” These are not casual compliments - they are coronations.
The Investment Case
On Liv-ex, Pavie 2016 trades around USD 5,700 per 12-bottle case. Compare that to Ausone 2016 at USD 8,200 and Cheval Blanc 2016 at more than USD 10,000. Pavie’s quality is their equal - its price is not. That gap is a gift to the patient investor.
The wine has posted a steady 15% price gain over five years without peak demand. With a drinking window from 2025 to 2070, the real compounding is still to come. As older stock vanishes, Pavie 2016 will not remain the “value alternative” - it will join the pantheon.
Why It Works for the Long Game
Pavie 2016 is the kind of bottle you buy and forget until you’re ready to make a point - at the table or in the market. Premier Grand Cru Classé A pedigree, perfect critical acclaim, and decades of cellaring potential give it both scarcity power and cultural weight.
Keep it in-bond, in original wood, and document provenance. Ignore the market chatter. This is a long, patient hold - the kind of asset that feels almost mythic when you finally decide to release it.
Bacchus’ Call
I’ve poured wines for emperors, thieves, poets, and prophets. Few have commanded silence the way Pavie 2016 did on that terrace. Buy it. Guard it. And when the moment comes - make sure you have the right crowd and enough moonlight.
