1978 Pavie
BY NEAL MARTIN |
Meeting a friend for lunch at the bustling “Brutto” Italian restaurant near Farringdon Station last February, my generous host served a wine blind that epitomized everything great about “old school Bordeaux”. Ironically, it was from an estate that later became the paragon/pariah of modern winemaking depending on your views: Château Pavie. Older vintages under the ownership of Jean-Paul Valette were disparaged over the years and consequently ignored by wine cognoscenti. When I say disparaged, it received a desultory 78-points from Parker who lamented its “one-dimensional charm” and “vegetal bouquet” (albeit four decades ago). Well, err, it must have improved since then.
Meeting a friend for lunch at the bustling “Brutto” Italian restaurant near Farringdon Station last February, my generous host served a wine blind that epitomized everything great about “old school Bordeaux”. Ironically, it was from an estate that later became the paragon/pariah of modern winemaking depending on your views: Château Pavie.
