Château Pavie
Like all the estates on the coveted plateau, Pavie asserts a lineage back to the Romans. However the modern day estate was formed in the late 19th century by Ferdinand Bouffard who combined several plots to form Château Pavie. Bouffard and Pavie were hit hard by the phylloxera epidemic and the estate was sold several times before Parisian millionaire Gérard Perse purchased it in 1998, following his acquisition of several other Bordeaux properties. Perse set about restoring Pavie. He updated the winery and installed a brand new cellar - previously the wines had been barrel aged in the precarious and prone-to-collapse caves of St-Emilion - and brought life back to the vineyards. He dramatically cut yields with pruning and green harvesting to give the wine the concentrated style it is known for today. In 2012 it was elevated to Grand Cru Classé (A) status, having been (B) since 1954, putting it on par with the likes of Château Ausone, one of the estates with which it shares the plateau.