WITH ITS HEAD ABOVE THE VILLAGE AND ONE FOOT IN THE VINEYEARDS, THIS 5-STARS RELAIS & CHATEAUX IS THE PERFECT REPRESENTATION OF SAINT – EMILION’S UNIQUE TERRITORY.
THE FIRST UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE VINEYARD
The Hôtel de Pavie is at the top and in the heart of Saint-Emilion. Its medieval picturesque and wine-growing tradition have attracted visitors from far and wide to discover its attractions since the 8th century. Inaugurated in 2007 in the Maison de Village, Its panoramic terraces and hanging gardens, following a pathway flush with the roofs, create the perfect and exquisite offers. A total feeling of a place in osmosis with its environment, a surreal presence of a bear or a white rhinoceros, borrowed from the work of the artist Michel Audiard, that adds a touch of contemporary mischief to this timeless stroll.
The lands of Château Pavie connects to the Hôtel de Pavie and extend into the vineyards of its estate. They are both an excuse for a bicycle excursion or a very chic picnic. Starting with the subtlety of the terroir, which is spectacularly revealed in the Pavia landscape. The tour explains the gestures of precision viticulture and the majestic architecture of the cellars, renovated in 2013 by Alberto Pinto, allows visitors to experience the alchemy involved in the maturation of a great wine.
The highlight of the visit is the tasting, which puts everything that has been seen and heard into perspective. To the eye, the color is dense; on the nose, the aromatic complexity is deep; on the palate, the structure is taut and precise. All the magic of the place is distilled in a glass.
EXCLUSIVE INTIMACY
With 16 rooms, 5 suites, terraces, and hanging gardens on the roofs of the medieval village of Saint-Emilion, a mansion in the vineyards, The Hôtel de Pavie spreads its charms and pure intimacy. To preserve this home-like atmosphere, which adds an extra touch of personality to the comfort of the hotel, the interior is designed by architect Alberto Pinto, who’s known for his mastery of historical styles, as well as for his contemporary creations, the right balance between respect for the old stones and the taste of the time. The luxury of the details, such as the velvet confetti laid by hand on the wallpaper, the patinas of the French cabinetmaker Moissonnier or the deployment of a multitude of precious essences in the geometry of the parquet floors, makes it an exquisite experience. The liveliness of the colors is harmonized without falling into the ease of a canon.
Each room elegantly displays its character, such as the suites with panoramic terraces or private gardens, put Saint-Emilion at the top of your desires.
THE GASTRONOMY OF A GREAT HOUSE
“It was the right time, for Chef Yannick Alléno, there was the availability to think about new projects and the desire to go further. By renaming the restaurant La Table de Pavie, we gave the Chef carte blanche and the subject was the region around us, and it is in close collaboration with local producers, starting with those of our own estates, that we wish to write this story.” Angélique DaCosta, the daughter of Gérard and Chantal Perse, now runs the establishment:
The entry into the world of wine has only reinforced its culture, and it was during a meal organized in Paris around a tasting of Château Pavie that Gérard and Chantal Perse met Yannick Alléno, then in the kitchens of Le Scribe.
CHEF YANNICK ALLÉNO
Chef, rewarded twice 3 stars, Yannick Alléno brings with him the experience of the Cuisine Moderne culinary movement that he launched in 2013. Including the reinvention of sauces or the re-reading of terroirs through the strength of fermented products, augurs a fertile questioning, not only of the products of the south-west, an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the chef but also of their possible combinations with wines.
With its 40 place settings and refined décor, La Table de Pavie offers a marvelous setting for the Chef’s writing.
FROM THE VINEYARD TO THE PLATE
To put its star products and its best craftsmen on the plate, to promote the know-how of the different domains of the Perse family. Their wines, of course, but also their honey, olive oil, and cheeses matured in the old quarries of Château Pavie.
The temporality of the gardens and the seasons of the vineyard give rhythm to the menu. And it is in response to the fruitful coordination between the Chef, the kitchen teams, and Laurent Lusseau, the steward of the Perse family’s properties. Voilá! the menu was written.
EMOTION
Emotion is the preamble to the menu. It sequences the entire meal, it is a memory that emerges at the moment of tasting. Such as a memory of a trip to the ocean, the mountains, or a time of a family celebration.
The appetizers are three tributes that take you on a journey through space and time, a bite to take to the sea, and the time of a fishing campaign in the Bay of Biscay. Another to salute the memory of the cook Madame Agouasse, and one last bite to push the traditional local soup into its limits. The stage is set. The meal can begin.
WHEN YOU HAVE THE SAUCE, YOU HAVE THE DISH
With a punchy pre-entrée, both lively and deep. With five starters, five main courses, four desserts, a sharp menu with concentrate flavors, a manifest of Chef Yannick Allénos. The dishes are highlighted by large sauces. Like a frame, they highlight the nobility of the products and the choice of cooking methods. They also serve to build bridges with the vineyard. The sea bass accentuates its nobility with a Royale of marrow in red wine.
Such as the blue lobster cooked in the test salutes Escoffier in a white wine sauce drawn from his heritage. Without wine, but not without delicacy, the Solférino sauce produced with extraction for the traditional Mixed Grill sharpens this traditional, highly carnivorous dish.
Concentration is also in the service, which brings the kitchen to the dining room. His precise gestures complete the preparation of certain dishes such as the Feuillet Bordelais sprayed with cognac at the last minute or the puff pastry of a dessert also worked on in the dining room.
WINE IN THE SPOTLIGHT: 700 WINE REFERENCES
With the wine at the center of the room’s décor, wine is logically in the spotlight. Only the main lines of his book are represented in the air-conditioned showcase which places the wine at the center of the room’s décor, wine is logically in the spotlight. On the menu, 700 references illustrate all the regions of France, but also some foreign wines, such as Arômes de Pavie, Château Pavie Decesse, Château Bellevue Mondotte, Château Monbousquet, Château Monbousquet blanc, Clos Lunelles and Esprit de Pavie, they are all offered by the glass, as well as the 1er Grand Cru Classé “A” Château Pavie.
80 châteaux from Saint-Emilion and satellite appellations such as Pomerol and Fronsac are also on hand. This diversity illustrates the close links that the Head Sommelier Benoît Gelin has indulged with the surrounding properties. He has been with the company for 18 years and is an outstanding guide to the wines of the region, as well as being passionate about the wines of Touraine, where he was trained.
It is in this spirit of dialogue that the Le Tour des Vignobles offers a series of food and wine pairings created in close collaboration with the kitchen teams. A magnificent way to travel without leaving your table.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
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