Obituary: Gerard Perse 1949-2025

Gerard Perse, the man who single-handedly put Château Pavie back on the map after buying it in 1998, overseeing its climb to Premier Grand Cru Classé A in 2012, has died aged 75.

Born in Ménilmontant, a working-class neighborhood in Paris, in 1949, one of ten children, Perse left school at 15. He first followed his father into house painting, before starting a fruit and veg business, and buying his first small supermarket at age 26. A tireless work ethic saw him build the business to a chain of supermarkets, working alongside his wife Chantal, becoming sufficiently successful that he employed over 1,000 staff before selling the business and investing in wine. A former jockey and avid cyclist, he would ride his beloved St Emilion hills for kilometres each day way into his 60s.

A long-standing wine collector, Perse bought his first Bordeaux estate of Château Monbousquet in time for the 1993 vintage, then Pavie five years later, the exceptionally well-located classified estate with origins back to the Roman era and steep limestone slopes that run from 85m down to 20m.

Pavie had been named Premier Grand Cru Classé B in the first St Emilion ranking in the 1950s, and remained a key château in the appellation until investment dwindled in the 1980s. Perse was resolute in his determination to restore its brilliance, with the promotion in 2012 – and confirmation in 2022 – a remarkable achievement.

The continual investments that he oversaw included knocking down the original winery almost immediately on purchase, before doing it all again with a stunning marble-clad building in 2012 with architect Alfredo Pinto, the year that the estate was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé A. The wine received its first 100 points from Robert Parker in 2000, who responded almost immediately to the rich ripe style of Pavie that Perse favoured – a style that made it a target of controversy at times but that ensured it was at the heart of the conversation, as did the Perse expansion into hotels and restaurants, buying both Hostellerie de Plaisance (now Hôtel du Pavie, with a two-star Michelin restaurant) and L’Envers du Decor in the medieval village of St Emilion.

Recent years has seen Perse bring the historic vineyards of Pavie back together, bringing both Château Pavie-Decesse and Château Bellevue-Mondotte back into the vineyard footprint as of the 2022 vintage – a year that also marked 25 years of ownership. The wine also continued to evolve, while still being a structured, long-lasting St Emilion, with my tasting note of the 2023 vintage commenting that Pavie was speaking clearly of its limestone soils, and felt ‘at the top of its game’.

Joao Peres, master sommelier and ambassador for Château Pavie in Asia, with whom I hosted a Pavie tasting in Macau a few months ago, said, ‘He was a good friend and a mentor of mine. His vision brought Pavie to the top of the pyramid against all odds. For those lucky people like me who had the chance to know the man rather than the entrepreneur, we feel sadness and an immense emptiness’.

Perse leaves behind his wife Chantal, daughter Angelique, son-in-law Henrique da Costa, and two grandchildren.