Château Pavie: Fifty Hectares of Vines
Although it was apparent that Ferdinand Bouffard had set about buying up just about every parcel of vines on the Côte de Pavie that existed, in 1887 he bucked the trend by selling a parcel, one that he had bought from the Chapus family, to Albert Macquin (1852 -1911). This was, in part at least (because Macquin purchased many other phylloxera-devastated parcels at the same time), the origin of Château Pavie-Macquin. Otherwise, he continued to buy, and between 1887 and 1891 he bought yet more vines from the Veuve Pigasse, consolidating his hold on this part of the côte. Altogether his holdings grew until he had about 50 hectares on this fine, south-facing slope.
At the same time Bouffard had also acquired a stake in Château Hermitage Haut-Brion, in Pessac-Léognan, and acquired Clos Simard, the vines which lay below the Pavie vineyard, around where the St Emilion railway station is today. He also acquired a number of domaines lying next to the Côte de Pavie to complement his ownership of Château La Sable, including Château Larcis-Bergey and Château Pimpinelle, the latter another property acquired from the Fayard family. Despite having such a large estate, with one vineyard running into the next, Bouffard continued to administer his various domaines quite separately. There was never one, great Pavie estate that incorporated all that rests on the slope today.
