| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Estèphe |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Owned and made by the Cazes family of Lynch Bages, this is a consistently good wine and deserving of Cru Classé status. This Saint Estèphe is made from around 50:50 Cabernet and Merlot.
The dark berries, sandalwood and cedar aromas are certainly memorable. Full-bodied, dense and rich in the center palate with ripe, polished tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Dense and powerful. Try after 2025.
A blend of 52 % Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Ormes de Pez is deep garnet in color. It comes bounding out with open-for-business notes of black cherry preserves, warm cassis, and menthol, followed by hints of spice cake and graphite. Medium-bodied, the palate is soft and juicy with spicy accents and a refreshing finish.
A brilliant St Estèphe value in a vintage where you can almost buy blind in this appellation. Tight tannins even after a few hours of opening in bottle (not decanting), this has lashings of bitter dark chocolate, cocoa beans, espresso, cinammon shavings, mandarin peel and damson fruits, this has many years ahead of it. Owned by the Cazes family of Lynch Bages, 45% new oak. On deep gravel soils, picked by hand between September 27 and October 11, on its second year of optical sorting at this point.
Tasted blind. Very slightly muddy nose but intense and ripe. Focused but the acidity is pretty emphatic. Just a bit less vital than some of its peers in 2016. Though the finish is extremely energetic.
Drink 2025 – 2043
A terrific Saint-Estephe that delivers the goods, the 2016 Château Ormes de Pez is mostly Merlot blended with 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, all brought up in 45% new French oak. This medium to full-bodied effort has impressive ripeness and concentration as well as tannic structure to go with notes of ripe black cherries, graphite, smoked earth, and background oak. Beautifully textured, it’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for two decades. Drink 2023-2043.
There is not a lot of fruit showing on the nose the start of the palate tight the tannins firm and obvious. More depth in the middle some rich black fruits but freshness and tannic firmness tend to dry the finish. 2025-38
The yields were low on the Cabernet Sauvignon at Ormes de Pez in 2016, so this contains the lowest ever percentage of the grape. For all that, it doesn’t lack structure or focus: dense, black-fruited and winningly oaked with a twist of fennel. 2024-30
This is a very smart Ormes de Pez with a stunning purple hue and a lovely mid-palate roar of power. This is a juicy, detailed wine which belies its price and I also applaud its accuracy and balance. It’s the finest young Ormes de Pez I have ever tasted.
The 2016 Les Ormes de Pez is a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 52% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot picked from 28 September until 12 October. It has an impressive bouquet: blackcurrants, boysenberry and crème de cassis, all with very well integrated new oak. There is a lot of panache here, a word perhaps I have not associated with this Saint Estèphe in recent years. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a lovely grainy texture, quite pure with lovely blackberry, melted tar and slightly savory, almost meaty notes. Harmonious right to the end, this is an excellent Les Ormes de Pez that seems to revel in the 2016 vintage. This might be one of the best wines from the estate. Drink 2022 - 2045.
Powerful and structured with lots of blueberry, blackberry and currant character. Full-bodied, tight and tannic yet polished and beautiful. Fantastic. Juicy.
The 2016 Ormes de Pez is deep garnet-purple in color with red and black currants, earth, sage and chargrill on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied, refreshing and chewy with an herbal lift. Drink 2019-2031.
The Cazes family's property in St-Estèphe, which for a drinking wine is going to be hard to beat this year. Juicy and utterly delicious, it has freshness and a great menthol character with finely grained tannins. It manages to deliver the Médoc signature without falling over itself. Mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a dash of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, planted on clay-limestone and gravels, aged in 45% new oak. 3.69pH.
Drinking Window 2024 - 2040
Deep colour and unusually sweet nose for a St-Estèphe. Voluptuous ripe cassis and then masses of tannins on the end. Slightly drying end and even a bit of heat. Sandpaper tannins. But good, ripe fruit.
Drink 2024-2038
