| 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. The vineyard is planted with around 50:50 Cabernet and Merlot. Always good value, it can often be attractive in its youth but great vintages can mature for decades. (The 1989 and 1990 are still magnificent).
The 2022 is 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 51% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. 14.3% alcohol. It will spend 16 months in oak barrels - 45% new.
Exhibiting aromas of rich cassis, pencil shavings and petals, the 2022 Ormes de Pez is medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with a deep core of fruit and plenty of powdery structuring tannin. It's a blend of 51% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
The 2022 Ormes de Pez is matured in 45% new oak for a planned 16 months. It has a perfumed and floral bouquet, quite sensual for a Saint-Estèphe, developing blue fruit with time in the glass. The oak is neatly enmeshed. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a high-toned and racy opening. Good acidity, the Merlot (51%) occupies the driving seat and ensures its silky-textured finish, a mote of chalk dust on the aftertaste. Just needs its élevage to knit it all together. 2027-2044
Smoky cedar, espresso and fresh blackcurrant here in a classically styled, earthy Ormes de Pez. The palate has a crunch of tannins to keep everything fresh and savoury, a glob of black fruit driving through the middle. This doesn't feel like a hot vintage, instead showing energy and depth with black cherry fruit and real vibrancy. Spicy and long on the finish.
A juicy and fruity red with blackberry, black cherry and chocolate character. Full and round with freshness and intensity. Very spicy. Black olives, too. 51% merlot, 39% cabernet sauvignon, 8% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.
A blend of 51% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Ormes de Pez is deep garnet-purple in color. It flies out with ready-to-go notes of crushed black cherries, juicy blueberries, and warm plums, plus wafts of underbrush, lavender, and pencil shavings. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a sturdy backbone of firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness to support the generous black fruits, finishing earthy. pH 3.88, TPI 84.
In line with the rest of the St Estèphe appellation in terms of its plum colour and vivid violet rim, this is already promising to be easy to drink, with supple velvet tannins, cocoa bean, caramel, sweet blackberry fruits, fig tart, patisserie cream, spice red peppers, it retains the appealingly unfussy welcome of Ormes de Pez even with the ripe signatures of the vintage. Blend finished February. Quantity down 40% after hail in June. 45% new oak.
51% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Cask sample.
Restrained dark- and red-fruit nose. Good mid-palate weight and extract. Firm tannic frame. Powerful but misses a little freshness. (JL)
Drink 2029– 2040
