2018, Château de Pez, SAINT-ESTÈPHE

Bordeaux Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot.

The 2018 de Pez is even more impressive from bottle than it was from barrel. Time has given the Pez gorgeous finesse, softening the contours, to match the natural radiance of the year. Silky tannins wrap around a core of inky red/purplish fruit, pipe tobacco, cedar, mint, spice and leather. The en primeur sample was decidedly flashier, but, then again, that wine was presented in 100% new oak. The finished wine, with one-third each new, one year-old and two year-old barrels, is wonderfully refined and poised. 92 Antonio Galloni, Vinous (2021).

The 2018 Château de Pez was shut when I tasted it from cask with winemaker Nicolas Glumineau, so much so that I felt it was inappropriate to score it because I felt there was a great wine lurking behind that door. And so it turned out. Now in bottle, this has a gorgeous bouquet of lifted blackberry, graphite and flinty aromas, razor-sharp in terms of delineation. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine-grained tannins and a subtle marine influence that becomes more prominent with aeration. The oak is wonderfully integrated and the focus very finished. This is one of the best Château de Pez that I have tasted, but it clearly needed to wait until it was in bottle to show its potential. 92 Neal Martin, Vinous (2021).

A blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple coloured 2018 de Pez leaps from the glass with vibrant black cherries, ripe blackberries and blackcurrant pastilles notes, giving way to nuances of black olives, lavender and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate offers nicely rounded tannins and a lively backbone to counter the bold fruit, finishing savoury. 92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (2021).

Always an extremely classy St-Estèphe, and this is an excellent wine that has restraint but punch, and plenty of cassis and blackberry fruits, with a governing hand of tannins that are never overdone. 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (2020).

Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040