Ormes de Pez 2019

50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot.Fragrant and less dense than many left-bank reds in this vintage. Lively, dry, dark and stony/mineral with a cool and elegant freshness. Dry, stony aftertaste. (JH) 14.5%Drink 2030 – 2045

Coming from the Cazes team, the 2019 Château Ormes De Pez is gorgeous and shines in the vintage. Pure crème de cassis, mulberries, leafy herbs, Asian spices, and lead pencil all emerge on the nose, and this medium to full-bodied 2019 has the vintage’s pure, focused, elegant style while staying ripe, supple, and textured. The balance is spot on, and it's going to hit maturity in roughly 8-10 years and have two decades of prime drinking.

The 2019 Ormes de Pez exhibits generous aromas of sweet berry fruit, rose petals and pencil shavings, followed by a medium to full-bodied, lively and seamless palate that's bright and integrated, with an elegantly fleshy core of fruit, fine tannins and a saline finish. Produced by the Cazes family of Château Lynch-Bages, this is invariably one of the most charming, friendly wines of Saint-Estèphe. Drink 2021-2041.

The 2019 Ormes de Pez has an intense bouquet of blackberry, bilberry and a touch of hoisin, but none of the smoky elements that I commented upon from the barrel sample last year. Nicely delineated and certainly less rustic than past vintages. The palate is finely tuned with a touch of bitter cherry on the entry, quite peppery, and a little stricter than I expected at the moment, leading to a granular, almost truffly finish. 2025-2055

The 2019 Ormes de Pez has a more Merlot-driven bouquet (54% of the blend), a little fleshier than its peers, quite pure with raspberry and cranberry scents. Fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with a sapid entry, good depth, though it does not deliver the precision of the Dame de Montrose and feels more muscular towards the finish. Yet that should see it age well over the next couple of decades. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2026-2045.

The 2019 Ormes de Pez has an intense bouquet of blackberry, bilberry, pencil box and light fumé aromas, nicely defined but demanding encouragement from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, pliant tannins almost unrecognizable from the somewhat sturdy offerings in the past. It feels seductively smooth in texture with a very satisfying, detailed finish. One of the best Ormes de Pez that I have tasted in recent years. 2025 - 2055

Plenty of spice and plums on the nose. Full body, round tannins and flavorful finish. Raspberries and hazelnuts at the end.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Ormes de Pez comes bounding out of the glass with energetic scents of black raspberries, fresh blackberries and crushed blackcurrants plus suggestions of menthol, dark chocolate, cedar chest and pencil lead with a hint of rose oil. Medium-bodied, the palate has electrically charged black fruit flavors with compelling tension and beautifully ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and perfumed. Delicious! 2024 - 2047