Chateau Ormes de Pez 2016

JAMES SUCKLING: "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."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, intensives Cassis, feine Röstaromen, ein Hauch von Edelholz, Vanille, schwarze Kirschen im Hintergrund. Saftig, reife dunkle Beerenfrucht, integrierte, tragende Tannine, ungemein frisch, sehr lange anhaftend, tolle Extraktsüße im Abgang, tolles Potenzial, mineralischer Nachhall, toll."

DECANTER: "A real standout wine. The gorgeous, fruit-driven nose is followed by a broad, focused palate, seamlessly integrating oak, fruit, acidity and alcohol, achieving veritable racy elegance that sets it apart. Bravo! Drinking Window 2020 - 2030"

JEB DUNNUCK: "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."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Loads of crushed rocks, fresh, bright red fruits and ripe, soft tannins. The wine had depth, length and the ability to age, leaving with you a blast of sweet, juicy, dark red fruit in the finish. This is clearly the best vintage yet for Les Ormes de Pez."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Under the same ownership as Lynch-Bages in Pauillac, this wine shows much of the same rich concentration as those bottlings. Its tannins are as present as the spicy flavors that come through the blackberry fruits. The aftertaste is dark and firm. Drink from 2024."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This is nicely coiled up, with damson plum, raspberry and bitter cherry coulis flavors held in check for now by vivid savory, lilac and iron notes. Features length, cut and drive, so cellar to let this round into form. Displays a textbook St.-Estèphe profile, with pleasant austerity on full display. Best from 2022 through 2032."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "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."

WEINWISSER: "52 % Merlot, 42 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 % Cabernet Franc, 1 % Petit Verdot. 45 % neue Barriques. Tiefes Granat mit violettem, aufhellendem Rand. Rotbeerige Konturen, erkalteter Früchtetee und Kirschtabak. Am mittleren Gaumen mit griffigem Tannin, gutes Potenzial aufzeigend, endet fein spröde."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "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."