2022, Château de Pez, SAINT-ESTÈPHE

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

One of the hot picks for the 2022 vintage.

Sitting next to Ormes de Pez and just south of Calon Segur this chateau has been revived by its owners - the Champagne house Louis Roederer (since 1995). The blend is 59% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

Amazing colour, so dark and deep. Fragrant perfume and earthy notes on the nose, flint, ripe blackcurrant, plum and black cherry, milk and dark chocolate, liquorice, sweet cedar and tobacco. Bright and sleek, so smooth but grippy too, a combination of supple weight but then really quite firm and mineral-laced tannins that give the grip and the angles. There’s weight, it's rich, dark and serious no doubt, and not entirely charming right now, it's full of muscle but also has juicy acidity and a mouthwatering mid palate. A nice buy with ageing potential. 94 Geogina Hindle, Decanter.

The 2022 de Pez is a potent, brooding wine. Black cherry, gravel, incense, tobacco, menthol all run through this virile, imposing Saint-Estèphe. All the elements are impeccably balanced. The burly Pez tannins are present, of course, but there is also more than enough fruit. The 2022 could very well be the best Pez yet under the ownership of Roederer. Yields are down a whopping 50% because of hail. 91-93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.

The 2022 Château de Pez has a very pure nose with something of a Burgundian allure: a mélange of blue and black fruit, wilted violet and graphite borrowed from down in Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins. Exquisite balance and poise, very harmonious with an intense yet paradoxically tender finish. Bon vin. Tasted twice with consistent notes. 92-94 Neal Martin, Vinous.

Drinking Window: 2026 - 2037