Chateau de Pez St Estephe 2016 750ML

The 2016 de Pez appears to be benefitting from a long-term replanting program at the estate. This is a blend of 53% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Petit Verdot and 1.5% Cabernet Franc. The IPT is quite high at 80, and there is 13.9% alcohol. It has a pure and comely bouquet with black cherries and blackcurrant pastilles, just a touch of crushed violets that emerge with time. The palate is really quite lovely: very well balanced with a fine line of acidity, quite saline in the mouth, perhaps the finest tannic structure that I have encountered during many years of tasting this Saint Estèphe, with a long persistent finish. Maybe this is the "dark horse" of the appellation this year.

Another bargain alert! At this price level, perhaps the most subtle and elegant of all wines tasted. Not as expressive as Ormes de Pez, but top marks for delicate refinement and indeed a noticeably floral aromatic profile that accentuates the palate. As wine consultant Kevin Gagnon noted at a tasting: ‘Finesse and great length.’ Do not hesitate.

St.-Estèphe is supposed to be a robust and hard wine, but this is elegant and sophisticated with fine, cassis and lemon-peel aromas, polished tannins and a long, rather delicate finish.

One of the many estates on the Pez plateau in Saint-Estèphe, this property is at the top of its game. Owned by the same proprietors as Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, the wine has structure, big tannins as well as dense black fruits.

This has a mix of red currant, dark plum and bitter cherry fruit flavors giving nice range from the start, while light tobacco, iron and singed alder notes check in as well. The taut finish has pebbly tannins and solid length. Cellar to let this unwind.

Made by Nicolas from Comtesse, the 2016 Château de Pez checks in as a blend of 42%, 53 Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Black cherries, green tobacco, some underbrush, and cedar pencil notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied, supple, elegant 2016 that still shows true Saint-Estèphe character.

The 2016 de Pez has turned out well. Iron, smoke, savory herbs, menthol and scorched earth all give Pez its distinctive feral, savory profile. The tannins are still a bit tough, but time will help, to some degree. It will be interesting to see what the Roederer group does at de Pez moving forward, now that it is the Rouzaud family's sole holding in Saint-Estèphe.