CHÂTEAU LES ORMES DE PEZ

The 2017 Ormes de Pez comes across as light and easygoing, with only modest depth and nuance. There just isn't much to the 2017, in terms of either body and complexity. Drink it up. Drinking range: 2020 - 2025 Rating: 86 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2020)

The 2017 Les Ormes de Pez has a tightly would bouquet with tertiary, slightly ferrous red berry fruit, perhaps needing a little more cohesion that should evolve with bottle age. The palate is medium-bodied with a balsamic-tinged entry, moderate depth, good density but just missing a little flair and nuance on what feels like a conservative finish. Drinking range: 2023 - 2035 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2020)

The 2017 Les Ormes de Pez was matured in 45% new oak with 13.42% alcohol. None of the vines were touched by frost. Cropped at round 50hl/ha, it has a clean, pure red cherry, blackcurrant and cedar-scented bouquet, more Pauillac in style than Saint-Estèphe. The palate is well balanced with ripe tannin that feel more malleable than previous vintages at this stage, a little saline in the mouth with a silky smooth finish. This will be delicious over the next couple of decades and I suspect it will be more approachable than the 2016. Don’t ignore this. Drinking range: 2021 - 2036 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)

Tasted both at Hangar 14 and at Haut-Batailley. Very dark crimson. The aroma is equal parts black fruit and graphite. On the palate, some sweetness of oak spice but there's a slight lack of fruit richness on the palate so that overall it is relatively light. Persistent though, and the tannins are fine enough not to dominate. Drinking range: 2024 - 2032 Rating: 16 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)

Ormes has managed another good vintage after a run of them. This is a lovely wine and a buy for me. Succulent, bristling and charming, it has juicy brambled fruit extraction and tension. It doesn't take itself too seriously, just asking to be loved. The fruit spectrum is rich with blueberries and damsons, with integrity and a swirl of vanilla bean oak. Includes 6% Cabernet Franc in the blend. No need to wait too long for this. 45% new oak. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2018)

This solid Saint-Estèphe estate has made a promising 2017 Les Ormes de Pez. Ripe black cherry and currant fruit, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a charming, rounded style all make for a delicious, textbook 2017 that will keep for 15+ years. Rating: 89-91 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Apr 2018)

The density for the vintage is impressive with dark-berry and cherry character. Medium to full body, velvety tannins and a fresh and bright finish. Linear and driven. Rating: 92 - 93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)

Open-knit, with a core of plum and cherry fruit carried by light cedar, tobacco and warm stone notes. Shows a light smoky echo at the end. Rating: 88-91 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2018)

A rather elegant nose here, showing some charming dried cherry fruit, dressed with properly toasted oak. This has supple weight and breadth on the palate, with a rich, creamy depth of dark fruit, all kept in check by a belt of ripe, velvety and undeniably grippy tannins around the middle. The finish is all grip and substance, a convincing effort that shows what could be achieved in this vintage. Overall this is a fairly robust and hearty composition which seems true to the tradition of the appellation, and which will surely come good with time in bottle. Rating: 91-93 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)