CHÂTEAU LES ORMES DE PEZ
2023 Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel Saint Estèphe
Plenty of Ormes de Pez sappy tannins and rich black fruit character, great quality, easy to recommend and should offer good value. No frost, and despite mildew pressure final yields of 51hl/h, 45% new oak, harvest September 14 through into October 4. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)
75cl bottles (wood case of 12)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2023 Ormes de Pez is a powerful, bold Saint-Estèphe. Black cherry, gravel, incense, chocolate, tobacco, licorice and cured meat infuse the 2023 with tons of Saint-Estèphe personality. Burly and rustic, in a good sense, the 2023 has tons of character. The Merlots feel pretty ripe and exuberant in this sample. Drinking range: 2027 - 2038 Rating: 91-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)
The 2023 Ormes de Pez is 55% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, with picking from September 19th. This is the final blend, including 12% press wine. The yield was around 50 hl/ha, close to the appellation average. I find lots of smoky and toasted oak on the nose of this 2023 barrel sample, the berry fruits subsumed by matchstick and smoke, with a little more presence of fruit when tasted at the property. On the palate there is a rather charming and fresh core of perfumed and acidulous berry fruits, wrapped in layers of dark and toasted oak, dark chocolate, coffee bean and toast. The oak is providing a lot of flavour here at the moment, but the structure beneath is firm, ripe, knit and powdery, I am sure there is some nice potential here. Tasted three times. The alcohol is 13.5%. Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)
Aromas of dark berries, cassis and creamy new oak introduce the 2023 Ormes de Pez, a medium-bodied, rich and creamy wine with a lively core of fruit and sweet structuring tannins. At 55%, Merlot dominates the blend. Rating: 90-91 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)
A spicy and juicy red with a tight center-palate, medium body, creamy tannins and a savory finish. Vivid and focused. Shows finesse. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)
Château Les Ormes de Pez
Château Les Ormes-de-Pez (French for The Elms of Pez) is a winery in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of France, near the hamlet of Pez. The wine produced here was classified as one of 9 Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels in the 2003 listing. Though this classification is currently annulled, it is expected to be revived by the 2009 vintage, but without use of the quality divisions such as "exceptionnel". The Château and buildings date from 1792, constructed after the division and sale of Château de Pez as a result of the French Revolution. During the 19th century it was owned by Marcel Alibert, also the owner of Château Belgrave, until it was sold in 1927 to the Société Civile du Haut Médoc. Financial trouble forced the estate to be sold on to Jean-Charles Cazes in 1930, who passed it on to his son André Cazes. To date the estate is owned by the Cazes family, also owners of Château Lynch-Bages. For many years the vinification took place at Lynch-Bages, but the cuvier and chai of Ormes-de-Pez were modernised before the 1981 vintage. After a long period of management by Jean-Michel Cazes, he has been succeeded by his son Jean-Charles Cazes. The vineyard area, divided into two blocks north and south of the village of Saint-Estèphe, extends 33 hectares (82 acres), with the grape varieties of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. The annual production of the Grand vin Château Ormes de Pez is typically 15,000 cases.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.