2016 Chateau De Pez Bordeaux RP--92--94 JD--94 JS--93

Robert Parker: 92--94 Points
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.

Jeb Dunnuck: 94 Points
"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."

James Suckling: 93 Points
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. Drink or hold."