Château de Pez Château de Pez

Saint-Estéphe, France

Vintage:2017 (Past)

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Château de Pez  Château de Pez  2017
  • WE 94

Reviews

Wine Enthusiast

94 Points

March 1, 2020, Roger Voss

“This wine is powerfully concentrated and rich. Bold black fruits dominate, bringing the tannins along with them. Drink the wine from 2024.”

Overview

Founded in the 15th century, Pez is the oldest domaine in Saint-Estèphe. The Pontac family, then-owners of Château Haut-Brion, gave Pez its vineyards. The property remained in the hands of descendants until the French Revolution. Sold as a property of the state, the domaine belonged to a succession of families until 1995, when it was purchased by Champagne Louis Roederer.

Château de Pez is one of the oldest properties in Bordeaux’s Left Bank and consists of 104 continuous acres with 94 acres planted to prime grape varieties, mainly merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Thanks to the quality of its production, Château de Pez is counted among the most highly reputed crus of the Médoc and was reclassified as a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel in 2003.

Winemaking

Château de Pez remains resolutely faithful to wood. The blend is composed in December, and the wine is stored in barrels (40% new wood, 40% in "Premier vin" casks and 20% in "Deuxième vin" casks) and racked every three months. It is to be noted that the wine undergoes absolutely no filtration. 

Tasting Notes

Complex and enticing, the nose of Château de Pez 2017 expresses notes of milk chocolate, and then evolves towards notes of red fruits, cedar, pencil lead and finally cinnamon. This complexity is present on the palate, with a clean and gourmet attack expressing notes of strawberry and cherry. The wine develops continuously with sweetness, silkiness and precision. A mineral and salty finish with floral notes (violet) which highlights the intensity of Pez 2017. Balanced, fruity and complex, Château de Pez 2017 stands out for its mineral tension and its finely engraved tannic structure.

Harvest Notes

Nature and climate; temperamental as they are, remind the winemaker to remain humble and vigilant. Pez 2017 is the product of hard work to showcase the quintessence of an exceptional terroir, which has allowed us to escape the ravages of unpredictable bad weather. This is a vintage ending in 7 of which we are very proud.

Early again, bud break began at the end of March. A very dry April saw an episode of heavy frosts sparing the early ripening vineyards of Pauillac and St Estèphe, protected by the proximity of the estuary. Overall dry and sometimes hot, spring favored early flowering at the end of May under excellent sanitary conditions. Following this, the veraison quickly extended across the vines at the end of July. Some summer rains avoided the risk of water stress and favored maturation. A rainy period occurred during the harvest that began on September 12 between the Merlot and Cabernet harvests. The improvement that followed made it possible to wait for the maturity of the Cabernet until the beginning of October.

Technical Information

Varietals: 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 1.5% Petit Verdot, 1.5% Cabernet Franc

Wine Alcohol: 13.1%

pH: 3.61

Soil Composition: Gravel with clay and limestone

Average Vine Age: 25 years

New Oak: 30% w/ egg white fining