Château Les Ormes de Pez - Saint-Estèphe 2011

Wine Advocate

86 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/2/2014

Owned by the well-known Cazes family of Lynch-Bages, this popular St.-Estephe has turned out a dark ruby/plum-colored 2011 with sweet cassis and black cherry fruit. A slightly short finish is present, but the wine has a good front end-loaded combination of fruit, extract and succulence. It’s medium-bodied and tails off in the mouth, but it is well-made. Drink now-2019.

Jamessuckling.com

88 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/19/2014

This is earthy and spicy, with a medium body, fresh acidity and a chewy finish. Needs two years at least to soften. Better in 2016.      

Wine Spectator

90 / 100

byJames Molesworththe2/11/2014

Focused and pure, with a tight beam of red currant, lilac, singed balsa wood and iron that stays tightly coiled through the finish. Not big, but defined and persistent. Best from 2015 through 2021.

La Revue du Vin de France

15-16 / 20

the5/31/2012

Le cru propose un 2011 tout en fraîcheur et en rondeur, avec un fruit élégant et suave en milieu de bouche. Jolie structure tannique déjà fondue. Il s'inscrit dans une série de belles réussites du cru. Il se boira vite.

Le Point

15 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/17/2012

Nez épicé, note fumé, bouche douce, assez élégante, tanins crémeux, bonne longueur, un peu touffu en finale. O= 2016 G= 10 ans

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

88-90 / 100

byIan D'Agatathe5/12/2012

Bright inky purple. Highly perfumed aromas of blackberry, violet and minerals are complicated by a sweet note of peppery balsamic reduction. Enters the mouth rich and dense, then turns leaner and more austere on the back half, showing lovely purity of black fruit and mineral flavors. Finishes long and refined. With a little more sweetness and flesh, this would have been one of the overachievers of the vintage.

Wein Wisser

17 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/7/2012

Tiefes Pupur, satt in der Mitte, Granatschimmer am Rand. Amarenakirschentouch, ein Hauch Zimt, viel Cassis, zeigt sich sehr dicht. Samtener Gaumen mit einer erstaunlichen Konzentration, etwas Mokka und viel Dörrfrüchte im Innern, Vanillemark. Grossartiger Ormes-de-Pez, der mit grosser Warscheinlichkeit in seiner Reife noch einen Punk zulegt. 2016-2034

TAST

16 / 20

by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2012

Excellente ampleur de constitution, plus de chair et d'enveloppe que la moyenne du millésime, tanin extrait avec précision et adresse, excellent saint-estèphe.

Decanter.com

16 / 20

the4/30/2012

Finely expressed cassis fruit, slightly leathery and firm, good ripe middle palate and will show well. Drink 2014-2022. (16+ points)

Wine Advocate

87-89 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/30/2012

An elegant, medium-bodied, front end-loaded effort, the dark ruby/plum-tinged 2011 Les Ormes de Pez offers attractive red and black fruits intermixed with dusty, loamy soil undertones, and medium body. This soft, consumer-friendly St.-Estephe should drink nicely for 7-8 years. It is a sleeper of the vintage.

Wine Advocate

89-91 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/27/2012

The 2011 Les Ormes de Pez is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot aged in 45% new oak. It has an intense, almost brutish bouquet that leaps out of the glass and grabs you by the lapels. It is sweet with cassis and blueberry jam aromas, a touch of graphite and scorched earth underneath. The palate has a tannic entry with a saline seam, edgy tannins that make this quite masculine with a sinewy finish. There is good substance here if not finesse, although there is fine persistency towards the finish. Tasted April 2012

The Wine Cellar Insider

88-89 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/27/2012

From the same technical team as Chateau Lynch Bages in Pauillac, blending 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc ad 2% Petit Verdot. The wine will be aged in 45% new oak. 45 hectoliters per hectare, down about 5% from 2010. Earth, licorice, blackberry, oak and mineral essences. Medium/full-bodied and fresh with black raspberry and bitter chocolate notes in the finish. 88-89 Pts

Asian Palate

88-90 / 100

byJeannie Cho Lee MWthe4/20/2012

A firm dense wine with classic St Estephe tannin structure ?dense and firm, built for the long term. The mid palate has nice density and layers of flavours ranging from blackberries to tobacco. Moderately long finish.

Jancis Robinson

16,5 / 20

byJulia Harding MWthe4/16/2012

Drink 2020-2035
Meaty cassis. Firm, chewy, all structure at the moment. Dark and dense but not tough but making no effort to please. Though at the very end the fruit reappears as a reminder. (JH)

Wine Spectator

89-92 / 100

byJames Molesworththe4/10/2012

This has crunchy acidity, with herb-inflected plum, currant and cherry pit notes. Lots of aromas swirling here, with brisk length.—J.M.

Wine Enthusiast

92-94 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/4/2012

Ripe and sweet tannins combine easily with this wine’s juicy fruit and spice notes. All of the elements hang comfortably together. —R.V

Jamessuckling.com

90-91 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/1/2012

The wine shows very pretty fruit with spices and milk chocolate. Full body, with velvety tannins and an attractive finish.