Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesRange: 90-92
Chateau de Pez is located west of the town of Saint-Estèphe. The estate consists of 74 contiguous acres, with 54 acres under vine. The vineyard is situated on a high plateau with well-exposed slopes. From a summit of 59 ft. the land descends northward to 39 ft.
Chateau de Pez remains resolutely faithful to wood. The blend is composed in December and the wine is stored in barrels where it is racked every three months. After approximately one year, roughly midway through the maturation process, the wine is fined using fresh egg whites. The wine is matured in small oak casks with 40% new oak, 30% "Premier vin", 30% "Deuxième vin". It should be noted that the wine undergoes absolutely no filtration.
Deeply colored, concentrated, and distinctive, St. Estephe is the go-to for great, age-worthy and reliable Bordeaux reds. Separated from Pauillac merely by a stream, St. Estephe is the farthest northwest of the highest classed villages of the Haut Medoc and is therefore subject to the most intense maritime influence of the Atlantic.
St. Estephe soils are rich in gravel like all of the best sites of the Haut Medoc but here the formation of gravel over clay creates a cooler atmosphere for its vines compared to those in the villages farther downstream. This results in delayed ripening and wines with higher acidity compared to the other villages.
While they can seem a bit austere when young, St. Estephe reds prove to live very long in the cellar. Traitionally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, many producers now add a significant proportion of Merlot to the blend, which will soften any sharp edges of the more tannic, Cabernet.
The St. Estephe village contains two second growths, Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.