Learn everything about Chateau Ormes de Pez, St. Estephe with wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips. Learn about the best vintages, vineyards, ratings, a history of the property, and information on winemaking. If you want to read about other Bordeaux wine producers: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles
Chateau Ormes de Pez History, Overview
Chateau has a long history in Bordeaux dating back to the 16th century when it was referred to as Domaine de Pez. The name change to what we know of today took place after the French Revolution. The inspiration for the name change to Chateau Ormes de Pez came about quite easily.
The first part of the name, Ormes, when translated from French to English means Elms, a type of tree that at one point in time was a part of the estate’s landscape. The remainder of the name comes from the local village of Pez, where the property is located.
Chateau Ormes de Pez belongs to the Cazes family who also owns Chateau Lynch Bages, which is located in Pauillac. Chateau Ormes de Pez, like most Bordeaux vineyards, has a long history with numerous owners.
Some of the previous well-known owners who possessed the Medoc estate prior to the Cazes family include Marcel Alibert who also owned Chateau Belgrave in the Haut Medoc appellation. In 1940, Ormes de Pez was purchased by Jean Charles Cazes.
At the time of the purchase, Chateau Ormes de Pez was already quite, well-known to the Cazes family. That is because the sister of Jean Charles Cazes had worked at the estate.
Today, Chateau Ormes de Pez remains in the hands of the Cazes family, who are well known for their more famous Pauillac estate, Chateau Lynch Bages. The Cazes family also owns an estate in the Graves region, Chateau Villa Bel Air, as well as Domaine des Senechaux in the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation.
Chateau Ormes de Pez enjoyed a renovation of its wine-making facilities in 1993. Due to the high level of quality here, and its association with the Cazes family which as you know owns Lynch Bages, Ormes de Pez remains one of the most popular, and expensive Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux wines.
Chateau Ormes de Pez Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking
The 40-hectare vineyard of Chateau Ormes de Pez is planted to 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This shows a marked increase in the amount of Merlot in the vineyard, which previously had a lot more Cabernet Sauvignon planted. This has clearly helped add more softness and richness to the wine.
The terroir has 3 different types of soil with gravel, clay, and sand. The vineyard is basically in 2 parts, with more of the gravel in one section. You find larger deposits of clay, sand, and gravel in the other part. On average, the vines are kept at 30 years of age. The Saint Estephe vineyard is planted to a vine density of 9,000 vines per hectare.
Chateau Ormes de Pez Wine Making
To produce the wine of Chateau Ormes de Pez, the wine is vinified in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel and vat, with 30% of the harvest going through malolactic fermentation in vats. The wine of Ormes de Pez is aged in an average of 50% new, French oak barrels for close to 15 months before bottling.
Older vintages of Chateau Ormes de Pez used much less new oak. In fact, prior to 2000, the wine was on average aged in about 10% new, French oak barrels. The increase in the number of new oak barrels used during the aging process has added more richness and softer textures to the wine.
The Best Vintages of Chateau Ormes de Pez are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2005 and 2003.
When to Drink Chateau Ormes de Pez, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Ormes de Pez can be enjoyed young. However, the wine is often better with at least a few years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage.
Chateau Ormes de Pez is usually best enjoyed in the first 10-20 years after the vintage. Young vintages can be decanted for 1-2 hours. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment
Chateau Ormes de Pez is made by the same team that produces Chateau Lynch Bages. On average, close to 18,000 cases are produced every year.
Serving Chateau Ormes de Pez with the Best Wine, Food, Pairing Tips
Chateau Ormes de Pez is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.
Chateau Ormes de Pez is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, stewed, and grilled dishes. Ormes de Pez also pairs well with several different Asian dishes and of course, a diverse array of hard and soft cheese.
Château Les Ormes de Pez Wine Tasting Notes
26 Vintages 228,275 Views Sort by Vintage-Rating
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2023
Château Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Cedar, mint, tobacco and currants come to the front of the wine with ease. The medium-bodied palate is soft, chewy, and fresh, with a peppery edge to the red cherries, and currants in the finish. Give it a year or two in the bottle, and this should be quite nice. The wine is a blend of 55% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. 13.5% ABV. Drink from 2027-2042. 90-92 Pts. 1,194 Views Tasted May 4, 2024 |
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2022
Château Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Black currants, and spice form the core of this wine. On the medium-bodied palate, the wine is sweet, vibrant, and packed with black fruits, wet earth, spice, cedar, and leafy tobacco. Soft, round, and generous, the peppery black fruit in the finish really works here. The wine is a blend of 51% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2025-2042. 91-93 Pts. 3,806 Views Tasted May 8, 2023 |
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2021
Château Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Flowers, truffle, smoke, cocoa and black cherry aromatics form the perfume. On the palate, the wine is vibrant, fresh and combines peppery red fruits with a shot of orange in the spicy finish. Drink from 2024-2038. 1,145 Views Tasted Mar 9, 2024Medium-bodied, the wine is fresh, juicy, sweet and vibrant with a complex finish loaded with round-textured, herbs, black raspberries, menthol and plums that last through to the endnote. Drink from 2024-2043. 90-92 2,381 Views Tasted May 20, 2022 |
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2020
Château Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Nuances of smoke, chocolate and spice along with a bushel of ripe blackberries and currants offer up their fragrance with no effort. On the palate, the wine is even better with its layers of ripe, sweet, creamy, black and red fruits, olives and cocoa that hold your interest. This is going to be delicious with only a modicum of aging. Drink from 2024-2038. 3,308 Views Tasted Mar 21, 2023Things keep getting better and better here and 2020 is no exception. The nose, with its spicy personality also shows forest leaf, tobacco, pepper, black and red fruits and earthy nuances. On the palate, the wine is rich, round and ripe. It's packed with sweet, fresh, polished, juicy red berries on the mid-palate and in the open, soft textured finish. Forward in style, this should drink quite well with just 3-4 years of aging. 92-94 Pts 2,446 Views Tasted May 20, 2021 |
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2019
Château Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
The wine has picked up steam during the aging process. Now you find notes of flowers, peppery red fruits, cocoa, tobacco leaf, cedar and spice. The wine is fresh, lush, round and ripe, with a rich, creamy, dark red fruit packed mid-palate. This is clearly the best vintage of Ormes-de-Pez ever produced. Drink from 2024-2040. 2,588 Views Tasted Mar 29, 2022 |
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2019
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Medium-bodied, earthy, spicy and fresh, the wine serves up a juicy bolt of ripe, sweet, pure cassis, cherries and spice. Forward in style, this should drink quite well with just a few years of aging. 91-93 Pts 5,706 Views Tasted Jun 20, 2020 |
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2018
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Spicy blackberries, gravel, tree-leaf and cedar are on the nose. From there, just one sip and you know this is the finest Ormes de Pez ever produced. There is volume, sweetness to the fruits, persistence and energy in the fruity finish. The wine was made from 50% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, reaching 14.6% ABV. 92-94 Pts 7,738 Views Tasted Apr 19, 2019 |
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2018
Château Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Peppery red fruits, tobacco leaf, cedar and red currants get your attention. From there the mediu8m-bodied waves of ripe, juicy, crisp berries on the palate with their spicy overtone seals the deal. Give this classically styled wine 4-5 years in the cellar and enjoy it over the following 2 decades. 2,493 Views Tasted Mar 9, 2021 |
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2017
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Medium-bodied, forward, early-drinking Saint Estephe with plenty of fresh red fruits, earth, spice and tobacco nuances. 3,189 Views Tasted May 14, 2020Spicy and grounded with fertile soil and the reddest of fruit, here you’ll find cedar, tobacco and blackberries. Timelessly crisp, fresh and lively with herbs, olive and pepper on the palate and in the finish, the wine is a blend of 51% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon. 4,052 Views Tasted Apr 26, 2018 |
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2016
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Loads of crushed rocks, fresh, bright red fruits and ripe, soft tannins. The wine had depth, length and the ability to age, leaving with you a blast of sweet, juicy, dark red fruit in the finish. This is clearly the best vintage yet for Les Ormes de Pez. 5,101 Views Tasted Feb 9, 2019Indonesian tobacco, finely crushed gravel, herbs and spices and black currants covered in crème de cassis, this year’s wine is softer and livelier than in the past. Add ripe tannins and a fruity finish and promise yourself a second date. This medium-bodied wine was produced from 52% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. 6,844 Views Tasted Apr 29, 2017 |
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2015
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Between medium bodied, to light, there is a distinctive leaf and herbal note to the crisp red fruits, espresso and dusty tannins in the finish. 3,045 Views Tasted Mar 12, 2018Fruity, tobacco and smoky aromas meld with spicy, red fruits leaving you with dusty, cherry notes in the finish. This medium-bodied wine was produced from 49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. 86 - 88 Pts 4,084 Views Tasted Apr 19, 2016 |
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2014
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Fresh red cherries, spice, earth and herbs are all wrapped up in nicely, in this medium bodied forward effort. There are some firm, ripe tannins that will help the wine age and evolve. 4,888 Views Tasted Jan 31, 2017Cassis and earthy notes blend perfectly with the spicy, red fruits, bringing a shiny freshness to the finish. The wine was made from a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. 89-91 Pts 4,289 Views Tasted Apr 13, 2015 |
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2013
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
From a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the wine is forward, medium bodied, finishes with a crisp, spicy, red berry notes, coupled with a kiss of oak. 4,433 Views Tasted Feb 7, 2016Vanilla, coffee bean, fennel and dark cherry aromas, the wine is medium bodied, with a sweet and tart, cassis finish. The wine is made from a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. 85-87 Pts 2,680 Views Tasted Apr 20, 2014 |
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2012
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Showing a bit too much oak, coupled with the bright cranberry and cassis notes, that leaves you with a touch of dryness in the crisp finish. 5,045 Views Tasted Mar 11, 2015With 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 8% Caberent Franc and 2% Petit Verdot in the blend, the wine will be aged in 45% new French oak. With cedar wood, black cherry and herbs, this medium-bodied wine has a four-square style and ends with a simple cassis finish. 85-88 Pts 6,554 Views Tasted Apr 23, 2013 |
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2011
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Oak, black raspberries, earth and stone notes are easy to find. The tannins show some rusticity and dryness in the slightly short, but soft finish. 2,921 Views Tasted Feb 16, 2014From 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 3,367 Views Tasted Apr 8, 2012 |
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2010
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
With a nice dark ruby color, wet earth, blackberry and wood scents lead to ripe, juicy, black and red berries, spice and cassis. As it continues to develop, clearly, this is one of the top vintages of Les Ormes de Pez. 6,644 Views Tasted May 8, 2015With lively fruit, fresh blackberry and plum, earth and spice notes, this zippy wine made from a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the wine offers a lot of fruit, flavor and freshness for the money. 7,178 Views Tasted Feb 6, 2013Aromas of slate, dark berries, jam and green peppercorn lead to a full bodied, big, juicy mouthful of fresh cassis and blackberries. 8,287 Views Tasted Jul 16, 2012Les Ormes de Pez - From the seam technical team as Chateau Lynch Bages in Pauillac, blending 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot produced a deeply colored wine with scents of stone, cassis and coffee bean. With round tannins and a soft entry, the wine finishes with sweet cassis and black cherry flavors, supple textures and freshness. 90-92 Pts 8,469 Views Tasted Apr 19, 2011 |
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2009
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Fresh, soft, round and with a sense of polish to the tannins, the wine is juicy, spicy, fresh and ready for its prime-time drinking window. Splash decanting is all this needs to strut its stuff. 4,894 Views Tasted Nov 12, 2018From an assemblage of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot this tannic, sturdy wine offers blackberry, cherry and earthy aromas. There is a slight drying sensation in the strong, tannic finish. 89 Pts 9,948 Views Tasted Jan 26, 2012Black pepper, crème de cases, stone and earthy scents open to a round textured, fresh, ripe wine that’s filled with sweet, ripe, bright, juicy, ripe black and red berries. From the same technical team that produces Chateau Lynch Bages, this is a winner in 2009! 10,282 Views Tasted Jul 19, 20112009 Ormes de Pez opens with floral and sweet berry aromas. Full bodied and lush, the wine ends with sweet berry flavors. 91/93 Pts 11,045 Views Tasted Jun 26, 2010 |
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2008
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Fully mature, medium/full bodied, earthy, tobacco filled, red berry wine oriented wine. This probably drinking quite close to its peak today. 3,742 Views Tasted Sep 17, 2018Medium bodied with rustic tannins and scents of cassis and earth, based on this bottle, the wine is not drinking well at this point. I'd give it time before popping another bottle. 7,323 Views Tasted Oct 3, 2013With a perfume filled with blackberry, boysenberry earth and forest floor aromas, this beefy, fresh wine will deliver a lot of bang for the buck. 7,433 Views Tasted Jan 28, 2011 |
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2007
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Fully mature, with the bricking of age, the wine is on the secondary side with its herbs earth, tobacco and red fruit character. Medium bodied, soft and just hanging to its remainder of peppery fruit, the wine requires consumption. 4,541 Views Tasted Jun 25, 2017 |
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2006
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Drinking at its peak, this medium bodied, fresh, crisp, wine has a sharp, dusty, bright, red fruit finish. 4,398 Views Tasted May 25, 2016Rustic in nature, with masculine tannins, this is better on the nose with its earthy character than on the firm, old school, crisp, austere palate. 5,793 Views Tasted Nov 23, 2013 |
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2005
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
With a developed, earthy, tobacco scented nose, the fresh, crisp, spicy, bright cassis filled wine is classic in style, with a stern, traditional St. Estephe charm. 4,248 Views Tasted Jun 28, 2015Hard, tannic and a bit angular in style, there is cassis, earth and spice to be found, but the wine lacks softenss and charm. I am not sure time will make that much difference. 6,125 Views Tasted Aug 7, 2012Spicy red and black plums with assorted red fruit aromas open to a medium/full bodied, tannic, bright wine that will drink well young. Give it 2-3 more years and drink it over the following decade. 6,832 Views Tasted Nov 6, 2011 |
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2004
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Ready to drink, earth, tobacco, cedar chest and dark cherry create the personality. Medium bodied, short and to the point, the finish is all about the spicy, peppery berries. 3,247 Views Tasted Jan 4, 2015 |
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2003
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Light ruby in color, tobacco, earth and cigar box notes dominate the aromatics. On the palate, the wine is fully developed with a spicy, strawberry and cherry liqueur finish. This requires drinking sooner than later. 5,118 Views Tasted Dec 18, 2013 |
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2000
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
This was probably better 5 years ago. Meaty, masculine and earthy, the wine is firm, medium bodied and shows a hint of bright, cassis in the finish. Drink up as it is not going to improve from here. 3,665 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2016 |
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1996
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Medium-bodied, fresh, earthy, peppery, red fruits with a nice ripeness to the berries. The wine is soft, charming and comes along with Asian spices, cedar and cigar box notes to round things out. Fully mature, this requires consumption over the next few years before it begins to drop its fruit. 2,966 Views Tasted Dec 14, 2021 |
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1961
Château Les Ormes de Pez (St. Estèphe)
Red berries, forest floor and clay in the nose. The wine is light in color and density, but there is a charming personality and sweetness to the fruit and good length in the finish. This was surprisingly good. I’m sure that has a lot to do with the provenance, as this was just a beautiful bottle. For a Bordeaux of this quality from 1961, due to its low price, it’s worth seeking out a bottle or two. 2,800 Views Tasted Dec 9, 2014 |
