2022 Chateau de Pez - St. Estephe AOC

Decanter.com – 94 pts – GH: *Amazing colour, so dark and deep. Fragrant perfume and earthy notes on the nose, flint, ripe blackcurrant, plum and black cherry, milk and dark chocolate, liquorice, sweet cedar and tobacco. Bright and sleek, so smooth but grippy too, a combination of supple weight but then really quite firm and mineral-laced tannins that give the grip and the angles. Almost sharp but in a razor sharp not sour aspect, so clean, and precise. There’s weight, it's rich, dark and serious no doubt, and not entirely charming right now, it's full of muscle but also has juicy acidity and a mouthwatering mid palate. A nice buy with ageing potential and the sweet, sharp hit at the end just makes you think this is going to be great! 3.8pH. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. A yield of 26hl/ha. Tasted twice.* - 04/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 93 pts – PM: *Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Nuancen von frischer Zwetschke und Lakritze, dunkle Waldbeeren, Orangenzesten sind unterlegt. Saftig, elegant, gute Frische, etwas Nugat, mineralisch im Abgang, ein facettenreicher Speisenbegleiter.* - 01/2023

Vinum Magazin – 17/20 pts: *Von beeindruckender Fülle, doch auch saftig und knackig,herrlich frisches Tannin, sehr lang, gut abgestimmes Holz; getreues Abbild des Jahres.* - 04/2023

WeinWisser – 17,5/20pts – GL, TW: *59 % Merlot, 38 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 % Cabernet Franc, 1 % Petit Verdot, 14.54 Vol.-%, pH 3.80, 26 hl/ha. Delikates blaubeeriges Bouquet, dunkle Mineralik, Flieder und Lakritze. Am geradlinigen Gaumen straffe Ausrichtung, sandiges Extrakt, zeigt typische St. Estèphe-Krallen, engmaschiges Tanningerüst gepaart mit perfekt stützender Rasse. Im gebündelten Finale mit Wildkirsche, tiefschürfender Terroirwürze und mehliger Adstringenz. Starker Hagelschaden am 20. Mai, daher ist ein hoher Anteil an Merlot im finalen Blend. Die Produktion fällt um 40 % geringer aus.* – 04/2023

Vinous.com – (91-93) pts – AG: *The 2022 de Pez is a potent, brooding wine. Black cherry, gravel, incense, tobacco, menthol and scorched earth all run through this virile, imposing Saint-Estèphe. All the elements are impeccably balanced. The burly Pez tannins are present, of course, but there is also more than enough fruit. The 2022 could very well be the best Pez yet under the ownership of Roederer. Yields are down a whopping 50% because of hail. The blend is 59% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, which is more Merlot than the normal. There is no second wine this year. Tasted four times.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (92-94) pts – NM: *The 2022 Château de Pez (limited to 18,000 bottles due to hail damage in June) has a very pure nose with something of a Burgundian allure: a mélange of blue and black fruit, wilted violet and graphite borrowed from down in Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins. Exquisite balance and poise, very harmonious with an intense yet paradoxically tender finish. /Bon vin/. Tasted twice with consistent notes.* - 04/2023

Thewinecellarinsider.com – (92-94) pts – JL: *Opening with licorice, black cherries, flowers, and blackberries, you also find of spice on the back of the perfume. On the palate, the wine is round, fresh, fruity, and loaded with crushed rocks, and stones, finishing with layers of licorice, and salty, chewy, black currants. The wine blends 59% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. After 10 years of renovations, and work in the vineyards, this is the first vintage of de Pez offered as a future on the Place de Bordeaux. Drink from 2025-2037.* - 05/2023