Château Les Ormes de Pez, St Estèphe,

Composed of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Ormes de Pez is deep garnet-purple colored. It offers open-knit scents of plum preserves and baked blackberries with hints of blackcurrant cordial, roses, Chinese five spice, and Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has tightly knit fruit and firm, grainy tannins, finishing long and mineral-tinged.

The 2019 Ormes de Pez has a more Merlot-driven bouquet (54% of the blend), a little fleshier than its peers, quite pure with raspberry and cranberry scents. Fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with a sapid entry, good depth, though it does not deliver the precision of the Dame de Montrose and feels more muscular towards the finish. Yet that should see it age well over the next couple of decades. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.