2018 Château de Pez, St Estèphe, Bordeaux

49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot.

Black core to narrow crimson rim. Some charry sweetness as well as the blackest of fruits. The tannins are the most grippy of this line-up of St-Estèphes but this may be also because the acidity seems higher. Dry, chewy and all to play for.

Drink 2028 - 2038

The 2018 de Pez is even more impressive from bottle than it was from barrel. Time has given the Pez gorgeous finesse, softening the contours, to match the natural radiance of the year. Silky tannins wrap around a core of inky red/purplish fruit, pipe tobacco, cedar, mint, spice and leather. The en primeur sample was decidedly flashier, but then again, that wine was presented in 100% new oak. The finished wine, with one-third of each new, one-year-old and two-year-old barrels, is wonderfully refined and poised.

1% Cabernet Franc finishes the blend. 3.65pH.

Roederer no longer owns Beausejour, so this is now their only estate in St-Estèphe, where they are currently building a new winery. The 2018 is highly appealing, with rich plum fruits and firm but flexible tannins. You get the slightest trace of heat, but the evident concentration is well-handled and has a gourmet edge. This is an excellent choice for drinking a little earlier than others in the appellation.

Drink 2024 - 2036

The 2018 Château de Pez was shut when I tasted it from cask with winemaker Nicolas Glumineau, so much so that I felt it was inappropriate to score it because I felt there was a great wine lurking behind that door. And so it turned out. Now in bottle, this has a gorgeous bouquet of lifted blackberry, graphite and flinty aromas, razor-sharp in terms of delineation. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine-grained tannins and a subtle marine influence that becomes more prominent with aeration. The oak is wonderfully integrated, and the focus is very finished. This is one of the best Château de Pez that I have tasted, but it clearly needed to wait until it was in bottle to show its potential.

Drink 2023 - 2040

A blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple coloured 2018 de Pez leaps from the glass with vibrant black cherries, ripe blackberries and blackcurrant pastilles notes, giving way to nuances of black olives, lavender and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate offers nicely rounded tannins and a lively backbone to counter the bold fruit, finishing savory.

Drink 2023 - 2038

Spices and dark berries with some nutmeg and cedar. Medium to full body, really polished tannins and a refined and pretty finish. So fine. Tight yet balanced. Give it three or four years to open.

Try after 2023

The blend is 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, and the balance is Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.

From the team of Nicolas Glumineau at Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, the 2018 Château De Pez is a gorgeous 2018 that should be on every Bordeaux lover's radar and should be a great value as well). Notes of blackcurrants, blueberries, candied violets, and graphite define the bouquet, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, rockingly polished tannins, terrific purity, and a great finish. It's terrific and is going to have 15-20 years or more of longevity.

Drink 2021 - 2041