Love this wine, with its punchy stamp of St Estèphe, with powerful black fruits and fresh acidities, both enticing and appealing while extremely unfussy. The tannins are serious and a little chunky, but have plenty of character and there is appealing gunsmoke and salinity on the finish. 3.69ph, 45% new oak.
93 points, Jane Anson (Feb 2023)
A blend of 54% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2020 Château Ormes De Pez offers up a great perfume of red and black currants, sweet tobacco, sandalwood, and spice. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with ripe tannins and good overall balance, it's another terrific 2020 that offers pleasure even today yet will evolve for 15+ years if well stored.
92 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Mar 2023)
Fresh and direct, with lilac and savory notes running with a core of damson plum and red cherry coulis. Reveals a piercing iron note on the sneaky long finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2034.
92 points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator (Mar 2023)
Bitter chocolate, blackberries, dried mint and tobacco leaves on the nose. Firm and linear, with a medium body and tight tannins. Tangy acidity. Sharp and clear cut. 54% merlot, the highest percentage ever, the rest cabernet sauvignon with a touch of petit verdot. Better in 2025.
92 points, James Suckling (May 2023)
Aromas of sweet cherries, berries and spices framed by creamy new oak, introduce the 2020 Ormes de Pez, a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy wine that's polished and seamless, with a generous core of fruit and an extroverted, charming profile.
91 points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Apr 2023)
The 2020 Ormes de Pez has held on to its Pauillac-inspired bouquet with touches of pencil shaving littered amongst the tightly-knit black fruit, then brine aromas percolating up with aeration (I give this 20 minutes to open). The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, cohesive yet maybe just missing the mid-palate weight and concentration of say, the Cazes's Lynch Bages or Haut-Batailley. Fresh and saline on the finish. Give it two or three years in bottle.
91 points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Feb 2023)
Green pepper, liquorice, pencil lead, black fruits, cedar, toast and caramel. Really quite high acidity on the palate, striking and makes the biggest impact with juicy, almost sweet red fruits giving a wide, open and generous beginning. Lots of minerality - a crushed stone texture and grip that marks the palate. Subtle detail and lightly framed.
91 points, Georgina Hindle, Decanter (Jan 2023)
