Château Ormes de Pez
Ormes de Pez is a shrewd buy for Bordeaux fans, punching well above its Cru Bourgeois status. It is owned by the Cazes family, who also own Pauillac’s Lynch-Bages, with the same winemaking ethos and a team led by Lynch-Bages’ Daniel Llose. Ormes de Pez benefits from its proximity to the estuary, which helps to regulate the temperatures and protects its 35 hectares from frost damage. Cabernet Sauvignon makes up the majority of plantings, followed by Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Alongside meticulous winemaking practices like hand harvesting and using ex Lynch-Bages barrels for ageing, the estate continues to innovate, using satellite imaging to pick out individual parcels and developing new tractors to sensitively work the land.