Patience is a Virtue - Aged Bordeaux

1994 Chateau les Ormes de Pez, St. Estephe
$16.99
Jen’s Notes

Perfectly aged Bordeaux for under $20.00? Yes, we are completely serieux. Probably some of the best deals in Bordeaux come from St. Estephe, including the top-shelf Cos d’Estournel, which rivals the biggies from Pauillac and Pomerol any day of the week, and is often less expensive.

The de Pez is not as elegantly refined as some other Bordeaux, but with eleven years of age, it is smooth, silky, and very well-structured. (I’ve had them in their youth, and they can be ornery; but if you’re patient or a watchful shopper, you can find one that’s just right.) The wine exhibits a full bouquet of cedar, leather, smoke and earthy notes, which echo beautifully on the palate with accents of soft cherry fruit.

Shane’s Notes

I’m absolutely sick of hearing French Americaphobes gripe about our fruity wine. I love a fruit forward wine and have never been able to understand how someone can enjoy a wine that is not fruit forward. Now that I have tasted an aged Bordeaux, I at least am beginning to understand their point of view: a relatively tasteless wine can actually be appreciated for its texture and structure (I can only describe this wine as "thick"). I might even let Jen store a few Bordeaux in our wine cellar, lol.