Château de Pez Saint-Estèphe 2018

Château de Pez estate covers 48 hectares, with 70 plots surrounding the Château, allowing for a ‘parcellaire’ approach. The wines are left to ferment in traditional oak vats before being blended, and left to develop for a period of 12 months in oak barrels, 35 percent of them new. There is now a new vat room, with conical stainless steel vats, which allow for a softer extraction of tannins. Château de Pez remains resolutely faithful to wood. The blend is composed in December, and the wine is stored in barrels (40% new wood, 40% in “Premier vin” casks and 20% in “Deuxième vin” casks) and racked every three months. It is to be noted that the wine undergoes absolutely no filtration. There are vintages which stand the test of time and remain true references for our properties. At Pez, without a doubt, 2018 will be one of them in more ways than one! A vintage of all extremes, bringing together several vintages into one, 2018 delights us, enriches our experience and maintains our passion for winemaking, a vector of emotions. After a very wet and cold winter, the bud break was late, around mid-April. The relative mildness from April to June allowed a flowering at the end of May. The many storms that hit this period encouraged unprecedented mildew pressure. The vineyard of Pez experienced little coulure and fortunately escaped the hail. A hot and dry climate settled in from mid-July, causing a heterogeneous veraison. It began on July, 29 for the Merlot and ended on August 17 for Cabernets and Petit Verdots. Stretching from September 18 to October 9, the harvest allowed each plot to be harvested at full maturity under excellent sanitary conditions.