The Chateau Tour de Pez is a Cru bourgeois from the Saint-Estephe appellation. The 30-hectare vineyard with vines averaging 35 years of age benefits from a terroir consisting of gravel soil and clay-limestone marl. The wine is aged in oak barrels (30% new) for 14 months, and clarified with egg whites. The Chateau Tour de Pez 2016 is made from a blend of 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot.
At tasting, Chateau Tour de Pez 2016 develops fruity scents (black cherry, blueberry) mixed with more floral notes (violet, iris). The palate is quite tense with a lovely acidity that is accompanied with crunchy tannins. There are also savory spices and leather notes with a delightful finish. This Chateau Tour de Pez 2016 is best to consume between 2025 and 2035.
The 2016 Tour de Pez comes sprinting out of the blocks on the nose with precocious black cherries and blueberry fruit, violets and iris following just behind. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, quite tensile in the mouth with good acidity, flecks of brown spice and meat juices imparting a savory vein on the finish. There is plenty of character to this Saint Estèphe and it should age with style.