Château Tour de Pez 2023

The 2023 Tour de Pez is a gorgeous, super-expressive Saint-Estèphe. Crushed flowers, herbs, mint and tobacco meld into a core of red-toned fruit. Medium in body, with lovely persistence, Tour de Pez is exceptionally elegant and refined. Floral and savory top notes punctuate the close.

This totally delivers on En Primeur, showing more creaminess than it did then, still with the vivid red fruit character, and firm tannic structure. Enjoyable, one point upscore. Franck Bijon director.

The nose seems a little roasted and focused on crushed fruit (roasted red cherry, crushed red plum, crushed black plum, fresh morello cherry). It also shows a toasty touch, fresh red cherry, and chocolate-covered prunes. After aeration, aromas of dried mint, lily, wild rose, lilac, a hint of bay leaf and wild herbs emerge. The palate is juicy and fruity. It displays notes of morello cherry, bigarreau cherry, raspberry, red plum, with cassis in the background, and a slight smoky, toasty hint. You also get more pronounced tangy fruit flavors, accompanied by a touch of mint and licorice. The tannins are tight, a bit dry but not astringent. The finish is medium-long, chiselled and fresh.

Dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate edge brightening. Ripe plum bouquet, blackberry confit, subtle herbal savouriness. Medium body, red berries, fresh structure, round tannins, salty minerality, currants on the finish, a lively food companion.

Cocoa, espresso, and red pit fruit aromas fill the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is soft-textured, medium-bodied, fresh, and already disarmingly easy to taste and enjoy. Drink from 2026-2038.

Tangy and tart, this majors on just ripe strawberry and cranberry fruit putting the almost citric acidity at the fore. It’s enjoyable in a sense that it’s smooth and unfussy but equally it’s lacking a touch more concentration and depth to balance out the acidity.

A solid nose of plums, damp earth, violets, and Asian spices emerge from the 2023 Château Tour De Pez. Based on 65% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Cabernet Franc and aged 14-17 months in barrel, it's medium-bodied and has a charming, rounded, enjoyable mouthfeel, soft tannins, and a good finish. It's another balanced, ripe, nicely textured, and more classically styled 2023 that has plenty to like. There are roughly 5,667 cases produced. Drink this solid effort over the coming decade. Drink 2026-2035.