Q: Is a Vintage’s Reputation on Release valid? A: Yes & No
2011 Ormes de Pez, St. Estephe
2019 Petit Cantenac, St. Emilion
It’s been a while since Bordeaux has been featured in this tier’s club so this seemed like a good time to do so. A nice bonus comes in the fact that these are both wines with a bit of age on them, especially the Ormes de Pez.
Last year, during our week in Bordeaux, one thing kept surprising us—2011s. At release, the vintage was dismissed for being cold and wet, but time has proven otherwise. At nearly every stop, the 2011s stood out: mature, elegant, and complex. This isn’t just a Bordeaux story—it’s something we’ve seen time and again in Burgundy too. Vintages like 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2013, once written off, are now spectacular. The lesson? In the right hands, great wine happens in every vintage, even ones not well received by the press—you just have to know where to look. This is, of course, something I’m happy to do and I believe to have found one, the 2011 Ormes de Pez. The 2011 Ormes de Pez from Saint-Estèphe comes from a vintage that saw an early flowering after a warm, dry spring, followed by a cooler summer with heat spikes and storms. Fortunately, September’s warm, dry weather allowed full ripening, and harvest began on September 12th for Merlot and September 20th for Cabernet Sauvignon. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the wine aged for 15 months in French oak (45% new). The result is a fleshy, well-structured wine with supple tannins and a lingering, spicy finish. Ormes de Pez is under the watch of Domaines Jean-Michel Cazes. Jean-Michel is most famously known for his work in elevating the 5th growth property, Chateau Lynch-Bages in Pauillac.
Contrasting with the 2011 vintage is 2019. This was a blockbuster. A vintage that received a ton of hype and deservedly so. The growing season began slowly with a cool May and some localized frost, but warm, dry weather during the summer and harvest allowed the vines to recover. A heatwave in July, reaching 40ºC, temporarily slowed growth, but the fruit was unaffected. The late September rain brought much-needed refreshment for the vines. Harvest at Clos Cantenac started on September 11th and continued under ideal conditions, finishing by early October. Overall, the 2019 vintage will be remembered as a dry growing season with just enough rain, balanced by warm days and cool nights, which helped prop this vintage up. Lisa Perrotti-Brown noted in her review of the vintage that the right bank Merlot wines, especially those with limestone soils like Clos Cantenac, succeeded in producing very elegant wines with freshness. Clos Cantenac is a charming 15-acre estate located on a prime terroir of gravel, sand, and clay over limestone, near the prehistoric "Megalith de Pierrefitte" in Saint-Emilion. In 2007, Martin Krajewski and his friend Marcus Le Grice from New Zealand acquired the property, which was in disrepair, with the last wine bottled in 1982. They immediately began improving the vineyards and restoring the 200-year-old winery, preparing for the first harvest that same year. The property, once split up among generations, was revitalized with a new modern cellar in 2008, and a barrel hall, laboratory, office, and tasting room completed in 2013. Today, Clos Cantenac is celebrated for crafting approachable, vibrantly textured Grand Cru wines that honor the region’s heritage. This second label was 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2019 vintage.
Now, I don’t mean to suggest that the 2011 vintage was a blockbuster. The wines are not as full or fruity. Fourteen years in to their evolution they are elegant and earthy. That will impact the type of food to pair with this wine. Instead of beef I might suggest chicken or duck. Get some rosemary, thyme to work with some potatoes and roast them with mushrooms. You could also try to pair this with salmon or anything that might work with what you’d pair with a more robust Pinot Noir. For the Petit Cantenac bolder flavors will be required. An herb crusted rack of lamb with glazed carrots for instance or, a burger but make sure its with caramelized onions.
Left: Climate change is being delt with in Bordeaux’s vineyard with the re-introduction of cover crops which you can see at Clos Cantenac. Right: Jean-Michel Cazes, owner & winemaker of Ormes de Pez.
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