Izak Litwar (AKA Lafleur) is in town so we had dinner together at my place. Quiche lorraine ('cuz I'm not a real man) and veal chops in a Madeira, cream, and mushroom sauce.
Unfortunately, Izak is a bit under the weather, so I am bravely soldiering through much of the bottle
.The wine has a decided mahogany rim and is looking every bit its age - and then some.
The nose is attractive, but subdued. Minty/eucalptus notes (the French would probably say "crushed blackcurrant leaves" - not that I've ever come across this...) with nuances of kirsch, forest fruit, and forest floor.
The wine is a little thin and even diluted on the palate. It's somewhat of a donut wine, with weakness on the middle palate, but springing back to life on the aftertaste.
There's a Smith Brother's cough drop flavour on the finish and a comeback tannic grip that helps you to forget the some of the wine's weaknesses.
Balance is not the keyword here, although it's a decent enough Médoc.
I'm thinking that this would probably have been better a couple of years ago.
A part of the Cazes stable, along with Lynch Bages, Les Ormes de Pez was a cru bourgeois exceptionnel - a classifcation that no longer exists.
You taste this wine systematically when you visit Lynch Bages, and I must confess to never having been bowled over by it...
However, it's have a hearty, authentic Saint-Estèphe, in the traditional mold, and nothing to sniff at either.
Best regards,
Alex R.