Château Ormes de Pez: Vineyards
As I have already indicated in my introduction to this profile Château Ormes de Pez can be found on the edge of Pez, roughly west of the settlement of St Estèphe itself. We are in the more northerly reaches of the appellation here; the village of St Corbian; Château Beau-Site and Château Beau-Site Haut-Vignoble lie to the north, on an island of Terrace 3 gravel and Château Calon-Ségur lies to the north-east. Beyond that there lies a strip of pasture along the Chenal de Calon, one of the major west-east drainage ditches of the Médoc. Further on lies Saint-Seurin de Cadourne, and the Haut-Médoc and Médoc appellations, including notable châteaux such as Château Sociando-Mallet.
The vineyards are located in several sections around the village of Pez. It is not immediately obvious to the casual passer-by which plots in this sea of vines may belong to the Cazes family, save for one which lies to the east, somewhat closer to St Estèphe. At the centre of the plot is a small stone building, sensitively restored, and clearly marked as the property of Ormes de Pez; it is pictured on the first page of this profile. The pictured was taken in October 2012, and and that time the building sat as an island in a sea of flowers, a myriad hues of pink, purple, blue, orange, red and gold. The land was recovering after many years of viticulture, in preparation for replanting, and so this floral display has of course long disappeared; new vines went into the ground in literally just weeks after the photograph was taken.
Perhaps more importantly, hidden by the flowers and vines are at least two main soil types, spread across numerous parcels. There are parcels of gravel comprising quartz and rolled pebbles, which are favourable to Cabernet Sauvignon, while on soils featuring more sandy clay you are more likely to find Merlot. Beneath the gravel and clay there lies the typical fissured limestone that runs beneath much of the St Estèphe appellation.
