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 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, 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 three main 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. In this plot the vines have been recently uprooted, and prior to replanting the land has been left to recover. At the centre of the plot is a small stone building, very newly restored, and clearly marked as the property of Ormes de Pez; it is pictured on the first page of this profile. Surrounded by fallow land, strewn with flowers of a myriad hues, pink, purple, blue, orange, red and gold, I encountered it purely by chance in October 2012. It made for a view as charming as any in Burgundy or Beaujolais. Who says Bordeaux is all flat and boring?
