2006 Fombrauge

Very dark crimson. Some rather good oak in evidence here – possibly too much so for some tastes. Rather constructed and without real core but the result is a decent mouthful of fruit. (JR)

Bright ruby-red. Brooding, pure aromas of blackberry, dark cherry, bitter chocolate, mocha, menthol and minerals. Then almost surprisingly opulent and sweet, with very rich and fully ripe dark fruit and bitter chocolate flavors spreading out to saturate the palate. This is very sexy right now but has the stuffing and fine-grained, toothcoating tannins to support a decade-plus of life in bottle. In fact, some time in the cellar may bring additional complexity.

One of the two stars of Bernard Magrez’s St.-Emilion empire (the other being the luxury cuvee of Magrez-Fombrauge), the 2006 Fombrauge is a soft, round, spicy effort displaying plenty of oak, earth, and ripe red currant and black cherry fruit. This pretty, alluring, charming effort is best drunk over the next 7-8 years. It is a blend of 77% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon.