2015 Peby Faugeres

Powerful, dense and explosive, the 2015 Péby Faugères is superb. Black cherry, mocha, tobacco, menthol and licorice are racy and voluptuous in the glass. Readers should expect a super-ripe, flamboyant wine loaded with personality. Péby Faugères is 100% old-vine Merlot from the heart of Silvio Denz's Saint-Émilion property. Done in an extravagant style, Péby is not especially subtle, but it is often arrestingly beautiful, as it is again in 2015.

Produced from 100% Merlot and matured for 18 months in 65% new and 35% one-year-old French oak barrels, the 2015 Peby Faugeres is medium to deep garnet-purple in color with a strikingly gorgeous nose of exotic spices, baked blackberries, plum preserves, cherry cordial and fragrant earth with smoked meats, lavender, licorice and tapenade hints. The boldly fruited, full-bodied palate features opulent, totally decadent spiced black and blue fruits with a very firm yet ripe structure and finishes with incredible depth and length. Stefan von Neipperg consults on the vineyard management here, while Michel Rolland focuses on harvest dates, winemaking, aging and the final blend - a big "bravo" to them both on this 2015!

The 2015 Château Peby Faugeres is a blockbuster that’s up with the top wines from this estate. As with the 2016, it’s 100% Merlot raised in 90% new oak. A big wine that checks in north of 15% alcohol (you’d never know it by tasting it), it offers a huge bouquet of cassis, graphite, bouquet garni, scorched earth, and toasty oak. With a full-bodied, layered, seamless style on the palate and awesome purity of fruit, it has the concentration, balance, and freshness to improve for 7-8 years and keep for two decades. Tasted twice. This cuvee from Swiss owner Silvio Denz comes from a 7.45-hectare portion of the Faugères vineyard, which lies on the eastern edge of Saint-Emilion, on the Saint-Emilion/Castillon border. The parcel is mostly older vines and is a unique southeast facing slopes of brown limestone soils. It’s worth mentioning that Jean-Luc Thunevin’s blockbuster Valandraud cuvee comes from a site not far from here and this sensational wine is made with guidance from Stephan von Neipperg for the viticulture and famed consultant Michel Rolland for the winemaking. All these of these wines reviewed here are beautiful.