2009 Château Magrez-Fombrauge

Tasted blind. Dark brownish crimson. Really rather luscious nose. Very voluptuous. Rich and rather gorgeous. Just a little weak on the end – acidity showing through. But clean finish. Medium persistence. Relatively sweet and evolved. (JR)

Black! Round and ripe and dramatic though not excessively strong nor chewy. Until the very end when it does dry out a tad. (JR)

Tiny yields, malolactic in barrel, aging on its lees and no fining or filtration produced an exotic, full-throttle St.-Emilion boasting an explosive nose of blueberry pie, lead pencil shavings, black truffles, camphor, incense and toasty oak. Made in a borderline extreme style, the wine is extracted and full-bodied with enormous quantities of fruit, extract, tannin and glycerin. The alcohol of just over 14% is not as high as I would have expected. I purchased the 2000 Magrez-Fombrauge and am thrilled by the way it is developing as it is displaying more complexity and nuances now than it did when it was released. I suspect the 2009 will do the same thing, but on a slightly faster evolutionary track. Wines such as this tend to transform from blockbuster fruit bombs into far more civilized, elegant and streamlined wines. The 2009 should be forgotten for 5-6 years and drunk over the following 25-30. A modern-styled St.-Emilion from the stable of Bernard Magrez's properties, this limited production (500 or so cases), 100% Merlot cult wine is made from the finest parcel of the Fombrauge vineyard.