Chateau Faugeres 2017
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Plenty of plum cake and spice with hints of sweet tobacco. Full-bodied, dense and chewy with lots of structure. Solid and intense. This needs at least three years to soften, but already enticing. Drink after 2022.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A pleasure-bent Saint-Emilion based on 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Chateau Faugeres boasts a healthy ruby color as well as ripe, sexy notes of blackberries, red currants, flowery incense, and spice. While this cuvee is usually a powerhouse, it’s more refined and elegant in 2017 and has medium to full-bodied richness, a light, graceful texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It’s always a good value and delivers the goods, and the 2017 is no exception.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Faugeres comes sashaying out of the glass with pretty kirsch, Black Forest cake and chocolate box scents followed by hints of rosehip tea, fallen leaves and cloves. Medium-bodied, the palate has a velvety texture and bags of perfumed fruit, finishing long and fragrant. The wine was aged in 50% new and 50% second fill French oak barrels for 15 months. The blend is 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Rating: 93+
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Wine Spectator
This is built on well-buried chalky minerality that gives the core of plum and raspberry fruit a noticeable spine. Tobacco, sanguine and savory streaks fill in through the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2032.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe and juicy, this wine is going to develop quickly. It has plenty of attractive fruitiness and is lightly spiced, with a crisp, fruity aftertaste. Drink from 2022.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Decanter
Faugères is never afraid to gloss up, and here it works well - imparting a sexy burnished black fruit edge to the wine, with firm tannins and a juicy freshness running through it. Estate typicity that marries well with the conditions of the year- and in this cooler sector of St-Émilion that must have taken skilled winemaking. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040
Other Vintages
2021-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
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Parker
Robert
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James - Decanter
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
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Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
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Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
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Parker
Robert
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Enthusiast
Wine
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Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Parker
Robert
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Parker
Robert
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.