Farr Vintners Logo

Magrez-Fombrauge 2005

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Fombrauge

Label

Tasting Notes

The quintessential garagiste offering from proprietor Bernard Magrez, this blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc receives such Burgundian treatments as a cold pre-fermentation maceration, malolactic in barrel, aging on its lees, and no fining or filtration. Offering a dense purple color along with huge creosote, smoke, melted licorice, fudge, blueberry, graphite, and coffee characteristics, it represents full-throttle, modern winemaking at its most intense, and is likely to cause neo-traditionalists to suffer from migraines. Expect this beauty to hit full maturity around 2014, and keep until 2030+.

95
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (176), April 2008
93
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, February 2008

Tasted blind. Very dark crimson. Light nose. Search for the flavour! Lots of structure. Very drying finish. Not much charm. 14%
Drink 2016-2024

15.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2017

Deep red-ruby. Aromas of raspberry, smoked meat, mocha and marzipan convey an almost exotic ripeness. Fat, large-scaled and supersweet; undeniably thick and concentrated but perhaps a bit unrefined. Finishes with huge but sweet tannins. A major mouthful of wine. Fans of sheer size will rate it higher.

91
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar
Read more tasting notes...

One of the new, “modernist,” garagiste offerings from proprietor Bernard Magrez, this wine, produced from a 5-acre parcel of the large Fombrauge vineyard, is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Treated like a favored child, it enjoys a cold maceration, barrel fermentation, aging on its lees, and no fining or filtration. A dense purple color is accompanied by sweet blueberry and creme de cassis notes interwoven with hints of licorice, graphite, and pain grille. Full-bodied and powerful with high tannin as well as superb concentration and purity, it will be drinkable between 2012-2025.

93/95
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (170), April 2007

A spectacular effort fashioned from tiny yields of 22 hectoliters per hectare, this blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc (harvested during the first week of October) reveals a black/purple color as well as sweet aromas of creme de cassis, blueberry liqueur, graphite, and espresso roast. Opulent and full-bodied, with tremendous viscosity in addition to good underlying structure and definition, superb purity, broad, powerful flavors, and the potential to evolve for 20-25 years or more, it should be at its apogee between 2010-2030. Wow!

94/96
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (164), April 2006

Very refined and beautiful with very silky tannins and lovely fruit. Full-bodied, with lovely texture. Seductive. New wave. Ultraclean.

92/94
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, March 2006
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.