Château Faugères 2023

Château Faugères sits on the eastern plateau of Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux, an estate worked since the mid-sixteenth century and taken over by Silvio Denz in 2005. The blend is led by Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, planted on a mix of clay-limestone and sandy soils. The limestone bedrock holds water through dry summers and lends freshness and grip, while Merlot on warmer clay ripens to a fleshy, full bodied core. This is a warm vintage at 15 percent alcohol, so the fruit is ripe and concentrated. The wine ages 18 months in 225 litre French oak barrels, where slow oxygen ingress through the wood softens the tannins and the toasted staves add vanilla, cocoa and a faint spice that frame rather than mask the fruit. The colour is deep ruby. The nose shows ripe plum, black cherry, cocoa and a peppery, oak-derived spice. The palate is concentrated and full, with firm but rounded tannins and a long, savoury finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It works with red meat, game and aged hard cheese.