Château Fombrauge 2023

Château Fombrauge is a Grand Cru Classé estate in Saint-Émilion, owned by Bernard Magrez. Like most wines of the appellation it is a blend, here led by Merlot and completed with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, a combination that balances Merlot’s rounded fruit with the structure and aromatic lift of the Cabernets. Saint-Émilion’s mix of clay, limestone and sand suits Merlot in particular, the cooler clay soils retaining moisture and giving the wine flesh and depth. Farmed organically, the fruit is fermented by variety and plot before blending, and sixteen months in oak barrels builds tannin, adds cedar and spice and rounds the wine through a slow oxygen exchange that stabilises colour and softens the structure. It is deep ruby. The nose offers cherry, raspberry and plum with cedar, tobacco and a faint cocoa note, while the palate is medium to full bodied, with ripe, fine-grained tannins, fresh acidity and an earthy, savoury depth. The finish is long and structured. Serve at 17 degrees Celsius, decanted, with roast beef or lamb.