2015 Magrez Fombrauge

A solid red with dark-berry and dark-chocolate aromas and flavors. Black tea, too. Full body, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Needs time to soften but an impressive red. A powerful red for long term aging. Try in 2023.

Fleshy, offering ripe, forward plum, boysenberry and blackberry puree flavors laced with black licorice and framed by a well-roasted apple wood note. Shows solid grip and energy for a wine packing this much fruit. Best from 2020 through 2030. 500 cases made.  –JM

Using 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, this wine is deeply colored, expressing smoke, licorice, black raspberries and plum jam. On the palate, the wine is lush, rich and concentrated, with opulent textures and a wealth of earthy, black cherries and sweet, boysenberry jam. The wine is powerful, fat and round, yet fresh and balanced.

Dark and voluptuous in the glass, the 2015 Magrez-Fombrauge is gorgeous. Bittersweet chocolate, espresso, blackberry jam, new leather and licorice resonate with notable textural richness. Heady and exotic, the 2015 shows off the more flamboyant, decadent site of Saint-Émilion to great effect. There isn't a ton of subtlety here, but at the same time, this flashy, attention-grabbing Saint-Émilion offers tremendous pleasure. Best of all, it can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring. The 2015 is a big boy, done in a more extracted style than the Fombrauge, which I slightly prefer. The blend is 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Tasted three times.

The 2015 Magrez-Fombrauge is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc cropped at 25 hl/ha, the former picked on 10 October and the latter on exactly the same day. It is aged in 100% new oak plus three terracotta jars between 200- and 450-liters. It has a huge, decadent, luscious bouquet that almost knocks the senses sideways. The palate is medium-bodied with multilayered, toasty black fruit laced with black pepper and Asian spices, the new oak dominating the finish. It is an impressive Saint Emilion, but frankly I would prefer to find the 2015 Fombrauge on my table.

The 2015 Magrez Fombrauge is deep garnet-purple colored with a baked berries, warm plums and spice cake-scented nose with dried herbs and earth layers. Big, full, rich and raisiny in the mouth, it has chewy tannins and a firm finish.

The 2015 Magrez-Fombrauge has an attractive dark cherry, boysenberry and licorice-scented bouquet that has a hedonistic bent, but clearly demonstrates more delineation than expected. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy, thick tannin, dense and muscular and yet there is a sense of freshness and tension toward the sweet hoisin/Oriental finish. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

Light floral fragrance and very approachable, ripe, cherry fruit. This could almost be Tuscan in its high acid and chalky tannic texture. Long, intense finish. Clove spice from oak adds some complexity. Good stuff. (RH). Drink 2018-2028.16/20