2010 Fombrauge, St-Emilion

This is one of the better, more supple Fombrauge wines to date, with a better integration of toasty oak than I have usually seen at this stage of this wine’s development. The grapes were picked late, with the harvest finishing on October 22, and that has given the wine wonderful ripeness and plenty of chocolaty espresso notes intermixed with incense, black cherries and black currants. The oak is subtle, and the wine full-bodied, attractive, deep, round and generous. Drink it over the next 10-12 years. This significant estate in St.-Emilion, with one of the biggest, if not the largest, vineyards in Bordeaux, has produced a wine composed of 80% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. (RP)

Good fully saturated ruby. Aromas of cassis, licorice, vanilla and black pepper. Supple and sweet but serious, with a slightly medicinal edge to the flavors of cassis, tobacco, cedar and woodsmoke. The dense, persistent finish features creamy tannins. A bigger, oakier wine than the regular Fombrauge, but more gently extracted than in the past. (ID)