Chateau Faugeres Saint-Emilion Grand-Cru Classe 2010

Robert Parker, Jr. famously reigned down lavish praise on the winery after tasting the 2009 and 2010 vintages from Faugeres. He concluded, “Acquired by Swiss native Silvio Denz a number of years ago, this property continues to overachieve in virtually every vintage. Behind the scenes, Stephan von Neipperg, the proprietor of La Mondotte, Clos de l’Oratoire, and a number of other properties, consults on viticultural matters, while harvesting, winemaking and elevage are guided by Michel Rolland.” He also called it a “Legend of the Future”

Drawn off the beautiful sunny slopes of Dordogne valley, just east of Saint-Emillion, is where this winery sits, home to one of most beautiful winegrowing sites in all of Bordeaux. The winery was fixed up by Stephan von Neipperg perfectly, hitting its stride in time for the 2005 vintage, and has been one of the savvier Bordeaux investments each year since.

In the monster 2010 vintage, Michel Rolland and company carved out something special, a silky wrapped Bordeaux blend from the Right Bank that is really hitting its stride. It’s a huge wine– bottled at 15% alcohol, but it has benefitted superbly from time in the bottle. You never get any hint of heat despite the high alc., instead you get rich, velvety purple and black jammy fruit followed by wave after wave of concentration and depth. This is the steal of the vintage. Mark my words.