Chateau Fombrauge 2019

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2019 Château Fombrauge is terrific and has a good mix of richness, concentration, and elegance. Giving up notes of mulled ripe cherries, Asian spices, blackberries, tobacco, and cedar pencil on the nose, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered, pure mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and just beautiful overall balance. It's already drinking beautifully today yet will evolve positively for 5-7 years and hold for another 15-20 years. It's another brilliant Saint-Emilion in the vintage. This seemed more modern and polished from barrel but shows a very classic style now from bottle."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Perfumed nose of dried flowers, sandalwood, pine cones, currants, cassis, cloves, walnuts and spiced plums. It’s medium-to full-bodied with polished, ripe and creamy tannins. Plush and velvety with a supple, fresh finish. Drink from 2024."

WINE SPECTATOR: " This rolls through with a cashmere grace, offering cassis, steeped plum and blackberry purée flavors infused with black tea and incense notes. A late alder thread keeps this nicely grounded. Suave. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2035. 23,000 cases made."

DECANTER: "Full, rich and ripe nose. This is heady with great drive and definition, a full, bold style with tannins and mouth watering acidity taking the fore right now leaving some astringency on the palate still. There is generous and ripe fruit - cherries, figs, blackcurrants underneath the tannins and a lovely fresh mint tone as well as liquorice to it but it needs at least a few years to soften and integrate. The length is impressive and overall it's well structured suggesting a long life ahead."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Deeply colored, with little effort you find roses. chocolate, licorice, smoke, espresso cherries and black plums. Lush, round, soft and polished, there is freshness and length in the fruit-packed, chewy finish. The wine blends ,90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc."

WEINWISSER: "Purpur mit satter Mitte. Opulentes Bouquet mit eingekochten dunklen Kirschen, Veilchen und Schokotrüffeln, dahinter Lakritze und Brasiltabak. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur und mehligem Extrakt, ein dichtes Muskelpaket mit engmaschigem Tanningerüst. Im gebündelten leicht austrocknenden Finale zerstossene Wildkirschen und Schlehensaft. Wie immer kein Charmeur, sondern mit wilder, ungezügelter Kraft unterwegs."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2019 Fombrauge exhibits rich aromas of cherries, dark chocolate, plum preserve, licorice and new oak, followed by a full-bodied, rich and fleshy palate that's soft and fleshy, with a sweet core of fruit, ripe acids and rich, powdery tannins. This is a generous, front-loaded Saint-Émilion from Bernard Magrez."