CHÂTEAU FOMBRAUGE
2016 Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
93% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc. Very dark and ripe and rich. It's all here, quite opulent, but with the tannic density to match, and stays pure in quite a bulky style, but successful in these terms. Drinking range: 2024 - 2032 Rating: 90-91 L&S (Apr 2017)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Leafy herbs, black fruits, and damp earth notes all emerge from the 2016 Château Fombrauge, which is 89% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Malbec aged 18 months in 45% new oak. Falling under the Bernard Magrez umbrella, it's a totally charming, forward, medium to full-bodied 2016 that has notable complexity, good (not great) mid-palate depth, no hard edges, and loads of character. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years or so. Drinking range: 2019 - 2034 Rating: 91 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)
The 2016 Fombrauge has come together beautifully during its aging and is now a much more refined wine than it was from barrel. Sweet red berry fruit, mocha, espresso, mint and floral notes all grace this exquisite, mid-weight Saint-Émilion. The 2016 is simply impeccable, not to mention incredibly delicious. There is not much more to it than that. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2022 - 2036 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)
The 2016 Fombrauge is a blend of 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc picked from 30 September to the 22 October, clearly more expressive on the nose compared to the 2016 Magrez-Fombrauge with attractive blackberry, raspberry coulis and cold stone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, linear but fresh with a grippy, slightly tarry finish that lingers in the mouth. It needs to find a little more "lightness" in terms of personality rather than intensity, perhaps not take itself quite so seriously. But I still find much to enjoy here and I look forward to tasting it in bottle. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2020 - 2040 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
93% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc. 45% new oak. Very dark purple. Very complete and creamy on the nose. But with excellent drive. Rather opulent and verging on showy but very successful. Real savour here. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 17 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)
A bit bulked-up in feel, with a warm cocoa frame around plum skin and warm currant confiture notes. More breadth than depth. Rating: 87-90 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2017)
Dense and fresh red with lots of blackberries, blueberries and walnuts. Hints of chocolate. Full-bodied, tight and refined yet always showing muscle. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)
Here we are with Bernard Magrez, and his are big, structured, powerful wines. Extremely clear coffee toast on the nose, with deep black fruits and cinammon and clove spicing through the palate. There is no questioning the quality of the black cherry and cassis fruit, liquorice and slate, but it needs to breathe. Planted to 89% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 89 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)
Dark raspberry, black cherry, plum, chocolate, smoke, wildflowers and exotic spices are some of the many notes that infuse the 2016 Fombrauge. Ripe, powerful and voluptuous, it offers a striking interplay of intense dark fruit and aromatic freshness. The purity of the flavors is compelling. A move toward fermenting more of the juice in cement and using less new oak during aging is having a noticeable influence on the evolution of Fombrauge away from a wine of pure power and toward a Saint-Émilion that displays more finesse than in the past. Rating: 91-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)
Rating: 89 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)
The 2016 Fombrauge has a lovely bouquet of black cherries, raspberry, sandalwood and wild mint aromas, quite complex and nicely detailed and the oak neatly assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. There is an attractive spiciness on the back palate, and the vibrant, energetic finish keeps you returning for another sip. This is very promising wine from Bernard Magrez's portfolio. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2023 - 2038 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)
Château Fombrauge
Chateau Fombrauge is the largest St. Emilion vineyard with over 128 acres. The Bordeaux wine vineyard is planted to 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines average 30 years of age and are planted to a density of 5,600 vines per hectare. Owned by Bernard Magrez and consulted by Michel Rolland, this Right Bank property strives to produce the best Bordeaux wine possible. Cold macerations, 4-5 week fermentations in small wood vats are some of the techniques employed by the property. Close to 14,000 cases are produced in most vintages. The estate has a second wine, Le Cadran de Fombrauge which produces over 100,000 bottles of this Bordeaux wine per year.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.