CHÂTEAU JEAN FAURE

2016 Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion

EN PRIMEUR

A property that is on the plateau between Cheval Blanc and l'Évangile. 50% Cabernet Franc, 50% Merlot. Supple creamy cool fruit expression - sappy and delicious black berry fruit, juicy with real grace and elegance. Beautifully done, and once again the high Cabernet Franc content giving a wine that is particularly successful this year. The property is in conversion to organic viticulture and will be certified from the 2017 vintage. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 91-92 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.

The 2016 Jean Faure is a vintage that I never clicked with, despite the reputation of the growing season. Deep in hue, it presents an attractive, pure, sensual bouquet of black plums, raspberry, orange blossom and espresso. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins on the entry and good depth and grip, but it’s a little stolid and does not convey the complexity and personality of the previous vintage. Comparing them side by side, this is one instance in which the 2015 has more to offer. Drinking range: 2022 - 2033 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2021)

Lots of herbal, earthy notes emerge from the 2016 Château Jean Faure, and it's medium-bodied, savory, and relatively one-dimensional on the palate. A blend of close to equal parts Cabernet franc and Merlot, it's best drunk over the coming 7-8 years. Drinking range: 2019 - 2027 Rating: 87 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)

The 2016 Jean Faure is a gorgeous wine endowed with considerable near and medium-term appeal. Raspberry jam, leather, smoke, espresso and exotic floral/savory notes all race through this perfumed, expressive Saint-Émilion. The Cabernet Franc is particularly expressive here. Drinking range: 2021 - 2031 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 Jean Faure has a very attractive, quite floral bouquet with some lovely black cherry, raspberry preserve and rose petal aromas that waft from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very well judged acidity, layers of crisp black and red fruit with fine mineral tension towards the finish. That's the best Jean Faure that I have tasted at primeur. Drinking range: 2020 - 2038 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2017)

This has a firm-edged spine of cedar and chalk running through the core of black currant and bitter cherry fruit, picking up light tobacco and loam accents along the way. Rating: 89-92 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2017)

A dense and linear fruit and tannin structure to this wine. Full body and chewy tannins. Fresh and long. Gorgeous already. Much better than the 2015. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

Located just next to Château La Dominique, this has bright, plush, vibrant fruit and delivers the signature of the year in its chalky tannins and good freshness. The 50% Cabernet Franc is extremely dominant, giving an austerity and freshness at this stage. The rest of the blend is 45% Merlot and 5% Malbec, aged in 60% new oak and softened further with a few large oak casks. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 90 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Jean Faure is soft, forward and juicy, with lovely aromatic complexity that plays off the fruit nicely. Sweet tobacco, red cherry, smoke and iron notes are pushed forward in this pleasant, mid-weight Saint Émilion. Jean Faure is distinguished by a high presence of Cabernet Franc, which comes through loud and clear in the wine's aromatic profile and overall feel. The 2016 is likely to require a few years to come into its own. Rating: 89-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

Château Jean Faure was bought by Olivier Decelle (who had already acquired the Maury, 'Mas Amiel' by then) in 2004. This ended a dark period in the property's history, since it had lost its position as a 'Grand Cru Classé' in 1985, thanks to bad management at the time. A long period of investment and restructuring followed. The vineyard oof 18 hectares, being partly on a similar gravel to its near neighbour Cheval Blanc, is composed of 56% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot and 6% Malbec. The property has now regained its 'classé' rank. The wine is aged for eighteen months, one third in concrete, and two thirds in barrels, 60% new, and 40% one year old.

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.