2005 Peby Faugeres

A perfect wine in this vintage, the 2005 Péby Faugères has the classic liqueur of blueberries and spring flowers. Dense purple and full-bodied, with unbelievable richness, this tastes like a great Napa Cab from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, even though there’s no Cabernet Sauvignon in it. This is a sensational wine – rich, full and multi-dimensional, with a skyscraper-like mid-palate and finish. Kudos to Péby Faugères for producing one of the perfect wines of the vintage. Drink it in about 3-4 years as well as over the following two decades.

Ruby-red. Superripe black cherry, chocolate and coffee liqueur on the nose. Lush, sweet and superconcentrated, with an almost port-like richness to its exotic berry liqueur flavors. Underlying minerality gives shape to this outsized wine, which finishes with big, fine-grained, building tannins. This and the Faugeres are both at the extreme of ripeness in 2005 without quite crossing the line. Fans of sheer size may rate these wines even higher.