2020 Château Faugères

I think the finest vintage to date from this estate, the 2020 Château Faugères has some similarities to the 2016, but with a touch more density and depth. Incredible aromatics of cassis, ripe cherries, leather, and graphite, full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mouthfeel, riveting purity of fruit, and beautiful tannins all define this sensational Saint-Emilion. It's a rich, powerful, inward 2020 (which is the vintage) and needs another 3-5 years of bottle age, but this is one well worth seeking out.

The 2020 Faugeres offers ripe black plum and boysenberry fruit on the nose, which is extravagant and verging on ostentatious, though somehow it maintains focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with red cherries, boysenberry, cola and light allspice notes on the entry. Well balanced with impressive depth toward the fleshy finish, leaving a lick of dark chocolate on the aftertaste. This is a fine Faugeres that should be afforded 4–5 years in bottle.

Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 Faugères stampedes out of the glass with a herd of powerful black fruit notes: blackberry pie, baked black plums and ripe, juicy black cherries, plus hints of wild mushrooms, damp soil, tar and star anise with a waft of tobacco. The full-bodied palate is chock-full of black fruit preserves, framed by ripe, rounded tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and earthy.