Chateau Peby Faugeres Grand Cru Classe, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2012

The 2012 Peby Faugeres is another beauty, and shows how strong this vintage is for the right bank. Dense purple-colored with a terrific, ripe, opulent style in its deep black fruits, black cherry, chocolate, and graphite aromas and flavors, it has no hard edges, sweet tannin, just hints of background oak, and a big finish. It’s already drinking brilliantly yet will cruise for another 15-20 years.

One of the candidates for the wine of the vintage, the opaque purple/black 2012 Péby Faugères is stunningly concentrated, with gorgeous purity, an opulent black raspberry, black cherry and blackcurrant fruit spectrum, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and beautiful, velvety, integrated tannins. Amazingly, it is not showing much oak, even though it is aged 100% in new oak. This is a great and profound 2012 that is still youthful, but so impressive already and capable of evolving for two decades. It is 100% Merlot.

One of the most dramatic wines of the vintage, the 2012 Péby Faugères has been superb on the multiple occasions I have tasted it so far. The 2012 is unapologetically deep, rich and ripe, with fabulous concentration that carries through to the finish. Dark blue fruits, smoke, licorice, crème de cassis and sweet spices from the French oak are all fused together. This flamboyant, super-ripe Saint-Emilion is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it is undeniably vivid, beautiful and a real thrill to taste. Specifically, what raises Péby Faugères to a level above most wines made in this style is the quality of the tannin. What a gorgeous wine this is.

Deep ruby. Sappy, high-toned aromas of blackberry, dark chocolate and herbs. More tightly wound and less giving in the mouth than I expected from the sweet, ripe aromas, showing an inky blackcurrant flavor complicated by a saline element. The firmly structured finish features building tannins that will need years of patience; I hope the fruit holds up.

The 2012 Péby Faugères has a slightly leathery, bretty bouquet with dark berry fruit, maybe a little smudged. The palate is medium-bodied with mulberry and leathery fruit, a touch dry towards the finish with a bitter aftertaste. Cannot see an upswing to cellaring this longer. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.