Featured Winery:  Chateau Fombrauge...

The 2004 Chateau Fombrauge, as photographed at the estate...

    A grand cru classe situated near the village of St. Emilion, Chateau Fombrauge regularly produces dry red wine in the typical style of the Bordeaux right bank wines.  First, to clarify some wine geography; use of the term “right bank” wines when referring to the Bordeaux region of France means the area to the east of the Gironde/Garonne/Dordogne River systems.  Generally (and with some notable exceptions), the winemakers of the right bank rely more on Merlot grapes in producing their wines, while the growers on the left bank typically blend more Cabernet Sauvignon grapes into their final cuvees. 


    Chateau Fombrauge possesses one of the largest vineyards in all of the St. Emilion appellation, and has turned out some excellent wines in recent years.  Robert Parker opines that since proprietor Bernard Margrez has taken over this property, the quality of the wines produced has soared.  Mr. Magrez, who also owns the famous left bank estate of Pape Clement, has employed a dynamic team of winemakers that include Ludovic David and Michel Rolland.  The estate has attained that plateau where it consistently produces high quality wine.  For example, after awarding the 2002 Chateau Fombrauge 90 points, Robert Parker articulated that “this is an amazing performance for Fombrauge in such a challenging vintage.”


    Chateau Fombrauge represents one of the last few values of high quality wines coming from the Bordeaux region that imports into the Untied States.  The release prices usually fall somewhere between $35.00-$65.00 per bottle, depending on the vintage and the value of the dollar versus the euro.  The final blend of grapes, in keeping with right bank tradition, usually includes about 70 percent merlot, and the remainder roughly equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.  The wines have garnered respect and good point scores from critics.


    Since 2000, Chateau Fombrauge has also produced a very limited production wine from very low yields of a tiny parcel of its best vines, known as the Margrez Fombrauge.  Typically the estate produces less than 500 cases of this wine.  Produced with meticulous care and constant monitoring, the wine experiences cold maceration, barrel fermentation, aging on its lees and no fining or filtration.    Both the cost and critical evaluation of this wine reflect its overall quality.  Bottles typically sell for between $100-$300 upon release.  Robert Parker awarded the 2000 a point score of 98, and described it as “sheer nectar of the vine” and “one of the vintage’s superstars.”  Quite an accolade, considering the overall excellence of the 2000 Bordeaux vintage.


    At a recent visit to the estate, I had the pleasure of meeting Ludovic David.  We tasted a bottle of the 2004 Chateau Fombrauge (not the Magrez Fombrauge), and although he described it as young, it had a fabulous bouquet, loads of complexity, and good balance.  I consumed the remainder of the bottle over the next couple days, and it actually continued to improve over this period of time.  Of the vintages since 2000, Mr. David prefers the 2001 and the most recent release, the 2004.


    In addition to the wines of  Chateau Fombrauge, the Bernard Magrez holdings include proprietorship of approximately 37 different winemaking properties around the globe, including Bernard Magrez Napa  in California’s Napa Valley.  Mr. Magrez takes a personal interest in improving all his wine producing properties so that they market the highest possible quality wines that their individual terroirs can produce.


    At present the wines of Chateau Fombrauge may prove difficult to find locally.  Hopefully, quality wine stores in our area will have Fombrauge wines on their shelves soon.  The most likely places to find these wines would be high quality wine shops such as Khoury’s or Bon Marche.  Alternatively you might inquire about the entire Bernard Magrez wine portfolio by contacting Sean Paterson at his email address at paterson@pape-clement.com.  Mr. Paterson is the national sales director for the Magrez wines in the Untied States, and resides here in Las Vegas.