Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
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. Drink 2018-2038.
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.
Not surprisingly, the 2005 Cuvee Speciale Peby, which was inaugurated in 1998, is a blockbuster. Yields were low (25 hectoliters per hectare) for this sensational 100% Merlot from 45-year old vines. The inky/black/purple color is followed by a super-rich wine boasting plenty of graphite, pain grille, melted chocolate, black currant, blackberry, smoke, and truffle characteristics. It is extremely powerful, concentrated, and extracted. Give it a decade of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades. If there is one reservation to heed, it is the very high level of tannins.
The Cuvee Speciale Peby has been a blockbuster since its inception in 1998 (it is meant to honor the former proprietress’s deceased husband). Fashioned from yields of 25 hectoliters per hectare, the 2005 is 100% Merlot from 45-year-old vines planted on a southeast facing slope in brown limestone soils. This sensational effort is as concentrated as a Bordeaux can be. Hugely extracted, but without any bitterness, it possesses abundant power, a black/purple color, and a beautiful perfume of creme de cassis, graphite, pain grille, and chocolate. In the mouth, it is formidably endowed and powerful with high tannin, glycerin, and richness. Like its sibling, it achieved 14.5% natural alcohol. Give it 7-10 years of cellaring and enjoy it over the following three decades. New proprietor Silvio Denz has renamed his luxury cuvee, but the quality is as high as it was under Faugeres’ former owner. The good news is that both Stephan von Neipperg (proprietor of Canon-La-Gaffeliere and a few other estates) and Michel Rolland have been hired as consultants.
The new owners decided to change the name of the luxury cuvee from Peby-Faugeres to Cuvee Speciale Peby. The stunning 2005 is the finest example of this wine since its debut vintage, 1998. Yields for this 100% Merlot (from southeast-facing, limestone-based slopes) were a tiny 25 hectoliters per hectare. This cuvee receives a Burgundy-like upbringing of malolactic in barrel and aging on its lees. A flamboyant, fragrant perfume of blueberries, blackberries, plums, anise seed, and camphor soars from the glass of this extraordinarily concentrated wine. In the mouth, it is stratospheric in texture with abundant amounts of sweet, silky tannin, high glycerin, and a 60-second finish. This is a prodigious effort from 2005. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025+.
Lots of blackberry, chocolate and vanilla aromas follow through to a full-bodied palate, with big, juicy tannins and a long, long finish. Gorgeous. Big, juicy Merlot. Close to classic.