Peby Faugeres 2015 (1.5L)

99 JS / 98 WA / 97 JD / 97 WCI / 96 VM / 95 WS / 94-96 GV

#46 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2018

A very intense yet playfully ripe and balanced expression of dark plums, dark stones and blackberries. Then wait for the dark, leafy notes of dark tea and charcoal as well as deeply integrated wood aromas of violets and cloves. The palate moves on a very energized and fluid bed of tannin that builds very smoothly into an ascending finish. Plush, impressive and very composed. Super long and focused finish. Try from 2022. - James Suckling

Produced from 100% Merlot and matured for 18 months in 65% new and 35% one-year-old French oak barrels, the 2015 Peby Faugeres is medium to deep garnet-purple in color with a strikingly gorgeous nose of exotic spices, baked blackberries, plum preserves, cherry cordial and fragrant earth with smoked meats, lavender, licorice and tapenade hints. The boldly fruited, full-bodied palate features opulent, totally decadent spiced black and blue fruits with a very firm yet ripe structure and finishes with incredible depth and length. Stefan von Neipperg consults on the vineyard management here, while Michel Rolland focuses on harvest dates, winemaking, aging and the final blend - a big "bravo" to them both on this 2015! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate

The 2015 Château Peby Faugeres is a blockbuster that’s up with the top wines from this estate. As with the 2016, it’s 100% Merlot raised in 90% new oak. A big wine that checks in north of 15% alcohol (you’d never know it by tasting it), it offers a huge bouquet of cassis, graphite, bouquet garni, scorched earth, and toasty oak. With a full-bodied, layered, seamless style on the palate and awesome purity of fruit, it has the concentration, balance, and freshness to improve for 7-8 years and keep for two decades. Tasted twice. - Jeb Dunnuck

Powerful, dense and explosive, the 2015 Péby Faugères is superb. Black cherry, mocha, tobacco, menthol and licorice are racy and voluptuous in the glass. Readers should expect a super-ripe, flamboyant wine loaded with personality. Péby Faugères is 100% old-vine Merlot from the heart of Silvio Denz's Saint-Émilion property. Done in an extravagant style, Péby is not especially subtle, but it is often arrestingly beautiful, as it is again in 2015. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Alluring, with a lush display of creamed raspberry, boysenberry and blackberry fruit, infused with notes of alder, tobacco and chalk. The long finish has well-embedded grip to support the rather showy fruit. Best from 2023 through 2040. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

Very perfumed nose, and a more feminine quality having very charming fruit and acidity. As with many of the St Emilions, there is some real grip on the finish. Will be a very long lived wine, and should develop well. A lot going on. GVWM