Chateau Magrez Fombrauge Blanc 2016
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of dried-apple and almond character, plus a full body with some tannins, make this quite a bold dry white Bordeaux. But crisp lemon peel lifts it nicely at the finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
This blend contains a high proportion of Sémillon alongside Sauvignon Gris. It is a tangy, orange zest-flavored wine, with ample acidity as well as ripe apricot and spice flavors. It's a wine to drink from 2019.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 Points -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Magrez Fombrauge Blanc opens with fresh limes and lemon scents plus touches of bay leaves, wet pebbles and musk perfume. Medium-bodied, the palate is crisp and refreshing with a long mineral-laced finish.
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Wine Spectator
A pure and racy style, with a mix of sweet pea, white asparagus, thyme, lemon and white peach flavors. Shows length and cut on the finish. Drink now through 2022.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Château Magrez Fombrauge Blanc, which is close to an even split of Sauvignon Blanc (and some Sauvignon Gris) and Sémillon, is a juicy, forward, delicious white that has plenty of lemon, lime and citrus fruits, some subtle salty minerality, medium body, and an incredibly gulpable style on the palate. It's a perfect house white to drink over the coming 2-3 years.
Other Vintages
2020-
James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
The plot-by-plot selection, the age of the vines, the specific orientation of the vine rows, the proportions of grape varieties used and the control over vigor of the vines all give this cuvee its special quality. The grapes are hand-picked. A team of 80 people de-stem them, again by hand, one by one.
As production is intentionally very low, vinification is conducted in small vats. All winery operations are performed using the gravity feed technique.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
One of the most important wine regions of the world, Bordeaux is a powerhouse producer of wines of all colors, sweetness levels, and price points. Separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a coastal pine forest, this relatively flat region has a mild maritime climate, marked by cool wet winters and warm summers. Annual weather differences create significant vintage variations, making Bordeaux an exciting French wine region to follow.
The Gironde estuary, a defining feature of Bordeaux, separates most of the region into the Left Bank and the Right Bank. Farther inland, where the Gironde splits into the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, the bucolic, rolling hills of the area in between, called Entre-Deux-Mers, is a source of great quality, approachable reds and whites.
The Left Bank, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, contains the Médoc, Graves, and Sauternes, as well as the region’s most famous chateaux. Merlot is important here as the perfect blending grape for Cabernet Sauvignon adding plush fruit and softening Cabernet's sometimes hefty tannins. Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec may also be used in the Left Bank Bordeaux wine blends.
Merlot is the principal Bordeaux wine variety of the Right Bank; Cabernet Franc adds structure and complexity to Merlot, creating wines that are concentrated, supple, and more imminently ready for drinking, compared with their Left Bank counterparts. Key appellations of the Right Bank include St. Emilion and Pomerol.
Dry and sweet Bordeaux white wines are produced throughout the region from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and sometimes Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris. Some of the finest dry whites can be found in the Graves sub-appellation of Pessac-Léognan, while Sauternes is undisputedly the gold standard for sweet wines. Small amounts of rosé and sparkling Bordeaux wines are made in the region as well.