1 | Wine | Saint Emilion | Page 13

"The impressively endowed 2011 Faugeres is a big wine for the vintage, boasting an opaque ruby/purple color as well as notes of creosote, black currants, blueberries, coffee beans and toasty oak. This modern-styled, full-bodied, pure, textured, long St.-Emilion’s zesty acidity gives freshness and vibrancy to this big wine. It tips the scales at 14% natural alcohol, and is a blend of 85% Merlot with the rest primarily Cabernet Franc and a tiny bit of Cabernet Sauvignon. It should evolve for 15-20 years." -Robert Parker

"The 2012 offers up a beautifully fragrant nose of mocha, coffee beans, black cherries, black currants, spring flowers and forest floor. The complex aromatics are followed by a medium to full-bodied St.-Emilion with beautiful density and purity as well as a touch of toasty oak. Barde-Haut has been an over-achiever since the Garcin-Leveque family acquired it. Bravo!"
Reviewed by: Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate - 90 to 93 pts

"This has a bold, spicy lead, with flashes of anise, cocoa and cinnamon giving way to lightly mulled cherry, raspberry and plum fruit. Delivers a velvety feel on the finish, showing good cut."

"The wine boasts a dense blue/purple color as well as aromas of black raspberries, blackberries, acacia flowers, espresso, toasty oak, and a sweet, mossy, foresty character that ranges from an autumnal, vegetative smell to minerality. Opulent, dense and strikingly rich and extracted with moderately high tannins, this is one of the bigger, richer wines of the vintage. Give it 4-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 20-25."
-Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 91 to 93+ pts.

"A gorgeous red, offering ganache and fig notes melded nicely together, with ample heft, but good freshness, with a long, dark, richly layered finish. This goes for power—and pulls it off."

"A successful effort in this vintage, Barde-Haut’s 2011 (90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc) from proprietor Helene Garcin exhibits soft black currant and black cherry fruit intertwined with hints of spice box, earth, vanillin and blue fruits. Medium-bodied with surprising density for a 2011, soft tannins, adequate acidity and a fine finish, it should age effortlessly for 10-15 years."
-Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 90 to 92 pts.

"This has solid flesh, with plum and cherry compote notes framed by a lightly taut plum skin edge. There's good spice through the finish. Well-extracted but not overdone."

"The wine exhibits a distinctive peppery, slightly herbaceous, exotic nose that initially is difficult to fathom. This rich, medium-bodied 2011 continues with a certain herbaceous streak that runs through the flavors. Nevertheless, there is impressive ripeness, concentration and density, and the tannins are velvety and well-integrated. If the green, peppery character calms down somewhat, my score should climb into the low 90s. However, this is not one of the top Larcis Ducasses made in the last 7-8 years."
-Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 89 to 93 pts.

"This is lovely, with floral notes at first, which are then followed by pure, precise blueberry, plum and blackberry fruit aromas and flavors. Features a silky texture, fine acidity and a buried mineral hint on the finish. Classy."

"This stunning effort reveals one of the most extraordinary aromatic displays of the vintage, offering up notes of sweet roasted herbs, jus du viande, black olives, espresso roast, creme de cassis, and kirsch liqueur. Extremely full-bodied, opulent, and lavishly textured with plush tannin as well as an ethereal elegance, a sublime personality, glorious sweet purity, and a layered texture, this amazing St.-Emilion is destined to become a legend." Reviewed by Robert Parker.