Chateau Fayat 2017

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Fayat has a nose that opens with a lifted cherry/medicinal note over a core of baked plums and fungi plus a waft of cedar. The medium-bodied palate has a rather odd fungal character with rustic tannins and an unpleasant finish.

Juicy and open in feel, with lots of ripe and succulent plum, blackberry and black cherry fruit flavors bursting forth, backed by licorice snap and fruitcake notes. The long finish lets the fruit keep pumping along. Rock-solid. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038. 703 cases made.

A trail of damson and black cherry fruits leads you across the palate here. There are lovely hints of menthol freshness, although the oak influence is a little too overpowering at the close.

Aromas of crushed blueberries, tar and mint follow through to a full body with a solid core of fruit and a long, flavorful finish. Shows depth and intensity. Better after 2021.

The 2017 Fayat offers blackberry and scorched earth aromas on the nose, with a touch of mint as it aerates. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine thread of acidity, quite spicy toward the finish with adequate length. It feels a little conservative at the moment, though well balanced. It should repay keeping it in bottle for two or three years.

Black cherries, dried tobacco, flowery incense, and a hint of orange blossom all emerge from this exotic, medium-bodied Pomerol. With beautiful depth of fruit, ripe, rounded tannins, and ample charm, it's a delicious 2017 that can be drunk today or cellared for a decade.

Deep purplish garnet with violet highlights. Dense, blueberry-driven bouquet with blueberries and blackberry jelly. On the second nose, licorice and violets. Full-bodied palate with ripe extract and good freshness, giving the wine plenty of elegance, though it lacks concentration. Medium finish with a basket of blue berries, graphite, and rosewood. Slightly below the previous year. 17.5/20

Kunz barrel sample 18: (100% Merlot, 18 hl/ha) Closed, fruity, finely opulent bouquet, strawberries, chocolate, graphite, cedar. Velvety, full palate with good fruit, fine tannins, powerful, sweet aromatics, dense structure, long, aromatic, sweet finish.

(100% Merlot, 18 hl/ha) Closed, fruity, finely opulent bouquet, strawberries, chocolate, graphite, cedar. Silky, full palate with good fruit, fine tannins, powerful, sweet aromatics, dense structure, long, aromatic, sweet finish. 17/20 2024 - 2038

The first sample lacked coherence on the palate. Tasted again in the second week, this wine gained in aromatics and complexity.

Fresh, juicy wine, supported by a lovely acidic framework, with round tannins and a hint of graphite on the finish.

The nose is fruity, fresh, structured, and offers concentration. It reveals notes of fresh raspberry, fleshy blackberry, and, more subtly, blackcurrant, along with fine touches of spices, tea, graphite, as well as a discreet toasted hint and sweet spices/vanilla. The palate is fruity, juicy, balanced, and offers smoothness, indulgence, a fine creaminess, tension, and a mineral backbone. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy blackberry, fleshy blackcurrant, and, more lightly, fresh raspberry, combined with fine touches of small red berries/fresh cherries, tonka bean, a hint of crushed hazelnut (in the background), as well as a subtle hint of licorice, spices, and tobacco. The tannins are fine and well-handled. Good length.

Deeply colored wine with a ripe, fruity nose; a soft, savory, fruity, pleasant palate, with medium body and length. Vineyard 60% frost-affected.

Wet earth, olives, herbs, thyme and cherry notes open the wine. Medium-bodied and on the bright, fresh side, there is an energetic red-berry character to the finish. The wine was produced from 100% Merlot this year due to damage from frost and reduced yields.