Chateau de Fargues - Sauternes 1990
Price: $174.95
| Producer | Chateau de Fargues |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Sauternes |
| Varietal | White Blend |
| Vintage | 1990 |
| Sku | 10177 |
Chateau de Fargues Description
Chateau de Fargues has been owned by the Lur-Saluces family since 1472. The family owned d`Yquem until 1999 and de Fargues is known by some critics as d`Yquem jnr. The same winemaking techniques are use at both properties and de Fargues often matches d`Yquem in terms of power and intensity.
De Fargues’s 15 hectare vineyard is situated 4 kilometres southeast of d`Yquem and is planted with 80% Semillon, and 15% Sauvignon Blanc. Yields are minute (lower even than d`Yquem) and the grapes are harvested in as many as 12 separate “tries”. The grapes are fermented and the wine is subsequently aged for 3 years in one-year-old oak bariques that were previously used at d`Yquem.
De Fargues’s production is small with sometimes only 500 cases a years being produced. The wines require at least 10 years of bottle ageing before they should be approached.
Wine Advocate: 96 Points
After a scorching summer, the 1990 de Fargues harvest began early (on September 18) and the fruit was picked over 4 tries until October 10 – the earliest harvest on record. It is the most powerful of the trilogy. Delivering 130 grams-per-liter residual sugar at 13.6% alcohol, it has a prodigious bouquet of over-ripe oranges, toffee apple, chlorophyll and even a faint hint of chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with a luscious ripe mandarin and apricot-tinged entry, building wonderfully to a botrytis-laden finish that fans out like a firework, leaving traces of cumin and dried orange peel on the long finish. The ’90 de Fargues is simply superb in every way, a multi-faceted wonder.
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
This is really a wild wine. Emits wonderful aromas of orange peel, dried fruits and honey, and is full-bodied and incredibly concentrated, with fine acidity and a long, zingy, sweet aftertaste.
