Château de Fargues 2009 (375ml)

Robert Parker: In 1472, 300 years before the Lur Saluces family acquired the famous Château d’Yquem, they owned Château de Fargues. While de Fargues has never been classified, the quality of the wine produced is brilliant. Still owned by the Lur Saluces family, it receives virtually the identical winemaking care that Yquem does. In some vintages, de Fargues has often been the second-best wine produced in the Sauternes region, and when it is tasted blind, many tasters, including most experts, usually judge it to be Yquem. In all fairness, the wine lacks the ageing potential of Yquem, but when young, the resemblance can be extraordinary…

De Fargues’s similarity to Yquem is uncanny, and given the price charged for de Fargues – approximately one third that paid for a bottle of Yquem – it is irrefutably a bargain. Unfortunately, the production of de Fargues is tiny, thereby reducing the opportunity for many wine enthusiasts to taste this wine (which some, by the way, jokingly call Yquem Jr.).

Notes and Reviews

Neil Martin 97: The nose is rather taciturn at first, unfurling with tantalising slowness: clear honey, pear, orange-blossom and apricot. Wonderful definition. The palate is not as powerful as others, but there is a tangible sense of minerality underlying the honeyed fruit, very focused and endowed with breathtaking definition and tension towards the vibrant finish.

Product Details