A friend served the '05 Ch. Cap de Faugeres - Cotes Castillon blindly last night. What a nasty wine – inky, somewhat hot, somewhat raisiny, somewhat oaky, astringent, and with no identifiable grape signature. Where could this be from? Perhaps the Midi, I thought. Priorat on a bad day? I finally guessed a modern-style Duoro, from a blend of grapes.
It turned out this is a friggin’ 85% merlot Bordeaux from a good and not hot (so far as I recall) vintage, courtesy of Michel Rolland. This was plainly picked very ripe, and I’d guess it was concentrated. That would explain the weirdly inky color and the very hard tannins, and perhaps the alcohol. (Parker said 13.5%, but it tastes well above that.) This was all dressed up to be impressive young, but it’s a Potemkin village wine – all show.
On CellarTracker, this gets lots of scores in the low 90s, even in the last couple of years. I guess a lot of people loaded up on this because of Parker’s review. Certainly not my cup of tea! (Alfert claims he’s been trashing this wine for years.)
Here’s Parker’s review, according to an old Wine Library listing. It sold for $30:
“A perennial value pick for smart consumers, Cap de Faugeres is fashioned by world-renowned oenologist, Michel Rolland. The 2005, which achieved 13.5% natural alcohol, is a forward concoction of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Its black/purple color is accompanied by sweet scents of incense, black tea, licorice, and subtle oak. Medium to full-bodied, opulent, and rich, it should drink well for a decade or more.” - 88-90 Points - Robert Parker
I have to admit that I bought quite a bit of this 2005, having just come back to Bordeaux after a few year hiatus (long story). I was not up to speed on the Rollandization of St Emilion, so bought quite a lot of these value plays rated nicely by Parker. Some actually showed well on release, from this hugely-structured vintage, especially to my then-palate and lack of attentiveness to trends in winemaking. It was with time, especially in the 10-year range, where many of these wines showed terribly to me. I got rid of almost all of them, many cases, was painful.
I’ve always understood the infinitive to be “spoofify.” I first heard the word (as an adjective) from Doug Polaner, when he was at Skurnik in the early 2000s. I have it on reliable authority (someone else) that he invented the term.
It was an amusing exchange at the Slow Food/Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting, in the days when the Tre Bicchieris tended to be awarded to the most new-fangled wines. When I commented on the oakiness of the wine he was offering, he remarked, “It’s actually a very traditional producer, but they make this spoofified cuvee for the fast food-fast wine crowd.”
I remember vividly drinking a bottle of the Faugeres (not the Cap de bottling), either the 02 or the 03 vintage, in 2007 or so, and it set me off on a rant on the horrors of modern wine making on the BWE site. Little did I know that was the tip of the iceberg back then.
My understanding is that the correct term is “spoofilation” and its etiology can be traced to the infamous Mike Wheeler who was Doug Polaner’s business partner, and along with David Lillie, one of the true unsung heroes of the wine world.
A wine is “spoofed” or “spoofy” due to being “spoofilated” by “spoofilation”.