Château Jean Faure - St.Emilion 2017

When is a Saint Emilion not a Saint Emilion? When it’s like this one! If, like me, you stopped buying Saint Emilions after 2008, sold all your 2005s and migrated to the Loire in search of freshness, this one is for you.

I should however explain right away that it is not a “proper” Saint Emilion at all. In 2017, there were frosts much like the ones that are afflicting vineyards right now, so the entire Merlot crop in the Jean Faure vineyard was lost. As a result, the wine was made with 95% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. It’s organic and…“only” 13°.

The nose is very mouth-watering, with layers of juicy raspberry and blackcurrant, then just a hint of herbs. The attack is full of the crunchy red fruit you might expect from a Roches-Neuves, then it broadens out into a middle section full of raspberries, quite lush but restrained at the same time, before a crisp finish focusing on blackcurrant and spices.

In her EP report, Jane Anson wrote that it was rather oaky, but I’m guessing that it was just an EP experiment sample, because I only got a hint of oak.

In style, it’s like a cross between a Roches-Neuves and a Yannick Amirault, which is rather weird when you see Saint Emilion on the label. It has the freshness and elegance of a Loire red, which suits me fine, so atypical it may be, but I liked it a lot. No syrupy fruit, no mocha, no excessive alcohol, what’s not to like?

I decanted it for five hours and it was already very approachable, but there is a tannic grip and it will be much better in a few more years.

Final amusing detail - the consultant is Hubert de Boüard! But Robert A can relax - not even he could ruin this.

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[whistle.gif] I’m sayin’ no’en!

OK, Professor Marshall, where can I find this Bouard-inspired unicorn!?

You had me at Chinon.

I’ve never even heard of this Chateau.

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Hang on, normally you have exclusive access to all geeky wines! I stopped counting the number of French wines you can somehow get hold of which I can’t (Ante Phylloxera by Clos de Maulevrier, for example!).

Well, my learned friend, you could be right - I don’t see it on WS - maybe they decided it wasn’t “suitable” for the US market! The 2017 was quite a small output - 10K bottles instead of the usual 70K, so that could explain it. But I have no doubt it will show up soon - I got mine from my local Carrefour.

Château Jean Faure was bought by Olivier Decelle in 2004, who had also bought Mas Amiel previously, plus some stuff in Burgundy subsequently. He sounds like an interesting character - he tried working with Rolland and Derenoncourt and then stopped. There is no mention of De Boüard on the website so perhaps that collaboration also ended. He decided to go organic - the 2017 is the first certified organic vintage. The 2018 vintage was hit by mildew - I’m going to look at it when it comes out, since it has 65% CF too. Depends on the alcohol level. I’m curious after tasting this.

But honestly, the 2017 is just a fun purchase to surprise someone with. It cost me 25 euros, and for that price there are lots of Loire reds which are as good and many which are better.

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Ha, it’s good to be loved!

[snort.gif]

As a postscript, I opened a bottle of Roches-Neuves FDP 2017 to compare with the rest of the Jean Faure.

The Jean Faure did fine, but the Roches-Neuves was on another level:

The nose is already very complex, full of rose hips, red cherries, hints of spice, then some blackcurrant. In the mouth, the vivacity hits first - the trademark crunchy red fruit, but then it spreads out across the palate, a lithe blend of red cherries and redcurrants, then progressive waves of blueberry, blackberry and wild strawberry, before a crisp, elegant finish. Incredible stuff, already delicious but which will be better still in a few more years from now.

Compared to the 2018 FDP tasted recently, the 2017 is just as good but more accessible. The 2018 is a good bet if you’re 40 or 50. The 2017 is a better bet if you’re 60 (like me) or more!

I’m increasingly impressed by the 2017 vintage in the Loire - it’s certainly ripe enough, but more restrained than the 2018. I’ve a feeling that it’s going to be a good bet at auction in the future, rather like Bordeaux 2001 vs Bordeaux 2000.

Anyway, going back to the Jean Faure, it tasted much more Bordelais next to the Roches-Neuves, more straitlaced, thicker, perhaps less complex, but still very appealing.

Had the 2005 Jean Faure many moons ago. It was about $25 back then. Drank them up a little over 10 years ago. Tasty wine!

I think it was about 50% CF. 95% is quite the outlier!

This is really helpful, thanks!

I also like 2017, but am finding some 2018s that are too ripe, too extracted. I had a 2018 Plouzeau - not the FDP - that was close to not drinkable for me. Will try it again tonight.

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Thanks for the note Julian. Just picked up a few bottles of the 2019 on close out ($36) here in the US at K&L. “Only” 65% Cab Franc but hopefully it’s as nice as your 2017. Interesting note from WK on the background of this wine:

As a result of a bitter divorce, Jean Faure wasn’t replanted to Merlot like so many Saint-Émilion estates were in the 1950s and '60s, so old-vine Cabernet Franc dominates—and is now the source of a massale selection.

Awesome Vince, thanks for the heads up that KNL has this, I just grabbed some myself. And thanks to @Julian_Marshall for bringing this little Cabernet franc gem to our attention!

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The consultant here is actually Thomas Duclos, FYI, the man behind the likes of Canon, the revolution at Troplong Mondot, La Conseillante, Figeac, Giscours etc etc…

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Thanks William - that explains why I liked it! I don’t know where I got the idea that is was De Boüard, must have been in la RVF.

Jean Faure is one of my favourites of the many under the radar wines coming out of St Emilion these days. With their new cellar now finished it should mean that the quality will only move in one direction. A vertical of recent vintages last year showed impressively. While I believe perhaps in a longer distance for 19 and 20, the 17 certainly held its own.

On a side note, the 2017s in general are performing far over early critical expectations in my experience. Time and again, from estate to estate, 17 stops you in your tracks. In many cases this is specially true if compared directly against 2018 (and for me personally, in most cases…)

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Aha , Jean Faure . The old winemaker was Michel Amard who’s best wine was the 1982 . He claimed his wine was as good as Cheval Blanc … but his most famous action was to spit in a decanter full of Petrus when he was presenting his wine here in Belgium .

Neal Martin over at Vinous did an article on Jean Faure a while back:

Enjoy if you have a subscription. Cheers

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I should have known better than to click on this thread. 10 out of 10 on the “enabler” scale. Just ordered 3 of the 2019 from K&L…

This / same. We drink very little by way of bordeaux varietals to begin with, not to mention that cab franc is the least preferred of any of 'em. :man_facepalming:

I went through a bunch of the '05 after meeting the new proprietor pouring at Moore Brothers. It seemed very promising - they were convinced this was a gem of a terroir (near Cheval, as mentioned) that just needed some investment to get back to its potential. The '05 was lovely on release though I must admit it didn’t hold on in the cellar all that well. Still, I’m glad to see the investment might be paying off after all this time.

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I love reading notes and conversation threads about this sort of thing, a wine most of us have probably not heard of. Big thanks to all the contributors on this one.

Ok boys, just popped the 2019. Thanking @Julian_Marshall - my Brit doppelgänger - for introducing us to this little gem. It’s delish. So refreshing. No blockbuster, just flat out fresh and tasty. Enjoying it now with some greasy Cuban fried pork over rice. The racy acids and red fruit vein in this wine cut right through that fat. Love the herbal presence on this wine. Has a menthol top-note that reminds me of that 2011 Magdelaine that I was drinking like Koolaide until I realized that was the last of its kind! Tannins on this wine are soft, not chewy, this wine is more about crunchy red fruits. I do not know how this wine ages but do not think it is a wine you have to wait 10, 15 or more years. I could be wrong, but I will try the next in 4-5.

(92 pts.)

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