1992 Château de Fieuzal

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 91 points

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  10/26/2021 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  The bottle was opened and slow-oxed for four hours prior to the tasting, then aerated in a decanter for about 45 minutes. The indicative blend is about 2/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1/3 Merlot and a little bit (5-10%) of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Aged in French oak barriques for 16-18 months. 12,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Evolved and somewhat translucent rusty maroon color with a pale, almost colorless rim. Quite aged and somewhat leafy nose with attractive and quite intense aromas of slightly wizened red cherries and blackcurrants, some cigar box tones, a little bit of something smoky, light strawberry notes, a slightly herbaceous hint of dried herbs and a woody touch of pencil shavings. The wine is dry, medium-bodied and quite dense on the palate with evolved and somewhat concentrated flavors of juicy blackcurrants, evolved meaty notes, some tobacco, light tart notes of lingonberries, a little bit of savory wood spice, a herbaceous hint of leafy greenness and a touch of sour cherry bitterness. Overall the wine feels quite stern and structure-driven, thanks to its high acidity and quite assertive, grippy tannins. The finish is long, somewhat concentrated and quite grippy with intense flavors of ripe blackcurrants and crunchy redcurrants, some evolved notes of meaty umami, a little bit of tobacco, light leafy green nuances, a herbaceous hint of bell pepper and a woody touch of cedar.
  
  Well this wine really took me by surprise. From what I had learned, 1992 was a poor and very rainy vintage that produced some rather dilute and vegetal wines not suitable for aging. However, this was not even the first but the second impressive 1992 Bordeaux I've had within a short period of time; this was definitely evolved, but still not particularly tertiary and sporting not only surprisingly concentrated fruit, but also an impressive structure that was wonderfully balanced with the body of the wine. The wine did show some herbaceous, leafy tones, but nothing that would be outside the ordinary for a classic Bordeaux - to be frank, I've had some noticeably more herbaceous Bordeaux reds from mid-to-late 1990's (most of which have been pretty lovely as well). So if you happen to love proper old-school Claret, this Fieuzal overperforms - and by a quite wide margin - for a 1992 Bordeaux. Terrific stuff, highly recommended.

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  6/14/2021 - ThijsV Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Almost copper in color. Surprisingly good on the nose, little left on the palate. On the nose only tertairy aroma’s: Mushrooms, leather, wet sandy forest ground, a clear herbaceous note, nutmeg. High acidity, medium- tannins, medium body, long finish

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