Château Faugères - St Emilion - Grand Cru

In 1823 the Esquissaud family acquired the estates of Châteaux Faugères and Péby Faugéres. In 1987 the land was inherited by Pierre-Bernard Guisez. Up to then, all the wine produced had been sold to a single local merchant. P. Guisez and his wife Corinne wanted to become more involved in the vineyards, setting out on a quest for the finest quality. Their wish was to see these exquisite terroirs become jewels in the crown of the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru appellation, a desire that was to be fulfilled in a short time with the help of Michel Rolland.

From the 2000 vintage onwards, the Château Faugères and Château Péby Faugères wines have taken a place of distinction among the very best. Robert Parker described the Château Faugères 2000 as "one of the great revelations of this vintage".

In March 2005, the property was acquired by Silvio Denz - a perfume designer, lover of fine wines, owner of Lalique and of two wine merchants in Zurich. He is passionate about art and in particular René Lalique's creations. When he acquired Château Faugères, he decided to rely on the exceptional clay and limestone soil to take the Château Faugères wines to the heights, continuing the quest for quality and allowing the great Faugères terroirs to express themselves to the full. In 2012 Château Faugères became Grand Cru Classé.

Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, needs little introduction as one of the world's most famous, prestigious and prolific wine regions. The majority of Bordeaux wines (nearly 90 percent of production volume) are the dry, medium- and full-bodied red Bordeaux Blends that established its reputation.

The finest (and most expensive) of these are the wines from the great châteaux of the Haut-Médoc and the Right Bank appellations Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The former is focused (at the top level) on Cabernet Sauvignon, the latter pair on on Merlot.

The legendary reds are complemented by high-quality white wines based on Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. These range from dry whites to challenge the best from the Burgundy region (Pessac-Léognan is particularly renowned) to the sweet, botrytized nectars of Sauternes.

First officially classified in 1954, St Emilion is one of Bordeaux's largest winemaking appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux combined. Many of the region's finest vineyards can be found atop the steep limestone slopes of the village itself, although a fledgling band of garagiste producers are eschewing terroir to make small-batch, deeply-concentrated wines from their homes.