Chateau Fonplegade 2018
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Suckling
James -
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Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
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Enthusiast
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
With an impeccable balance between fruit, complexity, and aromatic length, this wine is characterized by a sophisticated minerality, consistent from year to year, with soft and supple tannins and a velvety texture. It is made from the estate's oldest vines, meticulously hand-farmed using organic and biodynamic practices to bring out the finest quality in each cluster. Predominantly Merlot, the blend includes just enough Cabernet Franc to imbue the wine with an elegant tannic structure.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The currant and light vanilla come through on the nose with some flowers, too. It’s full-bodied with lots of rich fruit and chewy tannins that need to soften. Powerful and intense. Try after 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Fonplegade needs no convincing, charging out of the gate with bold notions of black cherry preserves, mulberries and ripe, juicy black plums, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, dried roses and smoked meats plus a touch of tar. The medium to full-bodied palate is beautifully crafted, dripping with poise and sophistication, draped in plush tannin's and seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering black cherry note. A very polished showing!
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, coming from a gorgeous terroir on the Côte Pavie, the 2018 Château Fonplégade reveals a dense purple/ruby color as well as a charming, ripe, sexy style in its red and blue fruits, flowers, toasted spice, and loamy soil aromas and flavors. It shows more floral nuances with time in the glass, has a distinct earthy minerality, ripe tannins, and outstanding length. It takes lots of air to show at its best, and it will ideally be given 4-5 years of bottle age to integrate its oak, but unquestionably, everything is the right place, and this is a beautiful Saint-Emilion.
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Decanter
Silky tannins, lovely fresh lift and some menthol powering along through the finish. Brambled fruits, freshly cut and dried herbs, with tons of nuance and complexity here. Some austerity still at this stage, all confirming the promise shown during en primeur. 50% new oak, 30% one-year barrels, 10% cement eggs, 10% amphora.
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Wine Spectator
This is nicely packed with plum, black cherry and boysenberry compote flavors that have good energy and are backed by a mix of savory, violet, anise and applewood notes through the finish. Buried chalky spine should help this age nicely in the cellar too. Drink now through 2030.
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Wine Enthusiast
This well-balanced wine is ripe, with dense black fruits shot through with ageworthy tannins. Poised and already offering fruitiness and ripeness built for long-term aging, this wine will be ready from 2026. Organic and biodynamic
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Château Fonplégade's name (literally "fountain of plenty") was derived from the historic 13th century stone fountain that graces the estate's vineyard. It quenched the thirst of passing pilgrims for hundreds of years, and continues to provide sustenance to the estate's vines in the driest vintages.
Grapevines have thrived at this exceptional site, perched on the limestone plateau that is home to Saint-Emilion's finest vineyards, since the late 1500s. In 1852, legendary wine merchant Jean-Pierre Beylot purchased the estate and built the elegant Château that still stands on the property. Enchanted by the terroir, history and grandeur of the estate, with its ancient Roman pathways and graceful vine rows, Denise and Stephen Adams acquired Château Fonplégade in 2004 and spent 15 years tirelessly revitalizing the vineyards, renovating the cellar and lovingly restoring the Château.
As stewards of these cherished vine rows, they cultivate their vineyards using strict ECOCERT organic practices, both to preserve the purity and character of their grapes, and to ensure the legacy of Chateau Fonplegade for generations to come.