Chateau Fontenil 2009
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Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
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James
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The basic Fontenil (95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon) has a deep bluish purple color and relatively hefty alcohol at 14.5%, but it is not noticeable in this full-bodied, layered, opulent wine, with lots of black raspberry fruit intermixed with some blueberries and crushed rock. Both of these wines have a good 10-15 years of potential in a fine cellar.
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Wine Enthusiast
A very smoky character, with an attractive lightness. The fruit is bright, even though there is richness. The tannins give a dark, dry aftertaste.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 Points -
Wine Spectator
This has ample flesh, with a mouthfilling feel to the linzer torte, blackberry confiture and spice notes, all backed by sweet tobacco and fresh acidity on the finish. Very solid. Drink now through 2019.
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James Suckling
Attractive blackberry and mineral aromas and flavors, follow though to a full body, with well-integrated tannins and a medium finish. Try in 2016.
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James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
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Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
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Spectator
Wine
In 1986, they acquired a few hectares in the commune of Saillans, which they called chateau Fontenil, after the name of one of the plots in the vineyard. The renovation work on the installations lasted until 1999; the vinification cellars, the barrel cellar and the storage cellar were all equipped with high-performance material.
Perfectly organized, tradition remains alongside new technologies: small stainless steel and wooden vats, double sorting table, barrel stock of which 60% are renewed each year and where malolactic fermentation is carried out – yield control from pruning the vines until green harvesting- sustainable viticulture, manual harvesting plot by plot using small crates.
The vines are on a slope with a southerly aspect, looking down on the river isle – a tributary of the Dordogne – and the town of Lilbourn. This magnificent setting frames an estate whose wines are among those which have enhanced the reputation of the Fronsac appellation.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Home of the very first remarkable Right Bank wines, dating back to the 1730s, Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac actually retained more fame than Pomerol well into the 19th century. Today these wines represent some of Bordeaux’s best hidden gems.
Fronsac is a very small region at an unusually high elevation compared to other Bordeaux appellations. Its vineyards unroll along the oak-dotted hills bordering the river’s edge, making it perhaps Bordeaux’s prettiest and most majestic countryside.
Merlot covers 60% of the vineyard acreage; the rest of the vines are Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac appellations are limited to the higher land where soils are predominantly limestone and sandstone. Lower vineyards along the Dordogne River mainly qualify for Bordeaux AOC status
The best Fronsac are deeply concentrated in ripe red and black berry; they have a solid mineral backbone and are rich and plush on the finish.