The Wines

The Fonroque estate covers 20 hectares, located a few hundred meters northwest of the town of Saint-Émilion. The 17.6 hectares of contiguous land that make up the vineyard are spread across a plateau and a west-facing hillside. Its most expressive light is that of the setting sun.

The entire town of Saint-Émilion has been shaped by the Dordogne River. This history has left its mark, and Fonroque is particularly blessed by these geological features. The estate features a beautiful mosaic of three main soil types located around the village of Saint-Émilion. First is the limestone plateau, composed of fairly light soils resting on asterian limestone bedrock that is very rich in marine fossils. Then there is a clay-limestone hillside and a foothill of sandy-silt clay. It is on the limestone plateau that all the historic Grand Cru Classé estates are located, with the exception of Cheval Blanc and Figeac, which lie on the border with Pomerol. The historic and qualitative heart of Saint-Émilion is therefore this plateau surrounding the village.

• In the upper part of the estate, we are at the western edge of the plateau. Here, the soils are shallow—between thirty and sixty centimeters—and rather light and well-drained, meaning they contain more sand than clay. The bedrock is therefore very close to the surface. The roots pass through this loose soil to spread out over the bedrock, drawing on the moisture that rises through it. This results in wines with great length and integrity, imbued with a tension akin to that of a bow ready to release its arrow. Theseterroirs produce elegance. At the time of the primeurs, the wines’ classical rigor does not produce an immediate seductive effect but rather a refined beauty and a nuanced finesse that fully reveal themselves with aging.

• On the clay-limestone hillside, the bedrock lies deeper, and the clay settles and mixes with the limestone. As soon as there is clay in the soil, the wine takes on a broader profile. The initial taste immediately sets the tone with a strong, full-bodied presence. It is in the finish that the limestone reveals itself, contributing energy and freshness. At the top of the hillside, where limestone dominates, the wines are therefore very fresh, while the lower part of the hillside provides the wine with its foundational character.

• Finally, the sandy-loam clays at the base of the hillside, with the iron oxide they contain and the limestone washed in by the rain, produce well-rounded, full-bodied wines.

Thus, the lower plots offer very fruity notes, and the higher up you go, the more floral the flavors become.

The wine develops nicely as it reaches the limestone plateau, where notes of humus, truffle, and mushroom emerge.

If we were in Burgundy, we would separate all of these, because the resulting wines are very different in their aromatic expression and character. But the tradition in Bordeaux is one of blending, with the aim of creating a synergy that produces something superior to what the individual components offer. We seek refinement, complexity, and uniqueness, and the act of blending—much like in music or painting—is crucial.

We have built a new wine cellar at Château Fonroque.

It consists of a series of small tanks capable of holding just the right amount of each soil subtype, which allows us to bring great subtlety to the final blend by capturing the most distinctive qualities of each element to enrich our blends.

There was a lot of Cabernet Franc at Fonroque back when nitrogen fertilizers and other yield-boosting practices began to appear.

Although the estate has never been subjected to excessive chemical treatments, it was managed using conventional viticulture practices. However, unlike Merlot, which adapts quite well to high yields and continues to produce wines of good structure under such conditions, Cabernet Franc—much like Pinot Noir in Burgundy—is quite finicky and does not tolerate this approach, which makes it rather ordinary and causes it to lose its concentration and density very quickly. In addition to its intolerance to nitrogen and humidity, Cabernet Franc ripens later than Merlot. Since higher yields require each vine to have a longer ripening period, this variety—which is resistant to high-yield practices—was often harvested unripe, which led to it never being included in the top wines during the 1980s.

That is why previous generations chose to uproot large quantities of Cabernet Franc. This phenomenon was true at Fonroque, as it was everywhere else at the time, and was one of the adverse effects of an agricultural system that was becoming increasingly intensive, pushing beyond its natural limits. 

Since Fonroque has been led by Alain Moueix and farmed biodynamically, 100% of the Cabernet Franc has been allocated to the first wine. Although the limestone plateau is considered the estate’s finest terroir, extensive grubbing-up had to be carried out there to address the steady decline in yields. We chose to plant Merlot there because the location is ideal for bringing out the very distinctive crystalline character that this grape variety produces when paired with this soil. This has led to a very significant—and still-growing—increase in yields from these plots, thanks to which we see a marked improvement in the quality of the blend each year. In addition, we plant Cabernet Franc on the lower hillside and foothill plots. In 2015, we planted sixty ares of Cabernet Franc; in 2018, 95 ares; in 2019, 66 ares; and these figures will continue to rise.

However, the structure provided by the limestone in the mid-palate and the presence of clay ensure that our wine has excellent body; we are not interested in Cabernet Franc here for its structuring qualities, but rather for its ability to densify the core of the wine, which lends even greater fullness to the final product. Furthermore, the Merlot really opens up under biodynamic practices. It gains verticality and breadth, and a very interesting space is created in the mid-palate—though it shouldn’t be too volatile, as the wine needs a strong presence.

Finally, the wine is naturally rich in freshness at Fonroque, which means we don't need to add Petit Verdot to the blend.

We inaugurated our new fermentation tank with the 2021 vintage—a tank designed with biodynamic principles in mind.

This new fermentation tank is:

• A preliminary geobiological study to determine the best locations for the tanks based on favorable energy zones.
• A calculation of proportions based on the Golden Ratio.
• Cement tanks are made using the " days of blossoms and fruit" method, with water infused with local wine.
• Natural overhead lighting for a sense of connection with the cosmos.
• Temperature control of the tanks without air circulation, for true quiet operation.
• We doubled the number of fermentation tanks out of a commitment to precision and gentle extraction.

The new wine-making facility also features:

• High-quality, minimally processed materials; a color that symbolizes detachment from the earthly realm; and, throughout, a verticality that complements the structure of our wines.
• This is how we choose to guide our grapes, using biodynamic methods, toward the magic of transmutation.
• Fonroque’s new wine-making facility is a true work of art that we love to share.