Château Fonbadet: Tasting & Drinking
Undiscovered gems in Bordeaux are not that hard to come by; the Médoc, Haut-Médoc, St Emilion and even the generic Bordeaux appellations are awash with good-value wines, wines for drinkers, wines that are nevertheless interminably overlooked in favour of grander names from grander appellations. Finding an undiscovered gem in one of these grander appellations, however, is a much rarer occurrence.
The wines of Château Fonbadet are certainly attractive, and I would rate this as one of the better unclassified properties (note that, as is the case on many unclassified estates with ambition, Pascale Peyronie now eschews the Cru Bourgeois Classification – the last time it made an appearance was 2003). I have long viewed the wines of Château Fonbadet as classically styled, more reserved, and although enjoyable they never seem to quite have the impact I would have hoped for taking into account the prestigious terroir. Having said that, in recent years I have been more and more impressed by the wines. First, the value of the terroir was reinforced by an encounter with the 1923 vintage (I admit it is difficult to directly link the vineyard of the 1920s with the vineyard of today, but presumably it was focused on the few hectares of vines around the château) which showed well. Not a wine that rocked my world, but given that it was 100 years old, the fact it seemed coherent and gave pleasure was noteworthy.
Then there is the current quality itself. Perhaps this reflects a new focus on a smaller vineyard, following the sale of 8 hectares in 2020, a process Pascale Peyronie undertook with advice from Julien Viaud. This has logically allowed her to focus on her best parcels for the grand vin. There is an unanticipated quality in the 2025, 2023 and 2022 vintages which make these wines genuinely appealing. They feel superior to a number of older vintages, although do not automatically pass over vintages such as 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2016, all over which have merit. Vintages older than this seem to have had less impact.
Today this is an unsung estate worth following. Credit to Pascale Peyronie for what has been achieved here. (29/7/15, updated 23/7/26)
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