Château Fonroque: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Fonroque sit to the north of St Emilion, in an angle created by two of the roads I mentioned in my introduction. These are the D243 which heads out north-west from the roundabout at the top of the town towards Pomerol and Libourne, and the D122 which heads north from the same spot, in the direction of Montagne-St-Emilion. Thus the vines are close to those of the Grand Pontet and Cadet secteurs, including Château Grand-Pontet to the south and Château Moulin du Cadet to the east.
This position places Château Fonroque on the limestone plateau, albeit towards the north, the land sloping away from the town here, down towards Château Cap de Mourlin and all the domaines of the Corbin secteur, such as Château Grand-Corbin-Despagne. Underfoot the soil is meagre, perhaps 35 centimetres deep, although this varies across the extent of the vineyard. Towards the top of the slope the soils are paler, more dominated by limestone, while further down they are darker, and richer in clay. In addition, close to the château there are some areas of more sandy clay with pockets of crasse de fer, the iron-rich deposit often credited with giving the wines of Pomerol much of their character.
