Château Fontenil: Tasting & Drinking
You probably know what to expect from the wines of Château Fontenil. They are made with considerable effort and evident competence in the cellars. The fruit is dark, ripe and polished, especially so in more recent years where vinification intégrale has been utilised.
Starting with the principal cuvée under the name Château de Fontenil, while the oldest vintages from the later 1980s – made in less-than-ideal conditions – are now largely faded, the 1990 was still going strong at 35 years of age. The wines from the latter half of the 1990s have held on fairly well, but it is really with the 1999 and 2000 vintages that things start to get interesting. The former vintage was not a great one, but the 1999 made here exceeds expectations, while the 2000 vintage is a good wine in its own right. Do not overlook the 2001 though; it is one of the best of all the older vintages of Château Fontenil I have tasted.
Thereafter the most successful vintages of Château Fontenil have a little more predictability, with a good 2003 and a better 2005. It is not until 2009 and 2010 that we find vintages which could stand up to the 2001 though. And while the 2011 is yet another strong effort from this under-rated vintage, it is the likes of 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022 which rule among the latter years.
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