Winemaker Notes
The color is dark and intense, promise of a dense wine. The nose is refined, complex and pure with aromas of dark fruit, violet, cinnamon, and other sweet spices. In the mouth, the body is luscious and full. The mineral expression with a saline tendency brings elegance and length. The right measure of acidity produces freshness and tension, on a real density. The fruit is there, rich and ripe. In the final, the wine does not leave you anymore.
Blend: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Fonroque has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and opens with black cherries, kirsch, warm blueberries and spice box scents plus hints of tobacco and pencil lead. Medium-bodied, it has a chewy line and plenty of earth-inspired flavors, finishing just a tad grippy.
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Decanter
This was the last vintage with Alain Moueix as the owner - in 2017 he sold the estate to a French insurance company, although he is likely to continue as consultant for the foreseeable future. This has an impressive texture right from the start, with silky black and red fruit that's well knitted together, along with coffee and chocolate. It has clear potential but needs time. 30% new oak. 50hl/ha yield.
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Wine Spectator
This has a slightly exotic edge, with warmed fig, crushed plum and steeped raspberry notes, laden with anise, black tea and singed apple wood accents. Though the fruit gushes, this shows focused energy through the finish, with a latent graphite hint. Drink now through 2035.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is superripe and generous in fruit. The contrast is with the dry core of tannins. Juicy blackberry fruits are rich and opulent, cut by acidity and supported by the tannins. Barrel Sample: 90-92.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Château Fonroque is a pretty, classy wine that has plenty of tobacco and earthy notes, plenty of darker fruits, medium body, and a supple, lightly textured, balanced style on the palate. It doesn't match the 2015 yet is a beautiful, elegant, nuanced wine to drink over the coming 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
This has a beautifully bright array of red fruit on the nose with a fresh and energetic palate that has plenty of fresh acidity and a fresh, sheet-like kick of tannins. From biodynamically grown grapes. Biodyvin certified. Try from 2021.
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.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.