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Château Fonplegade Winery Guide

Winery Overview

This mid-nineteenth-century Château is one of the most beautiful in the St-Emilion wine region. It has lorded it over the famed “Côte Sud,” a source of some of the region’s most coveted wines for centuries. The property takes its name from a legendary fountain to be found in the grounds – Fonplegade means the “fountain of plenty,” and history tells that for a millennium, this fountain has quenched the thirst of pilgrims and maintained these sacred vineyards in the driest of years. Château Fonplegage may only have been founded as recently as 1852, but these grounds’ rich legacy stretches back for centuries.

Fonpleage was the realization of a dream by the wealthy and successful merchant – Jean-Pierre Beylot – who recognized the potential of the current vineyard site to produce excellent and long-lasting wines. He poured his heart and soul into bringing the property to life and expanded the estate to the 18.5 hectares we have today. After Beylot died, the property came under the control of the Duke of Morny and the Countess of Galard, who were the half-brother and half-sister of Napolean III! The renown of the property grew in the 19th century; in 1865, Fonpleage received a Gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle and was named a Premier Grand Cru Classe, a distinction it would enjoy until the mid-1940s.

The Château, as with so many estates in Bordeaux, exchanged hands several times in the early 20th century until 1953, when it was acquired by the negociant (merchant) house of Armand Moueix. Fonplegade greeted the millennium with optimism as Christian Mouiex, a highly respected oenologist, became involved in the winemaking. The previous two decades had seen standards slip slightly at the property -time and the demands of modern winemaking took their toll on the estate and its facilities. However, the Mouiex family was forced to put the estate on the market, and in 2004 it was acquired by the Adams family (no pun intended!)

So began a new golden age for Fonplegade; the Château’s American investors wasted no time re-invigorating the vineyards, increasing the vine density to 8,000 vines per hectare and converting to organic viticulture. The winery was overhauled entirely, too; the Adams replaced the cement tanks with wooden vats and only the finest oak barrels. This modern style and vinification techniques are far from the previous owners’ traditional methods, which shows in the wines.

Since 2004, this estate’s wines have wowed critics and consumers alike – the 2010 vintage showed the property at its finest: a nose of cherries, plum, and meat, a juicy, rich palate, concentration but also balance and freshness. The property itself is one of the finest in the Right Bank, and with wines like this being produced, there has never been a better time to visit Fonplegade.

Saint Émilion Wine Tour

Saint Émilion Wine Tour

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Further Reading

Author

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James lawrence

With a passion for food & drink that verges on the obsessive, wine writer James Lawrence has traveled the world in search of the perfect tipple. To date, nothing has surpassed the 1952 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva, tasted in the cobweb-filled cellars with owner María José. Meanwhile, James has been writing for a wide variety of publications for over 12 years, including Telegraph, Decanter, Harpers, The Drinks Business, and Wine Business International. He lives in South Wales and returns to his former university city, Bilbao, as much as possible.

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