2016 Château Fonplégade St. Émilion Grand Cru Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note

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2016 Château Fonplégade  (St. Émilion Grand Cru) 94 A bit more subdued at the moment, with coaxing, flowers, wild cherries, blackberries, plums, espresso, crushed rocks, and a touch of spice come through on the nose. The wine is fresh, sweet, lifted, vibrant, and packed with minerality and sweet, red berries. The tannins are soft and everything is in balance. But it could use another 2-3 years before it becomes fully expressive. A bit more subdued at the moment, with coaxing, flowers, wild cherries, blackberries, plums, espresso, crushed rocks, and a touch of spice come through on the nose. The wine is fresh, sweet, lifted, vibrant, and packed with minerality and sweet, red berries. The tannins are soft and everything is in balance. But it could use another 2-3 years before it becomes fully expressive. 5,108 Views   Tasted Mar 29, 2022  • Buy This Wine For The Lowest Price DOWNLOAD TASTING NOTE | Post to With the 2016 there is length, density and purity of fruit, along with elegance, harmony and a fabulous, rock strewn character. The fruit is ripe, fresh, long and complex. Hang onto this wine for at least a decade and it's going to be a gem! The wine was made from a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. With the 2016 there is length, density and purity of fruit, along with elegance, harmony and a fabulous, rock strewn character. The fruit is ripe, fresh, long and complex. Hang onto this wine for at least a decade and it's going to be a gem! The wine was made from a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. 7,455 Views   Tasted Sep 21, 2019 Deep ruby-purple in color with a spicy set of aromatics, this is made even more complicated by dark cherries and plums. This wine is rich, sultry and silky, competing with, and perhaps exceeding, the very strong 2015. This is going to be a fun back-to-back vintage to compare over the next few decades. The wine was made from a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc and reached 14.2% ABV with a pH of 3.45. Deep ruby-purple in color with a spicy set of aromatics, this is made even more complicated by dark cherries and plums. This wine is rich, sultry and silky, competing with, and perhaps exceeding, the very strong 2015. This is going to be a fun back-to-back vintage to compare over the next few decades. The wine was made from a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc and reached 14.2% ABV with a pH of 3.45. 7,485 Views   Tasted Apr 29, 2017

When to Drink Chateau Fonplegade, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Fonplegade is much better with at least 10-15 years of aging in good vintages. Young vintages can be decanted for 2-3 hours or more.

This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Fonplegade offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 10-30 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Fonplegade with Wine and Food Pairings

Chateau Fonplegade is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Chateau Fonplegade is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.

Chateau Fonplegade is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, salmon, mushrooms, and pasta.

The Adams family also owns vineyards in Napa Valley, located on Howell Mountain. They produce a California Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine and Sauvignon Blanc which are sold under the name of ADAMVS.

www.fonplegade.com