Château Fontenil 2025
Fronsac
Bordeaux, France
Regular price£121.00
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Arriving: Mid 2028
Shipping duty paid to Mainland UK is charged at a flat rate of £9.99 per consignment and POA for Northern Ireland or Islands.
Shipping under bond is dependant on location, but starts at £15 per consignment.
| Style: Red | Packaging: OWC |
| ABV: % | Closure: Cork |
| Organic: | Drink from: 2032 |
| Biodynamic: | Drink to: 2045 |
| Grapes: 100% Merlot | |
Critic scores
90-92 NM, 92-94 AG, 93-94 JS, 94-96 JD, 93-95 LPB, 93 JA, 91-93 DB
Critic reviews
"The 2025 Fontenil comes across quite poised on the nose, with attractive blueberry and plummy scents, becoming quite floral in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with an intense, quite sweet entry, showy at first, though it shows decent restraint on the finish. Two samples were quite different from each other; I preferred the one poured at Rolland Labs, which I felt was more representative."
Neal Martin, May 2026, Vinous.com
"The 2025 Fontenil is complex and dynamic in the glass. Brisk acids cut through a core of dark red/black fruit, espresso, gravel, dried herbs and lavender. Floral top notes lift the long, layered finish. This is superb. I especially admire the energy here."
Antonio Galloni, April 2026, Vinous.com
"A serious, sexy wine that readers should seek out in just about every vintage, the 2025 Château Fontenil offers blacker fruits, roasted herbs, chocolate, and spicy nuances on the nose. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's focused and balanced, with fine tannins, wonderful purity, and a great finish. Based on 100% Merlot that's being raised in 30% new French oak with the balance in amphora, due to tiny yields this vintage, the grapes that would normally go into the Delfi cuvée have been folded into this classic château release. This smoking good Fronsac will shine right out of the gate yet should have 20 years or more of prime drinking."
Jeb Dunnuck, May 2026, JebDunnuck.com
"Intense plum colour, and this is an estate that knows how to find ripeness. Skilful extraction giving a firm tannic architecture, with lots of black cherry and cassis fruits. Intense, charged, espresso and cocoa, with estate signature. Harvest September 13 to 19. 25 hl/ha. 30% new oak, 40th vintage of the estate, and the last one of Michel Rolland."
Jane Anson, April 2026, JaneAnson.com
"(Fronsac; 100% Merlot; a final yield of 25 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; certified organic). Vivid and vibrant, bright and fresh, with that lovely Fronsac lift and energy, this is distinctly less oaky than once it was and all the more beautiful in my view for that. A very special wine in this vintage that I taste with a tear in my eye. The person whose signature the label still sports would have been thrilled by its quality."
Colin Hay, May 2026, DrinksBusiness.com
Neal Martin, May 2026, Vinous.com
"The 2025 Fontenil is complex and dynamic in the glass. Brisk acids cut through a core of dark red/black fruit, espresso, gravel, dried herbs and lavender. Floral top notes lift the long, layered finish. This is superb. I especially admire the energy here."
Antonio Galloni, April 2026, Vinous.com
"A serious, sexy wine that readers should seek out in just about every vintage, the 2025 Château Fontenil offers blacker fruits, roasted herbs, chocolate, and spicy nuances on the nose. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's focused and balanced, with fine tannins, wonderful purity, and a great finish. Based on 100% Merlot that's being raised in 30% new French oak with the balance in amphora, due to tiny yields this vintage, the grapes that would normally go into the Delfi cuvée have been folded into this classic château release. This smoking good Fronsac will shine right out of the gate yet should have 20 years or more of prime drinking."
Jeb Dunnuck, May 2026, JebDunnuck.com
"Intense plum colour, and this is an estate that knows how to find ripeness. Skilful extraction giving a firm tannic architecture, with lots of black cherry and cassis fruits. Intense, charged, espresso and cocoa, with estate signature. Harvest September 13 to 19. 25 hl/ha. 30% new oak, 40th vintage of the estate, and the last one of Michel Rolland."
Jane Anson, April 2026, JaneAnson.com
"(Fronsac; 100% Merlot; a final yield of 25 hl/ha; 14% alcohol; certified organic). Vivid and vibrant, bright and fresh, with that lovely Fronsac lift and energy, this is distinctly less oaky than once it was and all the more beautiful in my view for that. A very special wine in this vintage that I taste with a tear in my eye. The person whose signature the label still sports would have been thrilled by its quality."
Colin Hay, May 2026, DrinksBusiness.com