Critics reviews
Best red wines for summer, The Times, 28 July 2012
About this WINE
Domaine de Fontbonau
Domaine de Fontbonau is a relatively new wine estate but one which will soon gain recognition and extensive plaudits. Located to the North East of Avignon, in the historically significant Enclave des Papes, the property covers 42 hectares near to the wine villages of Valréas and Visan. Fontboneau is a joint venture between Roussillon vigneron Jérôme Malet and Fréderic Engerer, hitherto somewhat better known as the Président of Chateau Latour in Bordeaux.
The terroir is classic Southern Rhône; fine clay, sand, silt and the odd scattering of galets (these pudding stones are the residues of Alpine glacial deposits). The vines are located at an altitude of 350 metres and are planted with Grenache (mainly) but also Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2009 a few white grapes (Roussanne and Viognier were planted). Some of the Grenache grapes are over 70 years old.
The aspiration is to achieve a high quality wine, indeed to produce the best Côtes Du Rhône in the world. All the work in the vineyard (de facto organic) and in the winery (sorting tables, especially built fermentation vats, new barrels etc) are working towards this aim.
Southern Rhône Blend
The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.
The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.
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Description
Farmed from vines grown at an altitude of 350 metres, this blend is dominated by Grenache but also includes Syrah and even Cabernet Sauvignon, in deference perhaps to its illustrious connections. The 2009 is very impressive with a generous and rounded fruit character, fine ripe tannins and a rewarding lick of black pepper on the finish.
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