2020 Château Fontenil

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 92.6 points

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  5/4/2024 - Jake Barnes Likes this wine: 93 Points

  From a single bottle purchased at retail. Coravin pour. Glass-coating concentration. Wow. That’s good wine. I bought this on sale for $23 US, but don’t let the price point fool you.
  
  This is a bit shy on the nose right now, showing peonies and a bit of leather in addition to plums and cherries on the nose, but in the mouth, it’s a big, weighty, glycerol-drooling beast packed with well-concentrated black and red fruits and showing hints of licorice and dark chocolate covered cherries. It seems very soft at first and then it explodes, courtesy of an electrifying backbone of acidity that brings the juice alive with a zap without giving the least impression of too much acidity. Lots of ripe tannins here. Balance is excellent. Zero perception of the high ABV.
  
  Young as this is, it is already a great wine that is drinking very well in a flashy, youthful way. There is a lot of juice and structure here. If this develops some complexity and nuance as its youthful in-your-face wow factor fades, it could easily become the 95-point wine some critics have called it. I have bought a case since this tasting. I’d buy two, but I just don’t have the cellar space. The Wine Searcher average price is $28 US. That would provide an excellent QPR for this, but at the sale price of $23 US, this is in back-the-truck-up QPR land. If you’ve got the space, you would do well to load up on this. 14.5% ABV (very good; distinctive/****/16.5/93)

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  3/22/2024 - brennan18 Likes this wine: 93 Points

  young but drinks amazing and can easily sit another 5 years undisturbed and advance another point, possibly two. all the notes previous to mine describe the wine perfectly. my only comment would be to let it open up for 20-30 minutes. I don't think a decant is necessary per se, just pour into the glass and let it sit undisturbed for about half an hour. This is really magnificent stuff -- drinks far above it's mundane price point. I happen to enjoy Michel Rolland's style and this encapsulates it perfectly. I got a deal on this from B-21 Wines (< $30) and I am definitely going to buy more for my cellar. Easily outperforms wines 2-3x the price.
  
  93 points - ready to drink

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  2/21/2024 - ME_DOC Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Really not much to add to the nailing notes of Alexander Smith here. I just rate it one point higher. Well rolland wines are polarizing, either you love them or you dont like them. I am for sure in the first group here. Deep dark red with notes of red and dark fruits, especially blackberry and blueberry dominating. A little bit of plum and dark chocolate too. Accompanied by a hint of a creaminess and low acidity. The only thing i can criticize is the short finish, but i can live with that for 22 Euros here in Germany. Add one digit and you get the wine with a additional long finish. Fronsac overachiver as usual. Ready to drink...

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  11/10/2023 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 91 Points

  The home of Michel Rolland, and a bottle that punches way above the $40 I paid for it, 100% Merlot this shows notes of red cherries, raspberries, plums, spicy chocolate, bay leaves and tyme. The palate is lush, rich and velvety with dark red fruit interwoven with dark chocolate and spice, the mid-palate is layered with notes of sandalwood, the finish disappoints a little and is slightly oaky and stops this wine from scoring higher. I PnP this wine and I feel a longer decant would have been beneficial. Overall all components are there and the oaky finish will integrate overtime 91++

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  3/21/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points

  Dark in color, the nose pops with truffles, seaweed, roses, licorice, plums, black cherries and a hint of peppery spice. Elegant and sensuous in texture, there is freshness and purity as well as minerality in the fruit on the mid-palate and in the finish. Drink from 2023-2038.

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