(Chateau Fontenil) This was worse than the previous bottle which was all band-aid and iodine. This was all barely roasted fruit, if you could actually detect any fruit and a forest of wood tannin. So chewy and not sweet. What I expect at least from a Michel Rolland wine is some sweet fruit, creamy oak and ripe tannin. That is what I got when I purchased six bottles upon release. Drank the first three bottles when my palate was different and loved the wine. Had all the Michel Rolland stuff going on in full gear. My last three bottles have been horrible. There is a pretty big drinking window on this wine on CT from 2006 to 2017. I feel sorry for anyone drinking this now or for god's sake in 2015 less 2017! This is what happens when a wine is propped up by oak in its youth.
(Chateau Fontenil) Nose of cocoa, raspberry, red plum, mineral and wet earth. Very pretty. Supple, silky texture with some lip-smackingly delicous red fruits with a hint of seme-sweet chocolate on the finish. Kind of a stony minerality that lingers on the finish. Nice concentration but this is not the firecracker it was in it's youth. It has mellowed out and is a great drink today. Tannins are there but perfectly integrated.
By Lyle Fass
(Chateau Fontenil) This was worse than the previous bottle which was all band-aid and iodine. This was all barely roasted fruit, if you could actually detect any fruit and a forest of wood tannin. So chewy and not sweet. What I expect at least from a Michel Rolland wine is some sweet fruit, creamy oak and ripe tannin. That is what I got when I purchased six bottles upon release. Drank the first three bottles when my palate was different and loved the wine. Had all the Michel Rolland stuff going on in full gear. My last three bottles have been horrible. There is a pretty big drinking window on this wine on CT from 2006 to 2017. I feel sorry for anyone drinking this now or for god's sake in 2015 less 2017! This is what happens when a wine is propped up by oak in its youth.3/22/2008, (See more on Rockss and Fruit...)
By Lyle Fass
(Chateau Fontenil) Nose of cocoa, raspberry, red plum, mineral and wet earth. Very pretty. Supple, silky texture with some lip-smackingly delicous red fruits with a hint of seme-sweet chocolate on the finish. Kind of a stony minerality that lingers on the finish. Nice concentration but this is not the firecracker it was in it's youth. It has mellowed out and is a great drink today. Tannins are there but perfectly integrated.10/11/2004, (See more on Rockss and Fruit...)