Château Fonroque


33330 SAINT-EMILION

Tel. +33 (0)5 57 24 60 02

Fax : +33 (0)5 57 24 74 59

judith@chateaufonroque.com

www.chateaufonroque.com

Château Fonroque Grand Cru Classé de Saint-Emilion

Learn everything easily about the Grand Cru Classé, Château Fonroque based on the Saint-Emilion appellation.

Château Fonroque. Luminous wine and harmony, reflection of a terroir full of life.

Alain Moueix and gracious biodynamics.

Evoking, as in Pomerol, the irreproachable epic Corrézienne of the Moueix family, Fonroque embodies her spirit but side of Saint-Emilion. To steer in balance and precision this classified grand cru, following the pace of a land that has been reclaimed by nature, In 2001 the Moueix family made a request to Alain Moueix. a pragmatic and calm force, today, as a consultant has been working since the property was bought by the Guillard family in 2017. (specialized in insurances and hotel matters).

A bit of history.

Fonroque, the fascinating tale of a family in Corrèze, over the years, to become libournaise. The style and political orientation of this château are reflected in it,  Whose the very discreet, Alain Moueix - an agricultural engineer, winemaker, and pioneer of biodynamics on the Right Bank –since 2001, he has been the one carrying the torch. In 1931, Corrézien Jean Moueix wrote the first chapters of the château. Jean Moueix said  «le petit» (creamer in Paris in the 10’s) assisted by Adèle, his wife. Brother of a well-known Antoine Moueix, said «the cuirassier» (already owner in Pomerol of Château Taillefer), he bought, on the advice of the latter, this elegant and peaceful property of character, nestled and protected in the noble and promising lands of Saint-Emilion.

At the origin of quality, a will and a name associated with the taste of work well done

Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé since 1996 – a fair reward for the efforts made over more than half a century -, Fonroque has continued to embody four generations of Moueix (Jean, Jean Antoine, Jean-Pierre, Jean-Jacques and Alain) - the will of Corrèze, the spirit of toil at the service of an exhilarating agriculture, a thoughtful viticulture, the respect of a complex and highly qualitative terroir capable of producing wines of fullness. And, one does not go without the other, a high ability - well-known in this family turned merchant, merchant-breeder - to market with dynamism the wines of the property: château Fonroque (80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) and château Cartier, the “second wine”(100% Merlot). For the record, let us remember the charismatic and late Jean-Pierre Moueix (brother of Alain's grandfather) - founder in 1937 of the famous Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix house – who, it is said, never missed a single one of his wine sales. Thus, knowing how to make great wine and making it known is an essential duo well orchestrated by the Moueix.

Organic cultural management guaranteeing the fundamental balance of the land.

The management of the domain, entrusted to the Jean-Pierre Moueix establishments from 1979 to 2017 provides dynamism and financial resources for the production of a wine of excellence. Obtaining a great wine from a great terroir involves very high costs. But substantial budgets cannot replace the kindness of men with a total and permanent presence in the vineyard (the fundamentals) as in the cellar. Alain Moueix still invests enormously in it today and forms an essential pair with Ludovic Guibert (the technical director), all with the absolute trust of the new owners. Interpreting the requests and requirements of a very high-quality terroir is essential. Because the subtleties of this, if we want to stand out with the true signature of the terroir, can only be transcribed in the glass with vineyard management sensitive to the notions of balance of the terroir. It is by advocating a quest for harmony respectful of the natural balances between the plant and the soil, between the vine and the microbial life that nourishes it that we will help the plots to give the best of themselves. Knowing how to protect the biotope and perpetuate it to pass it on to future generations is Fonroque's task. These lost equilibriums - Fonroque and so many other properties certainly enjoyed this before the hegemonic advent in the 1970s of chemical viticulture, more profitable, more productive but more unbalancing for the vines  – little by little they are found.

Observe, understand how to interpret and act. Towards a biodynamics more pragmatic than mystical.

It is the gradual and rational conversion - from the years 2002 to 2005 - going from organic (certified in 2003) to the first completely bio-biodynamic harvest in 2005 which will seal this environmental policy. Isn't Fonroque also part of the Biodyvin association? Biodyvin is a union of producers practicing biodynamics without claiming the Demeter label. This is where the philosophy of life expressed in the vineyard by Alain Moueix and his team enters the picture. Its environmental policy linked to the vine has already proven its worth at Château Mazeyres (AOC Pomerol), wine estate he has managed since 1992, itself purchased by the Guillard family in 2020. From 2001, Fonroque will thus benefit from this same know-how, this same technical approach, a real painstaking effort, but an understanding, better, a preliminary concord between man and his environment. From then on, a ten-year restructuring program was immediately implemented, followed with exemplary rigor. "More an evolution than a violent revolution" according to Alain, which will result in very careful plot management. Thanks to fifty deep pits dug for the occasion and a scrupulous analysis of the different soil components of the entire vineyard (22 hectares including 17.6 in one piece) – Alain and his team understood the root implantation of the vine and its exact geological composition: clays, silts and sands under limestone on one side – big benefit against plant stress – on the other, clay and limestone closely married; finally, further away, at the bottom of the hill, the silty and ferruginous clay soil. It is from this combination that the character of Fonroque wines draws its grandeur, its length, its recognizable mineral freshness, its power and its laceiness. A delight for the nose as well as for the taste buds satisfied to find the opposite of an over-extracted, bodybulded and speculation wine. Fonroque sounds like self control, balance. This terroir gives birth to sweetness and complexity and Alain has always tried to capture the truth of the terroir in the bottle.

A delicate vinification to produce the ultimate Château Fonroque.

Since 2022, the property has been equipped with a new vat room designed on the principles of biodynamics and the harmony of the golden ratio. A series of 27 small vats (in an ultra-plot approach) makes it possible to vinify the different components of the terroir, four in number, components which give, depending on the soil, subsoil, grape varieties and age of the vines, a unique expression in each place. In this new non-ostentatious setting, built by the French architect François Bureau.

Alain humbly orchestrates a score which sounds ad libitum. His desire is to allow Fonroque to vinify, in exceptional, very large, great, good vintages as well as in weaker vintages – known as “technical” – wines which always reflect an aromatic and taste balance. A nectar whose natural harmony is dictated by a sacred and living vineyard. And the terroir has plenty of capacity for it. Reason, throughout the wine production chain, cultivation, winemaking, blending through to aging. Nothing should corrupt or disrupt the expression of the grapes, Merlot in this case largely represented here by Cabernet Franc on limestone soil. Everything must be carefully thought out in balance, measure, and respect for this vineyard. From the judicious choice of harvest dates - never over-ripe - to gentle and refined vinification - never over-extraction, the grape itself containing its concentrated elements... This is the philosophy of Château Fonroque, of Alain Moueix, whose interest in the metamorphosis of Goëthe's plants book - a book that always occupies one's thoughts -, speaks volumes about his commitment to Fonroque as elsewhere.

The wines of Château Fonroque: their styles.

Château Fonroque (Grand Cru Classé - AOC Saint-Emilion Grand Cru)

Mostly on Merlot (80%) and Cabernet Franc (20%), the first wine of the property is rich, expressive and of great freshness. Everything is balanced, tense, deep and of great elegance. The mouth is caressing, velvety and gourmand. Certified in organic agriculture since the 2006 vintage and in biodynamic farming since the 2008 vintage, This characterful wine is a Saint-Emilion requiring time. Wine with high aging potential depending on the type of vintage.

Château Cartier (AOC Saint-émilion Grand Cru)

“Second wine” in the spirit of the second wines of the great Bordeaux estates, that is to say from younger vines or lots which cannot be used in the assembly of the first wine, Château Cartier is a brand in its own right, that is to say, with its own identity and it cannot possibly be a facsimile of the first wine. Easier to access and instantly charming when tasting, the wine is offered more easily to the taster without having to wait for many years, like its big brother, Château Fonroque.

Fonroque’s great vintages:

1928-1929-1945-1947-1949-1953-1955-1959-1961-1970-1975-1981-1982-1985-1988-1989-1990-1995-1998-2000-2005-2009-2010-2015-2016-2018-2019-2020-2022