Château de Fonbel

Château de Fonbel, St Emilion Grand Cru, 2018

Name: Château de Fonbel, St Emilion Grand Cru
Brand: Château de Fonbel

89/100

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

88/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

all 2019 2020 2022

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in bond

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

A fine example of Saint-Émilion's elegance, the 2019 Château de Fonbel is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Carménère, offering both approachability and depth. Offerling plenty of upfront robust fruit and savoury character - notes of black cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, cedar and a hint of spice.

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GUARANTEED PROVENANCE

Provenance in fine wine

When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of utmost importance. A wine’s history – where it’s sourced from and how it’s been stored – can have an enormous influence on the eventual enjoyment it provides. At Justerini & Brooks, we can trace nearly every case back to the domaine, estate or Château it originally came from; we ship from over 200 wine producers throughout the world.

Wines not bought directly from the vineyard are either sourced from trusted suppliers, with whom we share the same philosophy and rigour in buying, or from our own network of Cellarers customers. These customers’ wines are stored in optimal conditions in Octavian Corsham and, in the vast majority of cases, have been stored by us since the wine was first shipped. We do not purchase wine from auctions.

We feel it is equally important to for our customers that the case they buy and leave in storage with us is exactly the same case they subsequently have delivered. This may sound obvious and straightforward, yet we are one of very few merchants to have taken measures to ensure this.

We have created a system where every case is independent, thereby ensuring a trail of ownership and peace of mind for every customer.

The Journey

Justerinis ensures that every case of wine stored with Cellarers (Wines) Ltd has a unique identifier and customer’s name, almost unheard of in the industry as it is expensive to administer. These details are printed and placed on every case which is logged and recorded under your account name and kept in the world’s most renowned storage facility, Octavian Corsham.

This information is sent from our systems to the warehouse every day to ensure the trail of ownership is verified and upheld.

While customer reserves are stored in Corsham, our physical stocks are kept in Hoddesdon, further providing a geographical separation between customers’ wines with Cellarers and Justerinis’ own stock.

Further Reassurance

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is a legally separate limited company from Justerini & Brooks which currently holds approximately £450 million worth of customer reserves. It is fully insured to catastrophic loss. Many merchants will state that wine in their care is fully insured, but in reality this is on an individual case basis with insufficient cover for total loss as this is prohibitively expensive. The cover provided by Octavian and Justerini & Brooks is unmatched.

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is audited by PwC every year.

Critic Reviews

89/100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Carmenere, the medium garnet-purple colored 2018 Fonbel opens with pepper and spice box scents, before delivering a core of baked plums, mulberries and fresh blackberries, plus hints of dried Provence herbs and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is delicately styled, with a lively line of freshness and chewy tannins to support the fresh red and black fruit flavors, finishing with an herbal lift.

drinking window 2022 - 2032

date of review 03/2021

88/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 2018 Château de Fonbel offers predominantly red berry fruit mixed with rose petals and, later, a touch of black currant leaf. Pretty and expressive. The palate is well balanced with sappy black fruit, gentle grip and a bit of chewiness toward the finish; a touch of tobacco lingers on the aftertaste. Give this 18–24 months in bottle just to smooth off its edges.

drinking window 2023 - 2030

date of review 03/2021

product details

Specifications

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abv:

13.5%

allergen information

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.