Château de Fonbel

Château de Fonbel, St Emilion Grand Cru, 2022

Name: Château de Fonbel, St Emilion Grand Cru
Brand: Château de Fonbel
Price: 130.33 GBP

91/100

Inside Bordeaux

89-91/100

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

91/100

The Wine Independent

90/100

Vinous

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2022
75cl
DP
£21.72
2022
75cl
DP
£21.72
2022
6x75cl
DP
£130.33
2022
6x75cl
DP
£130.33

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

This 16 hectare estate on the St Emilion plain has a sandy, gravelly terroir, but despite the humble situation, Fonbel produces some sensational wines - hardly surprising given that this estate is managed by the father and daughter team of Alain and Pauline Vauthier. Produced from 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Carmenère, the 2022 offers an attractive bouquet of wild berries and fragrant dark fruits. The palate is packed with vivid, bright blackcurrant, hedgerow fruits and a hint of liquorice. Nicely judged tannins. Fresh and breezy. Very good.

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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

91/100

Chris Kissack,

The Wine Independent

This is a blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Carmenère, from vines low down on the St Emilion plain. The élevage was in vats and 30% used oak barrels. Toasted redcurrants and a little vanilla ice on the nose, with a touch of rosehip and leather, but it is the fresh toasty fruit which rules. Like its stablemate Simard this charms with a silky presence, supple and easy-going, with a light ribbon of tannins wrapped around it, showing just a touch of sappy bite at the finish. This will be drinking within a few years of release. The alcohol is said to be about 14%.

drinking window 2027 - 2047

date of review 06/2025

91/100

Jane Anson,

Inside Bordeaux

There is so much St Emilion to love here, morello cherry, incense, white pepper, gunsmoke and crayon, no need to wait. Philippe Baillarguet winemaker. 30% new oak. One point upscore from En Primeur, last year of organic conversion.

drinking window 2026 - 2036

date of review 03/2025

90/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 2022 Château de Fonbel has that sorbet-like freshness and vitality than I remarked upon from barrel, featuring light blueberry and cassis scents and a touch of violet coming through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a smooth texture, graphite-tinged black fruit tones and a hint of dark chocolate. This is quite opulent on the finish but not overpowering or blowsy. Give this two or three years in bottle and it will become a quite delicious Saint-Émilion.

drinking window 2027 - 2042

date of review 02/2025

89-91/100

William Kelley,

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Exhibiting aromas of plums, raspberries and cherries along with an attractive top note of violets, the 2022 Fonbel is medium to full-bodied, fleshy and taut, with youthfully chewy tannins and a long, penetrating finish.

date of review 04/2023

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abv:

14%

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.