2021 Fonreaud
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Tasting notes
Exotic red fruits, sappy herbs, and cedar notes all emerge from the 2021 Château Fonréaud, a charming, mid-weight, forward drinker to enjoy over the coming couple of years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 2021 Fonréaud has an attractive bouquet with blackberry, briar, cedar and light pencil box aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and acidity. Thankfully, I think this Listrac has subsumed that patina of greenness I found out of barrel, and it renders the finish quite fresh and tensile. Drink it over the next decade.
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Mid crimson. Pretty, light floral notes in among the leafy black fruit. Lifted Cabernet fragrance with just a hint of oak spice. A little leaner than I expected on the palate, very fine-grained tannins, almost chalky, well-managed to fit with the light body. A bit insubstantial on the mid-palate but great refreshment. (JH)
The 2021 Fonréaud is very perfumed on the nose of pure black cherries and blueberry fruit, plus a touch of violet petal; the oak is nicely integrated here. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of blood orange on the entry, good depth and gentle grip on the finish. There is just a touch of greenness on the aftertaste; I wonder if that will be subsumed by the time of bottling.
About the producer
Situated at the highest point in the Médoc (at a huge 43 metres above sea-level), this estate is thought to be named after a spring on the site, from which Henry II supposedly drank (a “royal fountain”).