Another chateau, another Michel Rolland marvel. A Bordeaux red that has its home in St. Emilion, Château Fombrauge’s history is akin to a phoenix.

It is, by far, the largest, if not the oldest vineyard on the right bank (the chateau, which dates from 1679, is also one of the nicest). However, the first recording of vineyards on the terroir was in 1466 (for sacramental wine for the Carthusian monastery), and the first known harvest was in 1599. So suffice to say, that when it comes to superlative wine growing, these soils know what to do.

By 1867 the wine had already made a name for itself by winning a gold medal at the World Fair in Paris. Fast forward to 1987 and the estate was bought and managed by a Danish company who would limit export exclusively to the Scandinavian market. This (borderline sacrilegious to some) era ended in 1999 when Bernard Magrez, owner of grands crus Chateaux Pape Clement, La Tour Carnet, Clos Haut Peyraguey, took the reins and steered the vineyard and its estate to the outstanding wine that it is today.

That is where Michel Rolland came in. A clean sweep saw Rolland advise Magrez and how best to manage his 58.6-hectare terroir. This saw mass renovation in the winery and at the same time, saw a paradoxical return to traditional methods (animal traction and manual harvest, hand sorting on tables before and after de-stemming and gravity flow wooden tubs). Rolland also advised on replanting and today expect a heavily Merlot laden estate, with just 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. Production is stable at 14,000 cases annually and growth is not expected.

Since Magrez’s takeover, wines have steadily been gaining both in price and points. It has yet to score above 94 on aggregate scoring (still a very high score), and as such prices for recent vintages remain well under the benchmark for other Bordeaux wines of this calibre. However, with the estate’s reputation along with its team of superb winemakers, we expect great things very soon.