By Chateau Fonbadet
2017 Pauillac

Vineyard Notes
20 hectares in three separate areas: four hectares around the property next to Chateau Latour and Chateau Pichon Comtesse, three in Pauillac's village, and 13 hectares in the north of the appellation surrounded by Chateau Mouton Rothschild's vines.

Vineyard Details
Soil: Deep Garonne gravel, a gravely rise whose profile has been thoroughly analyzed
Average Vine Age: 60 years
Yields: 37 hl/ha
Harvest: Plot selection, manual picking with sorting tables in the vat room
Owner: Pascale Peyronie (Domaines Peyronie)
Oenologists: Michel Rolland, Julien Viaud

Winemaking Details
Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot
Vinification: Concrete thermoregulated tanks
Aging: 100% in barrel (40% new French oak) for 16 to 18 months

Tasting Notes
Beautiful, glittering, deep purple color. Expressive nose with notes of blackcurrant and blackberry, underscored by more floral and mineral notes. Smooth, elegant, creamy texture on the palate; well-balanced with a pleasant acidity, giving the wine excellent length.
[Information provided by DHI Selections]

Wine: Chateau Fonbadet 2017 Cru Bourgeois (Pauillac)
Score/Rating: 93
Review Date: 05/01/2020
Reviewed By: Roger Voss
Tasting Notes: The Peyronie family guards the independence of this 50-acre vineyard among the classed growth estates. The wine it produces comes from a Pauillac blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot. It is a ripe wine, balanced and with some good aging ahead of it. Drink the wine from 2023.

Wine: 2017 Fonbadet
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032
Review Date: 12/2019
Reviewed By: Antonio Galloni
Tasting Notes: The 2017 Fonbadet is plush, sumptuous and super-expressive, with no hard edges and plenty of immediacy. Blue and purplish fruit, menthol, licorice, lavender, spice and leather are all front and center. Readers will find a creamy, textured Pauillac built on fruit presence and juiciness. Best of all, the 2017 can be enjoyed without much fuss pretty much upon release. I loved it. Tasted two times.

Wine: Chateau Fonbadet Pauillac 2017
Score/Rating: 92
Review Date: 12/16/2019
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: Attractive aromas of fresh and dried dark berries with a cigar-tobacco edge, too. There’s a rich and powerful feel to this Cabernet-dominant [...] blend, yet the tannins show finesse and polish. Drink or hold.

Wine: 2017 Fonbadet
Score/Rating: 91+
Suggested Drinking Window: 2020 - 2032
Review Date: 03/16/2020
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: The 2017 Fonbadet is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, aged [...] in French oak, 40% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with expressive Flack Forest cake, blueberry coulis and redcurrant jelly scents backed up by suggestions of rosehip tea, forest floor, potpourri and mossy tree bark. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant, juicy and refreshing, with bags of nuanced black and red berry flavors and a perfumed finish. Yum!

Wine: 2017 Chateau Fonbadet
Score/Rating: 91
Suggested Drinking Window: 2020 - 2035
Review Date: 02/26/2020
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Notes: Made by the same team as Chateau Pauillac, the 2017 Chateau Fonbadet offers classy notes of blackcurrants, leafy herbs/tobacco, damp earth, and underbrush. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, brought up 40% new French oak, it's a medium-bodied, elegant wine with lively acidity, present, ripe tannins, and solid overall balance. Drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years. Tasted twice.

Wine: 2017 Chateau Fonbadet (Pauillac)
Score/Rating: 91
Review Date: 04/26/2018
Reviewed By: Jeff Leve
Tasting Notes: Cedar, tobacco and crisp, bright, fresh red fruits lead off the nose. Medium bodied, soft textured, forward and easy drinking, this wine has charisma and early drinkability.

Wine: Chateau Fonbadet Pauillac 2017
Score/Rating: 88
Review Date: 10/15/2020
Reviewed By: James Molesworth
Tasting Notes: Solid and direct, with an iron note buried in the core of cassis and bitter cherry flavors. Subtle floral and sanguine accents chime through the fruit on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. [...]

Wine: Chateau Fonbadet, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, 2017
Score/Rating: 86
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035
Review Date: 04/08/2018
Reviewed By: Jane Anson
Tasting Notes: This has weight and texture to the cassis fruit, but it stops a bit short. There's an austerity that struggles to set its fruit free, although there is spice and focus. [...]