Chateau Magondeau
Fronsac Beau Site 2018

This Fronsac (on the right bank of the Gironde estuary in Bordeaux) is unusual in that it is made with 100% Merlot — most contain some Cabernet, usually Franc but sometimes Sauvignon). These grapes are sourced from 40 year old vines grown on the estate’s warmest site, which helps to produce a wine with both complexity and approachability. It is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, one third of which are renewed every year.

The nose is intense with lush, ripe black fruit. There is blackberry, plums, wild strawberry with floral notes of cornflower and violet as well as cake spices, chocolate, pencil lead and toasted almond. The palate replays the ripe black fruit and shows evident minerality, yet with fresh acidity that provides fine tension. Plenty of tannins, but they are so ripe and silky that they are almost imperceptible. Very good length. Enjoy now with duck, poultry or steak, or cellar for 10 to 12 years.