Château Fonplégade is a beautiful vineyard located on the limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion, home to some of the finest vineyards in the region. The name of the vineyard translates to “fountain of plenty,” which comes from a 13th-century stone fountain that stands in the vineyard, providing water to passing pilgrims for centuries. This water still provides sustenance to the vines in dry vintages. The vineyard has been thriving in this exceptional location since the late 1500s.
The estate was purchased by the legendary wine merchant Jean-Pierre Beylot in 1852. He built an elegant château that still stands on the property. In 2004, Denise and Stephen Adams acquired Château Fonplégade and spent 17 years revitalizing the vineyards, renovating the cellar, and lovingly restoring the château. The couple, who share a deep affinity for the art and culture of France, had honeymooned in Saint-Emilion and were enchanted by the terroir, history, and grandeur of the estate. They have collaborated on all big-picture and business decisions with an eye toward underscoring the distinctive purity of Château Fonplégade’s terroir.
Denise Adams is a hands-on proprietor who has taken charge of daily operations at Château Fonplégade. She is a lifelong organic gardener and consumer, and she feels that her greatest contribution to the estate has been spearheading its conversion to certified organic and biodynamic farming practices, which not only benefit the land but also play an essential role in elevating the quality of the wines. She is active in all areas of operations and led the development of Château Fonplégade’s pioneering hospitality program. Denise is also intimately involved in all decisions that shape the quality of the wines. Stephen Adams has dedicated himself to achieving the highest standards of excellence for Château Fonplégade.
Château Fonplégade represents the purest and most typical expression of the terroir. The vineyard is divided into 27 parcels on 45.5 acres, hand-farmed using organic and biodynamic practices to bring out the finest quality in each cluster. The wine is characterized by a sophisticated minerality, consistent from year to year, with soft and supple tannins and a velvety texture. It is made from the estate’s oldest vines, predominantly Merlot, with just enough Cabernet Franc to imbue the wine with an elegant tannic structure. The wine is aged for 16-20 months in a combination of new and 1-year-old French oak barrels, egg-shaped concrete vessels, and amphoras.
The grapes are handled in the gentlest way possible, fermenting the wines using native yeasts and separating the vineyard’s individual blocks into numerous small lots to preserve their distinctive character. A combination of ancient and contemporary methods helps the winemaking team to realize their collective vision of honoring the exceptional terroir of Château Fonplégade and allowing the vineyard to fully express itself in the glass. The team includes world-renowned consulting winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt.
In conclusion, Château Fonplégade is an exceptional vineyard that has been thriving since the late 1500s. The estate has a rich history and has been lovingly restored and revitalized by Denise and Stephen Adams. The wine produced by the estate represents the purest expression of the terroir, with a sophisticated minerality, soft and supple tannins, and a velvety texture. The vineyard is hand-farmed using organic and biodynamic practices, and the grapes are handled with great care to preserve their distinctive character
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Paul Nash
a week agoFonplegade was one of the first Bordeaux wineries we were introduced to. They make some really nice Right Bank wines. We took the time visit there some years ago and had a wonderful experience. With that said, it pains me to write this review, but it needs to be said: these folks are attempting felony larceny on a ridiculous scale. It's everything that is wrong with Bordeaux today. Here's the problem: they treat their customers really poorly. For several years now I have been on their mailing list to get "allocations" (due simply to visiting). Allocations of what, you might ask? The exact same wine we can all buy at Total Wine or any other retailer. Here's the catch: they charge insanely high markups for their wines when sold direct. Not like full retail, but like almost restaurant markup prices. As I write this, I have just been given the "opportunity" to buy up to two cases and 1 magnum. They won't even sell you a partial case, you can only buy 12 at a time (why? Greed.). They want EIGHTY TWO DOLLARS A BOTTLE. Folks, this is a $40-45 bottle of wine and it has been such for a decade or more. The most extreme sites online have it for $50-60, but that's too high really. It's great at that $45 price range. It's not great at nearly double that; there are many other second growth choices at that price range. They're apparently so embarrassed by this shameful attempted larceny (as they should be) that they won't even show you the price on their allocation page until you put it in your cart and do the math yourself. Clearly they're hoping you don't notice the ridiculous price, and I'm sure many trusting customers won't. Before you get the idea this is some sort of tariffs problem, rest assured that they have been overpricing their direct wine sales for years. I'm so disappointed by these manipulative pricing tactics. I've given them this feedback before and they ignored me. They'll probably ignore this as well. When you do visit the winery, they tell you this lovely story about American grocery store magnates turned wine lovers and how much all the guests love them and their big parties. It's lovely, and you kind of want to be a part of it. I wish it was true, but in light of their sales tactics I can reach no conclusion except that they are catering to people of a certain age with too much money and too little sense of what value is, and they are optimizing to extract too much profit from these unsuspecting customers who don't understand what wine is worth. It's really a shame to see that in the end they are apparently grocery store robber barons using the same tactics to overcharge customers for wines as they'd use for batteries at the checkout line. I'll perhaps buy a few bottles when I can find a good value, but only if I can get past that feeling of wanting to throw up a little bit when I remember how they have attempted to steal from me and others with egregious and disreputable sales practices. YMMV. There are only two ethical choices here - if they think the wine is really worth what they charge directly, then they should put it in the distribution market at that price and see what happens. Alternately, they should charge loyal customers on the list a value that approximates a fair retail price, OR possibly give a discount for a case qty instead of a markup (gasp). Maybe free shipping from CA for case quantities. And knock it off with the minimum 12 bottle quantity - that's not normal even for St. Emilion (six bottles is much more normal).
Dave Bowden
9 months agoMy favourite vineyard and winery in st emilion. Was priveliged to be hosted so warmly by Marie. Of all the wineries I have visited in france this was by far the most special. Real Premier Cru wines at Grand cru prices. 10/10
Nancy Faulk
6 years agoBeautiful, but published times for being open don't mean "Open" as in you can come visit, or that an open gate means you can come in. Their website fails to make clear that reservations are required.
Marcus Ginyard
3 years agoMy girlfriend and I had the pleasure of visiting Chateau Fonplegade this spring and it will be a memory that we hold dear for years and years to come! We were welcomed very warmly by the staff, especially our host Hakima. The setting was intimate and we felt like we were family. I'm looking forward to coming back and making this a regular stop during our frequent trips to the Bordeaux region.
Scott L.T. Kennedy
7 years agoI would give this 6 stars out of 5. A very intimate tasting experience with excellent explanation of the terroir, biodynamic wine making process, history and architecture. Definitely our best tasting experience in Bordeaux. Marion was fantastic. Cannot recommend this highly enough.