Friday 4 January 2013

Then & Now - Château Fonroque

Since the last attempt to get to taste some mature Bordeaux didn´t work out well, I thought I´ll have another go at it.
Info about the châteaux here and here.

1959 Château Fonroque
Right out of the bottle this old gentleman shows a rather big, warm, upfront nose with notes of red currants, lingonberries, pipe tobacco, undergrowth and clean stables. With air it becomes a bit more murky with notes of resin and sweet beets. But this is holding up well and you can feel the warmth from this great vintage.
The taste is tight, mature and dry with lots of red berries and additional notes of autumn leaves, dry tobacco, warm road dust and a touch of bonfire. Medium long, fresh finish. It is not in the least to dry in the finish, which lots of wine this age tends to be. Soft and fine without heaps of complexity.
86p   (tasted 2012/12)

2009 Château Fonroque
50 years really makes a difference...:-) When poured it has a high octane, warm, outwardly nose but after a few hours in a decanter it is performing great. The nose is all about finesse and concentration with notes of sweet red currants, lingonberries and cherries with some new leather, saw dust (in a positive way), cold coffee and luxury soap thrown in. Also some sweet licorice and a touch of a Cohiba cigarr. This is really fine, but still very, very young.
The taste is young, fresh and concentrated with gorgeous notes of red currants, corinthians, lingonberries, Valrhona chocolate and really expensive leather. A long, pure and intense finish. This is really promising. I need to get some of this for the cellar! And wait 3-5 years, if I can...
92p   (tasted 2012/12)

1959 Château Fonroque

 

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