Chateau Fombrauge St. Emilion Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Fombrauge St. Emilion with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn all the best vintages, the history of the property, and information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Fombrauge History, Overview

Chateau Fombrauge is the largest vineyard in St. Emilion. It is also one of the oldest estates in St Emilion as it dates back to 1679. Although vines were cultivated on the site as far know as 1599.

The charming, regal chateau is one of the nicest chateaus in the Right Bank. In fact, it would be at home next to any chateau in the Medoc! Chateau Fombrauge takes its name from one of the earlier owners, Dumas de Fombrauge, who was also a member of the French government in the 1700s.

However, the modern age for Chateau Fombrauge really starts in 1999, when Bernard Magrez purchased Fombrauge from the Hans Just company. One of the first moves made by Bernard Magrez was to hire the ubiquitous Michel Rolland as their consultant.

Chateau Fombrauge is one of the numerous estates owned by Bernard Magrez who also has properties in the Left Bank, Sauternes, and of course in Pessac Leognan with Chateau Pape Clement.

Chateau Fombrauge Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The massive, 60 hectare Right Bank vineyard of Chateau Fombrauge is planted to 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is the largest Classified Growth in Saint Emilion and the second biggest vineyard in the entire Saint Emilion appellation.

This new planting represents a change in the vines, as today, the amount of Merlot has increased and all the Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the Malbec vines, have been removed.

The vines average 30 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 6,600 vines per hectare. The terroir is clay, limestone, and sandstone soils. But as you might expect, it’s more complicated than that.

The vineyards are basically located in 3 sections, with parcels close to the chateau on the slopes and flats, and they have also had vines that placed not too far from Chateau Pavie, on the limestone slopes with southern exposures. Chateau Fombrauge enjoys one of the highest elevations in the commune reaching up to 75 meters at its peak.

To produce the wine of Chateau Fombrauge, following a 4 to 8-day cold soak at 10 degrees Celsius, the berries are moved to large, oak tanks for fermentation.

For the vinification of Chateau Fombrauge, the estate utilizes 40 vats that are a mixture of wood, cement, and stainless steel that range in size from 80 hectoliters to 20 hectoliters. The vats are divided as follows, 21 wood vats, 18 stainless steel tanks, and 8 cement vats.

The grapes are whole better fermented. Malolactic fermentation is usually equally split between cement or steel vats and French oak barrels. The wine of Chateau Fombrauge is then aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for an average of 16 to 18 months before bottling. The actual length in the barrel of time can vary, depending on the character of the vintage.

Previously, Chateau Fombrauge produced a white Bordeaux wine, but that is no longer the case. The wine is now called Chateau Magrez Fombrauge Blanc and is associated with the other Saint Emilion of Bernard Magrez, Chateau Magrez-Fombrauge. This change took place starting with the 2011 vintage.

For the production of their white Bordeaux wine when it was produced as Fombrauge Blanc, the wine was typically a blend of 40% Semillon, 30% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sauvignon Gris. The wine is produced from grapes planted in their slightly cooler, mostly limestone soils.

Close to 14,000 cases of wine are produced at Fombrauge in most vintages. There is a second wine, Prelude de Fombrauge. The second wine was previously sold under the name of Le Cadran de Fombrauge.

Chateau Fombrauge is made in a modern, forward, ripe, lush, open, style. Due to its fairly large production, the wine is still sold to consumers for a fair price.

Starting with the 2010 vintage, Chateau Fombrauge began taking anti-counterfeiting measures for their wines using the Intaglio method of bottle etching coupled with Spottag, which adds an invisible ink mark to the labels.

When to Drink Chateau Fombrauge, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Fombrauge is better with at least 4-6 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage. Chateau Fombrauge is best enjoyed in the first 5-20 years of life.

Young vintages can be decanted for about 1 hour or so. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Serving Chateau Fombrauge with Wine and Food Pairings

Chateau Fombrauge is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Chateau Fombrauge is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.

Chateau Fombrauge is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

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