Fronsac Red Wines

Fronsac has long been known as the “Tuscany of Bordeaux” characterized as it is by rolling hills and winding rivers. Sadly its wines have, until recently, not been able to match the quality of neighbouring St Emilion and Pomerol.

Things are changing though… a new generation of winemakers and vineyard owners (like us!) are coming in and bringing with them new ideas and investment in technology. New facilities have sprouted up across the region, vineyards have been re-planted and fresh perspectives on how to use these changes to best advantage have combined to produce some great wines.

Names like Fontenil, Richelieu, Dalem and Puyguilhem are leading the way and best of all for you, dear reader/ wine lover, prices remain substantially below equivalent wines from the more illustrious neighbours. In real terms this means you can get a similar quality wine for €20 a bottle compared to €50 or €60 next door in Pomerol.

Wines from Fronsac bear some of the same traits as those of St Emilion. The slopes are generally steeper and sit on a mix of clay and limestone but Merlot is the dominant grape (in our case 100%) giving soft fruity wines but with a slightly more earthy depth.

Our own Château du Faure Haut Normand sits in the village of Saillans, which is one of the highest in the area. In these times of global warming this is a real positive even if it does increase the risk of late frosts as we saw in 2017. Our 3 hectares are a mix of old vines with an average age of 45 years and brand new ones that we have just planted. Like all the best of the winemakers in Saillans we mix old techniques (hand picking and sorting) with new technology (temperature controlled vats) and classic artisanship (real French oak barrels) to make our wine.