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96
JAMES SUCKLING: "A beautiful and precise wine with currant, mineral and raspberry character. Medium-bodied and creamy, with lovely acidity and tight tannins at the end. A blend of 80% merlot and 20% cabernet sauvignon."
93-
95
LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple colored. Charges out with bold notes of fresh blackberries and kirsch, giving way to hints of sassafras, black pepper, and wild sage with a waft of violets. The medium-bodied palate is bright with compelling freshness and velvety tannins, finishing on a fragrant earth note. Nice!"
93
ANSON: "A soft sweep of grilled vanilla bean oak, clearly with the aim of balancing out the austerity on this limestone-heavy site, I am totally confident that will soften over ageing, but right now it is pretty high in acidity. Still, there are fragrant rose petals, orange peel, black tea, cherry pit and gunsmoke, Harvest 24 September to 5 October. 40% new oak. 20% amphora. Owner Stephen Adams died in March 2024, making this his last vintage, with his wife Denise continuing to run their estates."
92-
94
JEB DUNNUCK: "Beautiful black raspberries, cassis, violets, and flowers emerge from the 2024 Château Fonplegade, which incorporates 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Very perfumed and complex on the palate, it's medium-bodied, round, and supple, with great mid-palate depth, ripe, polished tannins, and outstanding length. The wine was aged in 40% new oak, with the balance split between once-used barrels, concrete eggs, and amphora."
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93
THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Flowers, black raspberries, tangerine, licorice, and cherries create the perfume. On the palate, the wine is elegant, fresh, vibrant, and refined, with a salty-edge to the red fruits, and freshness in the medium-bodied, vibrant finish. The wine blends 80% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% ABV. Drink from 2028-2042."
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91
THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2024 Fonplégade shows considerable promise in a challenging vintage, opening with a graceful bouquet of flowers, violet, iris, cassis and mulberries. Medium to full-bodied, lively and tensile, it offers a juicy core of fruit framed by elegant, chalky tannins, concluding with a long, ethereal finish. This is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc."
