Chateau du Fort Pontus, Fronsac, France 2010 750ML ($24.95) Buy Now: $18 special
Case-6 Chateau du Fort Pontus, Fronsac, France 2010 750ML ($149.95) Buy Now: $99 special
Tucked away on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, just down the Dordogne from St. Emilion and Pomerol, the Fronsac Appellation quietly produces some of Bordeaux’s best early-drinkers. The lazy river, the wooded hills, the gravelly soil, and the châteaux: Fronsac is definitely Bordeaux. Château du Fort Pontus represents its bordelaise roots, but with a twist. The wine is 100% Merlot. Grown across 15 acres, the vines, 30 years old, are harvested manually, and the wines raised in the traditional style. Add all of this to a vintage like 2010, rated “outstanding” and which produced wonderfully concentrated wines, and you’ve got a wine that’s drinking deliciously today. Red and dark fruits, spice, and a Fronsac raciness combine across smooth, ripe tannins, all in balance, to end in a refreshing finish that clearly speaks with a Bordeaux accent. This is a wine to buy a case of, for when your taste demands fine French Merlot at an under-twenty-bucks price. Recently arrived here at Vinopolis! – Daniel