Château de Fonbel 2015 is een heerlijke bewaarwijn en een vitale Saint Emilion gemaakt door de bijzonder bekwame Alain en Pauline Vauthier. Dit vader + dochter team bezielt Ausone zoals u misschien al weet. Fonbel biedt klasse aan een bijzonder aangename prijs. Verfijnd, verfrissend en verduiveld lekker. De 2015 werd een super Fonbel: u kan van ons aannemen dat uw goede herinneringen aan 2005 zullen herleven, hoewel dit jongste wijnjaar nu al zachtere rondingen onthult, maar met even heerlijke retronasale impressies.
80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Carménère en 5% Petit Verdot.
IN DE PERS
91 Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate - robertparker.com (Maart 2018)
The 2015 Fonbel has a delightful bouquet with raspberry and blackberry fruit and hints of pencil lead that I did not notice out of barrel. It's quite tight at the moment and will require bottle age to open. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy, caressing opening. There is a mixture of red and black fruit here with graphite and allspice, a finely proportioned Fonbel with quite a sustained finish. Very fine. Anticipated maturity: 2021 - 2032.
90-92 Neal Martin – The Wine Advocate Issue #224 – erobertparker.com (April 2016)
The 2015 Fonbel, which you might regard as the entry-level wine of the Vauthier family, is a blend of 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Carmenère and 5% Petit Verdot matured in stainless steel and French barrels (30% of the crop.) It has a straightforward, lavender-tinged bouquet with a chalky scent that becomes more apparent with aeration. It is a little tight compared to the 2015 Simard at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin and a fine thread of acidity. Smooth with dark cherries, red plum and cassis notes, it exerts a pleasant grip on the finish. The class comes through in the mouth at the moment, but the aromatics will catch up during their élevage. Drink: 2019-2035.
92-93 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Maart 2016)
89-92 Antonio Galloni – Vinous - vinous.com (April 2016)
The 2015 de Fonbel is another intense wine from the Vauthier family. Plum, crème de cassis, menthol, violet and lavender notes are fused together in this super-expressive, unctuous Saint-Émilion. The 2015 is rich, exotic and super-concentrated, yet it has also retained striking freshness. This is yet another 2015 Bordeaux that is pure pleasure. The blend is 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Carménère and 5% Petit Verdot, done mostly in stainless steel, with about 30% oak.
92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate - robertparker.com (Februari 2018)
This property is owned and managed by the Vauthier family of Château Ausone. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Fonbel-composed mainly of Merlot with splashes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère and Petit Verdot-is scented of warm black plums, blackberry preserves, tar and bay leaves with touches of scorched earth and chargrill. Medium to full-bodied with very fine, silky tannins and amazing freshness, the palate offers stacks of red and black fruits, going minerally on the long finish. Drink 2019-2033.
16/20 Jancis Robinson – jancisrobinson.com (April 2016)
Mid crimson. Fresh, relatively simple but very pleasing. Lively and lightish. Drink: 2020-2028.
88 Decanter Magazine – decanter.com (April 2016)
89 Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast winemag.com (Februari 2018)
This wine has tannins but its fruit speaks most clearly. It is crisp, fresh and perfumed with black-currant flavors from the Cabernet Sauvignon. The tannins will give this fruity wine time to age. Drink from 2019.
88-90 Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast (April 2016)
15/20 Bettane & Desseauve (April 2016)
15/20 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.com (April 2016)
91 Tim Atkin – timatkin.com (April 2016)
One of the few wines in Bordeaux to include Carmenère in the blend - although Alain Vauthier is not a huge fan of the grape - this is supple, textured and quite forward in style with sweet plum and raspberry fruit. Drink: 2020-2024. de FonbelDe familie Vauthier van Ausone bezit ook Château de Fonbel dat een charmante en vrij intense Saint Emilion levert tegen een vriendenprijs. De wijngaard omvat 16 hectare op een perceel dat er 19 telt ten Zuiden van Saint Emilion onder Ausone en Moulin Saint Georges nabij Monbousquet. Het terroir bestaat uit zanderige klei, graves en zand die gemiddeld zo’n 25 jaar geleden werd aangeplant met 70% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot en -zowaar- 7% Carmenère. Dit laatste curiosum wordt binnenkort misschien hergrift. VauthierAlle krediet voor de heropstanding van het grandioze terroir van Ausone komt toe aan Alain Vauthier. Er zijn geen externe consulenten op Ausone: de assemblages worden gedaan door Pauline Vauthier en Phillippe Baillarguet, de keldermeester sinds 1996. De familie Vauthier bezit 80 hectare in Saint Emilion. Naast Ausone zitten ook de Fonbel, Haut Simard, Simard, Moulin Saint Georges en La Clotte in hun portefeuille. | 
