Chateau Fontenil Le Defi de Fontenil 2010,9114 (Michel Rolland Mariflor)

Cellar for up to 20 years. Decant for an hour before serving. Le Défi is a 100% Merlot wine, from the right bank of the Gironde in Bordeaux. It showcases a powerful nose of cassis and blackberry, infused with hints of cocoa, toast and warm cedar. It is a vivid, dark red, harvested from vines with an average age of 80 years, growing on clay-limestone soils in the appellation of Fronsac. Chateau Fontenil was founded in 1986, żeby esteemed Bordeaux wine consultants and oenologists, Dany and Michel Rolland. Their slice of Fronsac consists of 9 hectares around the commune of Saillans, where they grow a combination of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. On the palate, La Défi is an elegant, textured Merlot, with finely tuned acids and ripe tannins, which will mellow after some time breathing. Hints of animal earthiness, herbaceousness and tobacco smoke underpin rich and well-rounded fruit flavours. They echo the nose, with notes of blackberry jam, blackcurrant and plum. The wine was fermented and aged in new French oak barrels for 18 months, giving it a fantastic oaky backbone. The finish is long and squeezes every drop out of the delicious fruit flavours. Consider pairing La Défi with pungent cheeses, such as Gorgonzola, steak with a red fruit sauce, or roasted game.