I certainly need to buy more Fronsac. The wines here offer very good value and in a vintage like 2025 they really do shine. The best terroirs here are on limestone and clay limestone and produce wines of complexity that can age well. More modern methods in the cellar combined with more attention in the vineyards have further transformed Fronsac in the last few decades and today the wines here offer increasing refinement and sophistication. This year I have been especially impressed by the wines of Château de La Dauphine, Château Dalem, Château Villars and Château La Vielle Cure. Château Fontenil, Château Les Trois Croix, Château Moulin Haut Laroque, Château de La Huste and Château de la Riverière also look very good.

The following notes were taken from my blind tasting [pictured] at Château de La Dauphine in Fronsac itself [so the samples didn’t have far to travel]. My general statements on the qualities of the 2025 vintage also apply to Fronsac, just as they did to my preceding blog on the Côtes de Bordeaux. I hope you find these notes useful. They are listed in the order I tasted them blind.

Château de La Dauphine, Fronsac, 2025

Deep and saturated; opaque at centre; tight to rim; [impressive colours] ; really dense; super saturation on the aromatics; mineral; black cherry and black fruits; layered and full; impressive and full; this is ambitious and impressive; saturated aromatics but not heavy; has some leafy and grit and some ripe Cabernet Franc which has a lovely savoury seam; this is very polished and one of the best so far here. Excellent wine. Excellent length, texture and grip. Good freshness. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2029-2045. 92-94+

Château Fontenil, Fronsac, 2025

Deep and saturated; again opaque; fractionally more vibrant at the rim; little more lift and polish; faint VA lift; but plenty of ripe red and black fruits; almost sublimated; has a certain unctuousness; also some spicy notes here; almost exotic; good entry to the palate; creamy fruit; plenty of extract but nicely handled; caressing; glossy; has a deceptive easy quality; feels a bit later picked and earlier maturing but for the more hedonistic drinker. Certainly works. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2028-2040. 90-92+

Château Dalem, Fronsac, 2025

Mid depth; slightly less concentrated colour than Fontenil; redder at edge and looser; a little dumb at first; lacks the saturation of aromatics of some but they have successfully gone for purity; has spices and some red fruits; savoury notes too; actually this rises to the challenge on the palate which has nice weight and harmony; returning to the glass a bit later black cherry and plums emerge; like the purity; this has life; well balanced; mid weight; this works; initially a seemingly more restrained style but still waters run deep as they say and this develops wonderfully in the glass; good freshness and acidity on the palate. This grows on you. Moreish. Look forward to following the development of this wine over the years. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2028-2040. 91-93+

Château Les Trois Croix, Fronsac, 2025

Deep and saturated; opaque at centre; colour close to edge; ambitious looking; deep; intense; smoky; almost meaty note; sweet oak but more of a highlight in the cooking; attractive savoury edge too; this has finesse; plenty of black cherry and plum fruit but there is a minerality here which is marked; quite full and open on the palate; plenty of soft fruit in a saturated and enjoyable style. Consistent. Attractive wine. Perhaps lacks a bit of bite and freshness on the end but very good Fronsac, nevertheless. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2028-2037. 90-91.

Château Moulin Haut-Laroque, Fronsac, 2025

Mid depth; less dense; slight looser at the edge too; blue fruits; black cherry; some zap; some cool blackcurrant aromatics suggest the influence of Cabernet Franc [Cab Franc makes up 20% of the vineyard here and Cab Sauvignon 10%]. this is thoughtful on the palate and opens up well; has complexity and moreishness; black cherry definitely; morello cherry takes over the blackcurrant notes; some spice; fresher and zappy on the palate; I like the life and freshness. This works well. Has some vigour and zap. Bit more interest on the end. Good stuff. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2028-2037. 90-91+.

Château de la Riverière, Fronsac, 2025

Deep and saturated; purple at edge and colour tight to the rim; nice and attractive; polished aromatics; some gloss; black fruits; nicely composed; a little more reticent than some of the others but this opens up in the glass with actually attractive cool black fruit notes that develop; little more grippy on the palate with more sour cherry and dips in the middle with some extraction to the tannins. Lacks middle and the concentration and they seem to have tried to make up for this with a bit too much extraction – better to have gone for a softer, easier style. That said I’d expect this to settle further during élevage. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2028-2038.  88-90

Château La Vieille Cure, Fronsac, 2025

Deep and saturated; opaque wine with colour tight to the rim; purple at edge; sweet attractive black cherry fruit; with life and zap; attractive summer fruit compote notes; I really like this; plenty of lively fruit; creamy quality too; attractive black cherry notes with some charred wood; quite full on the palate; nicely balanced. Well-judged with nice sap and life. Has freshness and zap on the finish. Good stuff! Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2029-2040.  91-93+

Château de La Huste, Fronsac, 2025

Mid depth; looser colour with less intensity; some wet rock; little minerality; spices; attractive if less concentrated than some; some spices and lift; mid weight; some spice, some red fruit notes; lacks the saturation of some; but end palate suggests it should fill out; actually has good length on the end. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2028-2037. 89-91+

Château Villars, Fronsac, 2025

Deep and sat; tight and pent up; needs time to unfurl; very precise seam of blackcurrant and plum fruit; has a coolness to it which is attractive; opens up nicely; lovely pure blackcurrant and plum fruit tones emerge; very classy this; has ambition and drive; lots of intensity on the palate; some wood tannins to resolve but this is ambitious; has nice texture and acidity with good punctuation on the end. Impressive. Length. Tasted Grand Cercle 18/4/26. Drink 2029-2042.  92-94

Château de La Dauphine held the Grand Cercle blind tasting