1978 Château Fontesteau

Château Fontesteau was built in the 13th century and named for the seven springs, or “fonts” in old French, that fed the local brook. Today the estate includes 250 acres and its recent vintages have received scores in the low 90s from reviewers. Oenologists at the estate are Eric Boissenot and Marco Balsimelli, who describes the 2015 cuvée like this: “This wine has a deep color with garnet tints. On the nose it offers red fruit aromas, licorice and toasty notes. In the mouth, the entry displays volume and structure. The palate is fleshy and dense, full of finesse. The supple, precise finish boasts tasty tannins that bring length and elegance. “

Bordeaux is the world’s most famous fine-wine producing region. Even non-wine drinkers recognize the names of Bordeaux’s celebrated wines, such as Margaux and Lafite-Rothschild. Located near the Atlantic coast in southwest France, the region takes its name from the seaport city of Bordeaux, a wine trading center with an outstanding site on the Garonne River and easy access to the Atlantic. Like most French wine regions, Bordeaux’s first vineyards were planted by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago, then tended by medieval monks. Aristocrats and nobility later owned the region’s best estates and today estates are owned by everyone from non-French business conglomerates to families who have been proprietors for generations. Bordeaux has nearly 280,000 acres of vineyards, 57 appellations and 10,000 wine-producing châteaux. Bordeaux is bifurcated by the Gironde Estuary into so-called “right bank” and “left bank” appellations. Bordeaux’s red wines are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. It also makes white wines of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. There are several classification systems in Bordeaux. All are attempts to rank the estates based on the historic quality of the wines.