This cuvee is made of our 4 cepages, coming from soils dominated by Assignan sanstone, facing north and west.These small plots, surrounded by scrubland, pines, thyme, rosemary and cistus, comprising:

2.50 Ha of 20 year old Grenaches

1.60 Ha of 20 year old Syrahs

1.45 Ha of 45 year old Carignans

1.20 Ha of 40 year old Cinsaults

Each cepage is complete, and brings to the cuvee its own characteristices. One fruitness and freshness, another sweetness, another depth and length, the other distinction and energy. (I will let you guesswhich is which)

Caractéristiques techniques :

• Couleur :rouge vif
• Terroir :grès - marnes - argilo calcaire
• Age des vignes : 40 ans, 30 ans, 18 ans.
• Vendanges :manuelles
• Vinification : egrappage total à la bourguignonne
• Elevage : cuve inox

Accords mets & vin :

This is a Classic cuvée !!! Fulfilling and full of harmony, well-balanced. Matured in casks, Carignan and Syrah bring in a certain distinction

Petits échos du millésime 2008:

In Vino Veritas avril 2010: Sur sol de grès,Les Fontanilles associent maturité de fruit et élégance dans un assemblage de cinsault, grenache, carignan et syrah marqué par sa fraîcheur minérale.

Guide Gault Millau 2011: Une cuvée intermédiaire racée et puissante mais tendre et savoureuse. Pour un plaisir entre le velouté et le ferme, entre le fruit confit et la délicate rose que les épices ravivent. 15.5/20

Jancis Robinson septembre 2010: Les Fontanilles is the freshest, fruitiest and arguably most burgundian, from north facing plots on mainly the flaky grey sediments known as grès.

Guide RVF 2011: Plus complet,le Minervois Les Fontanilles séduit par son volume croquant et ses tanins friands. 15/20

Guide Bettane & Desseauve 2011: Puissant avec des notes de fumé, ce vin se termine par des arômes lardés gourmands. 14.5/20

Guide Parker 2011: 92/100 - The Gros Tollot 2008 Minervois Les Fontanilles projects deep blackberry,blueberry,and mulberry fruit; roasted red meat; pungent herbs; and saliva inducing salinity. A deep suggestion of veal and beef marrow puts me in mind of certain of the best cru Beaujolais,while allusions to shrimp shell reduction further enhance the mouthwatering sense of umami this cuvee projects. Firm, tightly-stitched tannins allied to exuberant,infectious juiciness suggest a wine capable of performing well for the better part of a decade, and an opportunity to play around a bit at table with a bottle of this beauty revealed its versatility. Gros particularly likes the influence of the Cinsault in flavor, texture,and moderation of alcohol and says if she does more planting on sandstone it will be of this variety.

Petits échos du millésime 2009 :

Guide Parker 2011: 90/100 - A shrubby,resinous and pungently herbal overtone suggestive of marjoram and rosemary, along with notes of blond tobacco compliment the scents and flavors of ripe,diverse black fruits in Gros and Tollot's 2009 Fontanilles, which offers a seamlessly ripe, texturally-refined,and luscious intensity all the way through to an invigoratingly pungent,saliva-inducinggly saline finish. This ought to perform well for at least 5/7 years.

Guide RVF 2012: 16/20 Complet, juteux et très ample, les Fontanilles se distingue par son caractère nerveux et sa précision:c'est une très belle bouteille à boire dès maintenant.

In Vino Veritas Juin 2011: Les 2009 nous ont éblouis. Les Fontanilles, 4 cépages sur une terre de grès, offre une matière entre fraîcheur et chaleur solaire, aux tanins fermes.

Gault Millau 2012: 16/20 On retrouve ici une approche plus languedocienne, sur des notes de thym et de venaison. La bouche campe sur des tanins encore serrés mais qui garantissent, de par leur maturité, un avenir certain à ce flacon.

Neal Martin - Wine Advocate: 90/100 This has a very attractive bouquet with blackberry, scorched earth, a touch of fennel and pine. Good definition. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins matched with ripe, peppery black fruits and a gentle but insistent grip towards the finish. Very fine. Tasted January 2011