Château Fontenil

The estate

Michel and Dany Rolland, both oenologists trained at the University of Bordeaux, bought a few hectares at Saillans in 1986 and named them Château Fontenil, after a plot of the vineyard; 1986 is the first vintage. For 2 people whose trade was the wine of others, this was a vineyard of their own to answer for. Michel Rolland died in March 2026. The vines face south on a slope that looks down on the Isle, a tributary of the Dordogne, and on Libourne, on clay and limestone over the Fronsac molasses. The 9 hectares are all Merlot, worked by plowing or grass cover, with work under the row too, and the crop is held back at every step from pruning to green harvest. By 1999 the cellar had been renovated, with stainless steel and wooden vats and a double sorting table.

The 2018 shows the method: picked by hand, sorted on 2 tables, fermented in small wooden and steel vats and in new barrels, where it also went through its malolactic, then aged 18 months in French oak, 60% new; it made 58,534 bottles. The Rollands were also willing to step outside their appellation. From 2000 they laid plastic sheeting between the rows before harvest; a wine made that way could only be sold as a Vin de France, and they made it their top cuvée, Le Défi de Fontenil. A white, Le Blanc de Fontenil, comes from vines replanted in 2016 with Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle.

At a glance

Appellation

Fronsac

Commune

Saillans

Classification

No classification

Owners

Michel and Dany Rolland, from 1986; Michel Rolland died in March 2026

Vineyard

9 hectares on a south slope above the Isle

Ground

Clay and limestone on the Fronsac molasses

Grapes

Merlot 100%

Cellar

Stainless steel and wooden vats; double sorting table; the 2018: 18 months in French oak, 60% new

Production

The 2018: 58,534 bottles

Wines

Château Fontenil; Le Défi de Fontenil, Vin de France; Le Blanc de Fontenil

Sources: Rolland Collection, Château Fontenil · Rolland Collection, Château Fontenil 2018 · Vins de Fronsac, Château Fontenil