Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard

Richard Fontaine, a former aeronautical engineer, married into the Gagnard dynasty in Chassagne, and with his wife, Laurence, makes wine from 11 hectares of superbly sited vineyards. Their wines emphasise elegance and purity and see around 30% new oak. The Chassagne rouge is a ripe, gentle, and savoury wine, which must be one of the greatest bargains in the region (if such a thing can be said to exist). It’s always a pleasure to taste with Céline Gagnard, who is progressively taking over the domaine from her father, Richard Fontaine. Céline was expecting lower in yields in 2018 due to the dry and warm weather, but was pleasantly surprised to bring in a crop at a similar level to that in 2017. The 2018s were bottled after 11 months in barrel to retain freshness.