After the birth of the New French Clarets in 1708, on the initiative of the Pontac family at Haut-Brion, European aristocracy was taken with a fancy for wines. In an undeniably “drinks fad” context, with coffee, cocoa, Champagne, and Port, Bordeaux wines were in great demand.
The Bordeaux nobility and bourgeoisie undertook extensive vine-growing on gravel soils, called the “planting frenzy” at the time.
The Château Fonbadet vineyard, exclusively planted on gravel soil, had already existed since the previous century.
