A man and a woman wearing aprons in a kitchen, with the man holding up a cookie.

Cultivated Passions

Great wine requires exceptional vines and extraordinary people. The emotional resonance in every glass of Château Fonplégade, Château L’Enclos, and ADAMVS comes from the warmth and commitment of our close-knit, women-led team. When our Allocation List members arrive for private tastings, we welcome them as family.

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Fruit pie baked in a black cast iron skillet.
A woman placing a bowl of salad onto a large wooden charcuterie board filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and fruit.
A wooden harvest basket filled with various colorful peppers, an eggplant, and a sprig of rosemary, resting in a garden.
Two women wearing aprons smiling while holding and sampling food in a kitchen.
A woman smiles as she holds a plate of appetizers for a person at a table set with wine glasses.
Four people in aprons stand in a kitchen, holding and tasting small pieces of food while talking.
A charcuterie board featuring bowls of dips, spreads, cured meats, sliced vegetables, cheese, olives, fresh figs, strawberries, and large crackers.
A smiling woman in a maroon dress tosses a salad with wooden serving tongs at an outdoor table.
A woman in a white shirt and sunglasses stands in a garden with a basket of harvested herbs.
We do not aspire to be the most visible.
We aspire to be among the most respected.
Denise Adams, Proprietor

Winegrowing

for Centuries

Vines have grown on these slopes below the Saint-Émilion plateau since antiquity, through empires, wars, and centuries of transformation. Soldiers, merchants, monks, and pilgrims were followed by a succession of owners who kept its story unbroken through fire and countless other challenges, until, in 2004, the Adams family took up that legacy, reviving the vines, restoring the château, and making a home here.

An old stone boundary marker with the inscription “CONPÉCADE” in front of a vineyard.

From Ancient Roads to Sacred Ground

As far back as 27 B.C., Roman occupiers laid limestone paths across Bordeaux, some still visible on our property today. Over centuries, this ground became sacred. By the Middle Ages, as the town of Saint-Émilion took shape, pilgrims bound for Santiago de Compostela paused along the Camino Francés at our stone “fountain of plenty,” or Fonplégade, to drink from its pure, cold waters.

A black and white ink drawing of a two-story house with a balcony and a central staircase, surrounded by trees and a garden.

Two Bordeaux Châteaux

By the time Château Fonplégade was built in 1852, the vines were centuries old. The estate was later acquired by the Duke of Morny, then the Moueix family. In 1898, the manor house (pictured here) was built at Château L’Enclos. The cellar would go on to prosper, guided by the maître de chai of Château Cheval Blanc.

An older man and a woman sit in a Polaris utility vehicle parked in front of a stone building with arched windows.

A Return to Former Glory

Denise Adams and her late husband, Stephen, married in the Dordogne and honeymooned in Saint-Émilion, sparking a love for Bordeaux’s Right Bank. In 2004, the couple acquired Château Fonplégade and Denise began the work of renewing the estate. In addition to restoring the vineyard and cellars, she directed the rebuilding of the château’s historic East Tower, lost to fire during the Second World War.

A woman sits at a wooden desk writing in a notebook.

Today

Denise Adams opened our château doors to guests and developed an international distribution strategy, sharing our wines with enthusiasts all over the globe. In 2007 and 2008, she and Stephen added Château L’Enclos and ADAMVS, in California, to the family of wineries. Denise has worked ever since with the conviction that living soils make for thriving vines, and the purest expression of terroir.

An Artist’s Work

Trained as an artist, Denise Adams has made winegrowing her life’s work, bringing a creative eye and deep sense of purpose to everything she does, from our architecture and gardens to our label designs. She has always valued family ownership and sustainable Biodynamic farming, a stewardship ethos she now shares with her grandson, Connor, as he develops his own passion for growing and making fine wine.

Hakima Dib and Denise Adams walk side by side through a vineyard while a golden retriever runs ahead along a grassy path between grapevines.

A Woman-Led Vision

ADAMVS, Château Fonplégade, and Château L’Enclos are proudly women-run, shaped by Denise Adams’ vision and the women who lead each estate. That perspective is woven naturally into who we are, from the way we welcome guests to the care and intention behind every detail.

An Invitation

Allocations & Experiences

We invite you to join the Château Fonplégade & Château L’Enclos Allocation List for access to our limited-production wines and our Saint-Émilion estate. Those on our list are the first to receive new releases, special invitations, and opportunities to experience our sister estate, ADAMVS, on Napa Valley’s Howell Mountain.

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