Fronsac’s frighteningly good wine

Its troubled history and mysterious location make Bordeaux’s Fronsac an intriguing proposition

Château de La Rivière in Fronsac, one of the highest appellations in the Bordeaux region Pic: Getty

I was uneasy as my taxi approached the brooding castle, high in the dark forest. The driver left me several hundred yards from the castle down a meandering drive. I could see lights on the high turreted walls, but I remained in near darkness.

As a hard-working coward with an over active imagination, I felt I could hear something in the woods that surrounded me. I jogged to the castle entrance. There was ...