20 Years of The FMC 2019
“Way back in 1999, working with Martin Meinert, we conceptualized a wine with texture and personality, something unique even slightly off the wall! Our soils are sandstone, so we were looking to focus on a structure showing minerality, complexity, as well as concentration and balance. That was 20 vintages ago, and now is the time to reflect!” – Ken Forrester
The FMC is primarily from a vineyard planted in 1974 and a second vineyard planted in 1970 with no trellis system, here goblet or “bush vines” produce very limited yields and by passing through the vineyard to make 5 selections of fruit across a 4/5 week window we truly capture the essence of this fantastic site. The wine is all fermented with native yeasts (since 2000), spontaneously in large 400 litre French oak barrels and aged for 12/14 months before careful selection of the best barrels and assemblage.
Richly textured with layers of dried apricot, vanilla, honey and almond, it is to be enjoyed with special friends as an exciting aperitif or with spiced dishes, even mild seafood/shellfish or curries. The ageing potential of these wines is legendary. We challenge you to try to keep it for 20 years!
To celebrate The FMC, we are inviting lovers of Chenin Blanc, and supporters of this iconic wine’s journey to a very rare and special evening hosted by Ken and his team in our tasting lounge followed by a beautifully paired dinner.
A RETROSPECTIVE TASTING OF THE FMC IN SUCCESSIVE PAIRED VINTAGES
Date: Thursday, 25th March
Time:18.00 – 21.00
Venue: The Tasting Lounge at Ken Forrester
Cost: R795 per person (includes a vertical tasting of 8 FMC vintages presented by Ken and a 3 course paired dinner)
Only 14 seats available to accommodate for social distancing.
To book for this incredible tasting please email us on adri@kenforresterwines.com or call Adri on 021 855 0200.
As a first ever Ken Forrester wine experience, this event will also be live streamed via our website and Youtube. Book Now 
THE FMC VERTICAL VINTAGE PACKTo celebrate the 20th vintage of The FMC, a super limited amount of curated vintage packs will be released in our tasting room at R8000.00 each. The vintages in this special pack have been chosen specially by Ken as his favourite FMC vintages from the past 20 years.
Each vintage pack contains: 1 bottle of the 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019 vintage (8 bottles). The 2009 alone sold for over R5000 per bottle at the Strauss & Co auction held on 01 June 2020.
These are the same vintages that Ken will taste at our live streamed event on 25th March.
To secure your vintage pack, email adri@kenforresterwines.com.
Secure Your Case Now
THE FMC 2019
Describing The FMC Chenin Blanc from Ken Forrester Wines in Stellenbosch as “distinctive” is a triumph of an understatement. It all began when 100 six-bottle cases of the maiden vintage 2000 (labeled as Meinert Scholtzenhof Grande Chenin) were sold on what was then the 2001 Cape Independent Winemakers Guild fetching an average price of R165 a bottle (then far ahead of the market) and those behind it have subsequently never shied away from making the grandest, most striking wine possible, at least some botrytis-infected typically part of the mix and the resulting wine always off-dry.
As Ken Forrester says, wine is a “complex matrix” and should not be judged in terms of its technical analysis alone – the 2006 vintage, with an alcohol of 14.5%, a residual sugar of 9.7g/l, a total acidity of 6.3g/l, and a pH of 3.5, is still going strong, for instance.
The 2019 has just hit the market (R595 a bottle) and it’s very much in the house-style. Grapes primarily from a 1974 vineyard but supplemented by a 1970 vineyard, the wine was fermented and matured for 12 months in new 400-litre barrels. The nose shows a top note of honeysuckle before peach, nectarine, bees’ wax, vanilla and spice on the nose. The palate is sweet, rich and round but balanced by bright acidity. It is, in time-honored fashion, a wine with plenty of presence. 91 points.
Analysis, for the geeks, as follows: Alc 13%, RS 8.9g/l, TA 6.5g/l and pH 3.3
– Christian Eedes, 03 March 2021 via www.winemag.co.zaBuy The FMC 2019
