“Fons Brogiera: a spring surrounded by heather”. This was the first mention of the name Fombrauge which, for 6 centuries now, has epitomised the elegance of the Grand Cru Classé wines of Saint Emilion. From the Canolle family in the 15th century to Bernard Magrez today, six families have succeeded each other in owning and running Château Fombrauge, providing the estate, which harvested its first grapes in 1599, with a rare stability and a pioneering spirit beyond compare.
To ensure the full expression of the estate’s rich terroir, Bernard Magrez, the owner since 1999, today combines ancestral savoir-faire with precision viticulture. The result is a sublime wine, the epitome of a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé.
The flagship of the estate, this wine is simply the expression of the best terroir that Fontesteau can offer.
No vintage is ever the same as another. The magic of blending confers a unique style to each: the Cabernet Sauvignon is always the dominant variety in the Château Fontesteau blend, a deep and elegant wine. Château Fontesteau wines are at their best after 5 to 10 years in the cellar yet never disappoint those patient enough to wait 20 years or even more.
“A deeply coloured, plump, fruity vintage with a lovely supple, elegant finish.” – Dominique Fouin
The SCEA des Vignobles Marcel Petit was created in 1986 by Mr. Marcel Petit with the acquisition of Château Pillebois from the Castillon Côtes-de-Bordeaux appellation.
In 1988, the vineyard grew with Châteaux Franc Lartigue and Grande Rouchonne, located in the Saint-Emilion appellation. It was that same year that the Vignobles Marcel Petit joined the Vignerons Indépendants de France.
In 1997, Mr. Marcel Petit retired, thus entrusting the vineyards to his daughter Elisabeth and his son-in-law Jean-Pierre Toxé.
The vineyard then reached 22 hectares of vines, divided between Saint-Emilion and Castillon.
On a map dating from 1811 there are five castles, not far from each other, all bearing the name of Corbin.
Today, the Grand Corbin vineyard extends in one piece over 37 ha of which 28.5 ha are Grand Crus Classés of Saint Emilion.
Thanks to the expertise and know-how of an experienced team, the latest vintages confirm the progress made both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Wines with silky and suave tannins, with a nose marked by truffles, a discreet woodiness and a few touches of mocha. Freshness, elegance, shine are the other characteristics. The blue clays give these wines structure, density and ensure real aging potential.
For more info, visit Château Grand Corbin website.
The Château Haut-Veyrac property, owned by the Castaing family, is located on one of the hills overlooking the village of Saint-Émilion in Saint-Étienne de Lisse. The vineyard now extends over an exceptional terroir of 9 hectares in one piece. The clay-limestone soil makes it possible to cultivate the Merlot Noir and Cabernet Franc grape varieties in the best conditions.
After the 2000 vintage, Juliette Bécot and her father Gérard Bécot wanted to join forces to acquire a new family property. A new challenge for Gérard, and for his daughter Juliette, who is taking her first steps in this magical and exciting profession.
It was while searching in the neighboring Appellations of Saint-Emilion, a property offering great potential due to the quality of its wines and its terroirs, that they discovered Château Joanin in Saint-Philippe-d’Aiguille. With the desire to personalize this vineyard, they wanted to add their family name to it. Thus, they brought this vintage to life, giving it a first and last name: “Joanin Bécot”.
The main desire, through each vintage, is to preserve all the flavors and charm of the fruit, while relying on the notion of terroirs, truly attractive and promising in the “Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux” appellation.
Château Kirwan is an estate located in Cantenac, not far from the city of Bordeaux and the river Garonne, in a terroir where man and nature have been living together harmoniously for hundreds of years.
The Château, built in 1751, was one of the few Medoc properties that Thomas Jefferson, the future third President of the United States, visited on his Bordeaux wine tasting trip in France and mentioned in his diaries written in 1780. Mark Kirwan passed away in 1815 and over the centuries it passed from hand to hand through several owners, until, during the early years of the twentieth century, it was acquired by a family of “negociant”, the Schyler and Schroder, which moved to Bordeaux in 1738 and still in business today.
With 40 hectares divided into 46 parcels that wind within the territory of the AOC Margaux, it is clear and obvious how the keystone of this Château, over the years, has always been the terroir and its strong identity. Its wines have a characteristic soft, gentle attack, followed by a very Margaux lacework of flavours. Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot provide Kirwan’s main wine with a multi-layered structure that is very big, tempered by the roundness of the Merlot and the delicate elegance of the Cabernet Franc.
The 2019 joins the list of sumptuous vintages ending in the number 9. Throughtout the growing season, the vinse enjoyed smooth, calm conditions. A perfect balance between the amount of foliage and the quantity of grapes was observed in this vintage.
Château La Croix Du Casse was for many years owned and administered by Jean-Michel Arcaute, who also owned Chateau Jonqueyres and world famous Château Clinet.
He was one of Bordeaux`s true innovators and propelled Croix du Casse into the front line of Pomerol properties.
Located at the southern tip of the Pomerol plateau , the Château La Croix du Casse vineyard extends over a terroir characteristic of the appellation, made up of ancient gravel and sand with an underlayer containing a significant proportion of iron dross.
Family property, on the north-west slope, 1 km from the village of Saint-Émilion, based on traditional cultivation with absence of weedkillers, limited yields, manual harvesting, traditional aging in oak barrels/foudres and amphoras.
This Saint-Émilion Grand Cru is the fruit of the work of the land and the grapes harvested by women and men in symbiosis with nature.
Château La Petite Duchesse is a family property owned by Jean-Louis Champagne. After inheriting from his father, he continued to enlarge the vineyard and modernized the winery. His son Xavier, recently joined him on the wine estate.
This property also produces the appellations Bordeaux Rouge; Bordeaux Supérieur; Bordeaux Rosé and Bordeaux Blanc.
Château Laffitte Carcasset was founded in 1759 at «Le Carcasset», an area located at the heart of Saint-Estèphe appellation. In 1781
his owner, Jean Laffitte, lawyer and prosecutor of the King Louis XVI in Bordeaux, gave his name to the estate.
This beautiful chartreuse typical of the 18th century, is surrounded by the Classified Growths of Saint-Estèphe. The vineyard is on the gravellous plateau, near the Gironde estuary where the Cabernet and the Merlot best express their potential.
Château Laffitte Carcasset is a classic Saint-Estèphe red wine. A powerful, deep and well-structured wine, round and elegant, with excellent ageing potential.
For more info, visit Château Laffitte Carcassetwebsite.
VARIETALS
59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc
Château Lalande-Borie was created almost entirely in 1970, through the purchase of a 30 hectare third growth plot in the Saint Julien appellation. The name Lalande-Borie combines the names of the plot on the land register and a great winegrowing family who have been established in the Médoc for more than a century and own several prestigious grands crus: Ducru-Beaucaillou, Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Haut-Batailley.
Lalande-Borie’s wines are vinified and matured with the same techniques, the same care and same spirit as those produced by the Borie family’s other properties. The winery buildings were fully renovated in 1982. The modern vat room and cellar facilities are designed for optimal vinification.
Château Lalande-Borie has acquired a very good reputation in a relatively short space of time and produces fleshy and sappy wines, not overly tannic, where we find the balance and elegance of Saint-Julien wines.
VARIETALS
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc
Château Langoa Barton, 3rd Classified Growth, was the first of the two Bordeaux wine estates bought by Hugh Barton in the 1820s, the other being Léoville-Barton, 2nd Classified Growth.
Both Langoa and Léoville wines are models of typical St Julien restraint and elegance, and for years, Langoa Barton was considered slightly lighter and more forward than Léoville. However, in the last decade it has become noticeably deeper in colour and richer and more concentrated on the palate. Langoa Barton is now often the equal of Léoville.
The plots that compose the Château Langoa Barton terroir overlook the river. The splendid slopes of quaternary gravel bring the grapes to full maturity and then they undergo a rigorous selection process before being chosen for the Langoa Barton. The plowing is traditional, without weeding or herbicide.
For more info, visit Château Langoa Bartonwebsite.
VARIETALS
67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc
This “limited edition” is a unique selection of the 20 best oak casks, corresponding to 6000 bottles of Château Langragnat, corresponding to a limited quantity of bottles of Chteau Franc Couplet.
It is aged in french oak barrels for 12 months, softening the palate and adding delicate spices and coffee notes to the wine.
VARIETALS
70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc
The Château Larcis Ducasse has existed since the 17th century. Preservation, terroir expression and vine care are the watchwords of this estate, elevated to the rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Émilion in 2012 thanks to the work of Nicolas Thienpont, after he took the reins of the domaine in 2002.
Chateau Larcis Ducasse 2017 reveals a velvety, sensual and fleshy mouthfeel, which envelops the palate in a succession of different sensations.
For more info, visit Château Larcis Ducasse website.
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