Classification: Cru Bourgeois
Owner: Le Diascorn family
Address: 33210 Preignac
Telephone: 05 56 76 12 12; Telefax: 05 56 76 28 63
E-mail: lediascornherve@wanadoo.fr
Website: www.chateau-monteils.com
Visits: By appointment only
Contact: Hervé Le Diascorn
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 27.2 acres (in production)
Grape varietals: 75% Semillon, 20% Sauvignon, 5% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 25 years
Density of plantation: 5,500 vines per hectare
Average yields: 21–22 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation in small stainless-steel vats. Eighteen months aging in concrete epoxy-lined vats and in new oak barrels for the best lots. Fining and filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château Monteils: 30,000 bottles
No second wine is produced.
Plateau of maturity: Within 3–8 years of the vintage
Classification: Second Growth in 1855
Owner: Pontac family
Address: 33720 Barsac
Telephone: 05 56 27 09 06; Telefax: 05 56 27 11 75
Visits: By appointment, every day
Contact: Xavier de Pontac
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 54.3 acres
Grape varietals: 86% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon, 4% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 15 years
Density of plantation: 7,000 vines per hectare
Average yields: 15 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation and 20–24 months aging in barrels with 30% new oak. Fining and filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château de Myrat: 25,000 bottles
No second wine is produced.
Plateau of maturity: Within 5–15 years of the vintage
Classification: Cru Bourgeois
Owner: GFA Château Pernaud
Address: 33720 Barsac
Telephone: 05 56 27 26 52; Telefax: 05 56 27 32 08
Visits: By appointment only
Contact: Jean-Gabriel Jacolin
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 39.5 acres
Grape varietals: 85% Somalian, 10% Sauvignon, 5% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 35–45 years
Density of plantation: 7,000 vines per hectare
Average yields: 25 hectoliters per hectare max.
Elevage: Fermentation (21°C max.) in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats. Eighteen months aging in barrels with 5–10% new oak. No fining, filtration.
Château Pernaud: 30,000 bottles
Château Pey-Arnaud: variable
Plateau of maturity: Within 3–8 years of the vintage
Classification: Cru Bourgeois
Owner: Jean-Frédéric Lalande
Address: 1, Château Piada, 33720 Barsac
Telephone: 05 56 27 16 13; Telefax: 05 56 27 26 30
Visits: Monday to Friday, 9 A.M.–noon and 1:30–6 P.M.; by appointment on weekends
Contact: Jean-Frédéric Lalande
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 24.7 acres
Grape varietals: 95% Semillon, 3% Sauvignon, 2% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 40 years
Density of plantation: 7,900 vines per hectare
Average yields: 23 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation and 12 months aging in barrels with 30% new oak. Fining, no filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château Piada: 12,000 bottles
Clos du Roy: 3,000 bottles
Plateau of maturity: Within 3–8 years of the vintage
Classification: Cru Bourgeois
Owner: GFA Château de Rolland
Address: 33720 Barsac
Telephone: 05 56 27 15 02; Telefax: 05 56 27 28 58
E-mail: info@chateauderolland.com
Website: www.chateauderolland.com
Visits: Monday to Friday, 9 A.M.–noon and 1:30–5:30 P.M.; by appointment on weekends and on public holidays
Contact: Lucie Faugère-Guignard
Surface area: 37 acres
Grape varietals: 80% Semillon, 15% Sauvignon, 5% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 40 years
Density of plantation: 6,500 vines per hectare
Average yields: 22 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats. Twelve months aging in barrels with 10% new oak. Fining and filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château de Rolland: 40,000 bottles
Classification: Cru Bourgeois
Owner: Hervé Dubourdieu
Address: 33720 Barsac
Telephone: 05 56 27 16 29; Telefax: 05 56 27 02 65
E-mail: hervedubourdieu@aol.com
Visits: By appointment Monday to Saturday, 9 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Contact: Hervé or Sabine Dubourdieu
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 27.2 acres
Grape varietals: 90% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon
Average age of vines: 50 years
Density of plantation: 4,800 vines per hectare
Average yields: 18 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation in vats. Six months aging by rotation in vats and in new oak barrels. Fining, no filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château Roûmieu-Lacoste: 10,000–20,000 bottles
Plateau of maturity: Within 5 to 12 years of the vintage
Note: This estate also produces in the finest years some 5,000–10,000 bottles of a special cuvée called Sélection André Dubourdieu Château Roûmieu-Lacoste, which is fermented and aged 18 months in new oak barrels. This special cuvée is produced from the oldest vineyards of the estate.
The quality of the wines at Roumieu-Lacoste should not be surprising given the fact that this vineyard is adjacent to the famed Climens in Barsac. The old vines and impeccable winemaking practices of the Dubourdieu family result in consistently high-quality wines. The style, as befitting a Barsac, is relatively light, but there is plenty of complexity, rich pineapple fruit, and just a touch of toasty new oak. This would appear to be a wine that is best consumed within 10–12 years of the vintage.
Classification: None
Owner: Anne-Mary Fachetti-Ricard
Address: 33210 Preignac
Telephone: 05 56 76 84 89; Telefax: 05 56 76 24 87
Visits: By appointment Monday to Thursday, 2:30–5:30 P.M.
Contact: Anne-Mary Fachetti-Ricard
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 49.4 acres
Grape varietals: 84% Semillon, 4% Sauvignon, 2% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 40 years
Density of plantation: 6,400 vines per hectare
Average yields: 16 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation (24°C maximum) in temperature-controlled epoxy-lined concrete vats. Two to three years aging, with a small proportion of the yield in barrels. No fining, filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château Saint-Amand: 4,800 bottles
La Chartreuse: variable
Plateau of maturity: Within 3–8 years of the vintage
Classification:
Owner: GFA André Laulan
Address: 33720 Barsac
Telephone: 05 56 27 16 87; Telefax: 05 56 27 05 93
E-mail: d.l.@wanadoo.fr
Visits: By appointment
Contact: Didier Laulan
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 34.6 acres
Grape varietals: 83% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon, 3% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 35 years
Density of plantation: 6,600 vines per hectare
Average yields: 23–24 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation and 18 months aging in stainless-steel vats of small capacity. Fining and filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château Sant-Marc: 20,000 bottles
Château Bessan: 20,000 bottles
Plateau of maturity: Within 3–8 years of the vintage
Classification: None
Owner: GFA Château Simon
Address: 33720 Barsac
Telephone: 05 56 27 15 35; Telefax: 05 56 27 24 79
E-mail: chateau.simon@worldonline.fr
Visits: Monday to Friday, 8 A.M.–noon and 1:30–6 P.M.
Contact: Jean-Hugues Dufour
VINEYARDS
Surface area: 42 acres
Grape varietals: 92% Semillon, 6% Sauvignon, 2% Muscadelle
Average age of vines: 40 years
Density of plantation: 6,600 vines per hectare
Average yields: 23 hectoliters per hectare
Elevage: Fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats. Twelve months aging in barrels with 15% new oak. Fining and filtration.
WINES PRODUCED
Château Simon: 28,000 bottles
Château Piaut: 15,000 bottles
Plateau of maturity: Within 3–8 years of the vintage
There are very large quantities of wine produced in a bevy of other lesser-known appellations of Bordeaux. Most of these wines are widely commercialized in France, but have met with little success in America because of this country’s obsession with luxury names and prestigious appellations. For the true connoisseur, the wines of Bordeaux’s satellite appellations can in fact represent outstanding bargains, particularly in top vintages such as 2000, 1998, and 1990, where excellent climatic conditions and the improved use of modern technology by many of these estates resulted in a vast selection of fine wines at modest prices.
Each year, on my two trips to Bordeaux, I have spent considerable time tasting the wines from the satellite communes in an all-out effort to try to discover who’s who in these obscure appellations. In this section, I have listed the top estates from the major satellite appellations of Bordeaux and I unhesitatingly recommend those wines rated as very good or excellent to Bordeaux wine enthusiasts looking for sensational values from this area.
The satellite appellations are listed in order of my opinion of their overall ability to produce high-quality wine. In short, this is the frugal consumer’s guide to fine Bordeaux.
FRONSAC AND CANON-FRONSAC
In the 18th and 19th centuries the vineyards sprinkled over the hillsides and hollows of Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac—only several miles west of Libourne—were better known than the wines of Pomerol and sold for higher prices than the wines of St.-Emilion. But because access to Pomerol was easier and because most of the brokers had their offices in Libourne, the vineyards of Pomerol and St.-Emilion were exploited more than those of Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac. Consequently, this area fell into a long period of obscurity from which it has just recently begun to rebound.
While there is no village in all of Bordeaux that can match the scenic beauty of St.-Emilion, the tranquil landscape of Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac is among the region’s most aesthetically pleasing. Both appellations are beautifully situated on rolling hills overlooking the Dordogne River and have a primarily clay/limestone-based soil running in veins that are shallow on the higher elevations and deeper on the lower hillsides.