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Bordeaux Producers
Name: Bordeaux
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The name Chateau Talbot evokes a poignant moment in Bordeaux history. In the 15th century, the estate was the property of one John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and Governor of Acquitaine. He led the English charge at the 1453 Battle of Castillon, in what would prove to be the final engagement of the Hundred Years’ War. The charge failed, and Talbot was finished off by a French soldier with a battleaxe. After 340 years of English rule, Bordeaux was back in the hands of the French, there to remain. But the French seemed to grudgingly admire him, and Chateau Talbot retains his name to this day.
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In 2017, a change in ownership at St-Emilion property Troplong Mondot was accompanied by a dramatic change in style. With a thick layer of clay laid over the limestone, Troplong has a naturally powerful terroir. The previous owners had leaned into that, and made a wine marked by a ripe, extracted style. But new winemaker Aymeric de Gironde, aided by consultant Thomas Duclos, has turned that around, and since 2017 the style here has been to rein in the natural power of the terroir for a more elegant, sculpted style. Troplong is still not shy, but it is much more balanced.
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Now you see it, now you don`t. Vineyard or pine plantation? However since the late 1860s this has been a wine estate and in both red and white wines a hugely successful one. There is one fly in the ointment though, like Volnay and Pommard, their particular micro-climate seems to attract incredibly localised hailstorms. Not desirable. Otherwise the estate fashions its highly praised wines from, for the reds, a 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc mix, though obviously the proportions vary from vintage to vintage. -
While it’s odd (though not unique) to find a winery in Bordeaux referred to as a ‘domaine’, the full official name of this property is actually Chateau du Domaine de l’Eglise. Either way, it’s the oldest property in Pomerol, with records that date it to 1589, when it was a hospice for lepers. The church it was named after no longer stands. When the Casteja family of wine merchants acquired Domaine de l’Eglise in 1973, that was the first time it had changed hands since the Revolution. The vines are well-sited, some next to the chateau, some on the plateau around Clinet and L’Eglise-Clinet.
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It’s got a 12th century tower, and it’s near the village of Martillac – the name of this Pessac property is virtually the address. This being Pessac, there’s both a red and white wine. The red vines are mostly planted across the gravelly soils of the Martillac plateau, while the white vines and the Merlot are planted across a clay-limestone outcrop. In reds, the vineyard is split 55% Cabernet Sauvignon/40% Merlot/5% Petit Verdot, and in whites 60% Sauvignon Blanc/40% Semillon. There are some venerable Semillon vines that date all the way back to 1884.
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Today, Le Pin is such a well-established member of the pantheon of the world’s greatest wines, it’s interesting to recall that it wasn’t always thus. Under its previous owner, a Mme F Loubie, the wine had been blended with lesser wines and sold exclusively in Belgium as Clos du Pin. Mme Loubie wanted to sell it to Leon Thienpont so that he could join it with Vieux Chateau Certan but, with six children to support, there was no way Leon could afford it. In 1978, Mme Loubie died.
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The Cotes de Castillon lies on the eastward extension of the plateau underpinning St-Emilion. The soils in the area are mixed, but the high concentration of clay and limestone around what was then called Chateau Goubau caught the eye of none other than Jacques Thienpont, owner of Le Pin and L’If. ‘These soils keeps the roots of the vines cool, so the wines are fresh,’ says Jacques. When Chateau Goubau came up for sale, Jacques and his sister Anne de Raeymaeker pounced, and purchased it. Their first vintage was 2016. He named it L`Hetre, continuing his `family tree` motif.
