Chateau Bourgneuf

Chateau Bourgneuf

Pomerol, Bordeaux, France

 

Frédérique Vayron

 
 

Our first partnership in Bordeaux, came at the encouragement of our longtime friend, Marie Vayron- Ponsonnet, when she introduced us to her family’s vineyard, Château Bourgneuf, in Pomerol. Spread over 9 hectares in a well-situated parcel (just next door to Trotanoy), Bourgneuf has belonged to the Vayron family since 1840. Today, her father, Xavier, her mother, Dominique and sister, Frédérique Vayron, continue to oversee the winery and make a classic Pomerol wine—vibrant and balanced, from soils of blue clay with traces of oxidized iron.

  • Since 2008, Frédérique Vayron has worked at Chateau Bourgneuf as the viticulture and winemaking specialist. Under her leadership, they started producing Les Saisons de Bourgneuf with the 2012 vintage to showcase Merlot in a more early drinking style.

  • The vineyard is made up of three major soil types : on the upper portion of the vineyard, pure clay produces grapes that are very rich, dense; on the intermediate portion, descending the slope, the soils go from clayey-sand to sandy-clay, and on the lower portion the soils are very gravelly.

  • The vinification is done in temperature controlled, cement vats. They do manual pump overs for an extraction that is specific to the vintage and its conditions. The wines are aged in French oak barrels.

Wines

Saisons de Bourgneuf

95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc

A cuvée created by Frédérique in 2012 and made ntirely from a vineyard planted in 2010. Instead of blending it into the main cuvee of Pomerol, she aims to make a cuvée that was true to its place but also showcase Merlot in a more early drinking style. The fermentation takes place in temperature controlled cement vats and the wine is aged in oak barrels for 12 to 14 months.