In Pomerol, we visited 2 estates: Château Le Bon Pasteur, were we had lunch with Dany Rolland, and Château Beauregard, were we spent the morning, touring the estate and tasting 4 different wines going back as far as 1989.
Roxane Gomez was our host. We also had a chance to meet Guillaume Fredoux, the Technical Director of Château Beauregard, and to talk about the upcoming harvest and other issues we were interested in.
Pomerol
Pomerol is remarkable for being unremarkable. It is not a long-established area. There are no beautiful chateaux. There is no real town center, just roads connecting the lands and small, farmhouse style wineries. Pomerol has no classification system. With 800 hectares, it is a small area, with small domains. By contrast: The vineyards of St. Emilion cover more than 5000 hectares; the production of Petrus is just 10% of that of Lafite.
Nevertheless, Pomerol has managed to earn itself a place among the region's most-respected names. The list of the Pomerol’s best properties includes Le Pin, one of the precursors of the Garagistes style, Petrus and Lafleur, with all three of them regarded as "hors classe" growths, and: Eglise-Clinet, Trotanoy, Vieux-Château Certan, L´Evangile, Certan-de-May, La Fleur-Pétrus, Clinet, Bon Pasteur, Le Gay, Rouget, Clos l'Eglise, Nénin, Petit-Village, Lagrange and Gazin. Pomerol, with the wines of Chateau Petrus and Chateau Le Pen, now commands higher prices than those of the long-established Medoc.
Pomerol has the highest Merlot share in Bordeaux, with Merlot accounting for 80% and Cabernet Franc for the rest. Vines are old and yields are extremely low.
Over the centuries, Pomerol had always been in the shadow of Medoc, Graves and even St. Emilion. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, things changed when Belgians and primarily Dutchmen were more and more interested in the red Pomerol wines. It was not until the 1950s that British merchants woke up to the wines and began to import them into the UK.
Château Beauregard
Placed on the eastern outskirts of Pomerol and the hamlet Catusseau near Saint-Émilion, the estate lies in a cluster with Château Petit-Village, Vieux Château Certan and Château La Conseillante.
Château Beauregard is the only “real” château in Pomerol, tracing its beginnings to the 11th century
and the Knights Hospitaliers of St John of Jerusalem. They were active in the Pomerol area and owned a small manoir on this very site.
On these ruins the De Beauregard family constructed a rather grander edifice five centuries later. It was this building, eventually rather dilapidated, which was replaced by the present day château in 1795–97. With two towers and a moat it is an unusually glamorous structure for the Pomerol district.
After becoming one of the region's leading crus in the 19th century, the estate was bought by the Clauzel family in 1920. In 1991 Beauregard was bought by Crédit Foncière. In 2014, Château Beauregard was bought by a partnerhip between the Moulin Family, the owners of the large, French chain of Galerie Lafayette stores and the Cathiard Family, the owners of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte.
The vineyard area extends 17.5 hectares, with a grape variety distribution of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc.
Of the Grand vin Château Beauregard there is annually produced 50,000 to 65,000 bottles, and of the second wine Le Benjamin de Beauregard (formerly Domaine des Douves) there is typically produced 25,000 to 35,000 bottles.
What we Tasted
We tasted 4 wines, going back to 1989.
In paranthesis are the wine searcher average prices in US$
2011 Château Beauregard (US$ 37)
2003 Château Beauregard (US$ 59)
1993 Château Beauregard (US$ 26)
1989 Château Beauregard (US$ 71)
Bye-bye
Thank you for a great tour and tasting.
Postings on the Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France (Posted and Forthcoming)
Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), France
Bordeaux Wine Tour 2013 by ombiasy
Bordeaux Wines and their Classifications: The Basics
Bordeaux - En Primeur, Negociants, Courtiers, the Quai de Chartons and the Place de Bordeaux– A Short Introduction
How Does the Negociant System in Bordeaux Work? Tour and Tasting at Millésima - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Tour and Tasting from Barrel at Domaine de Chevalier, Graves, Appellation Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Adrien Bernard - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Dinner with a View: At Restaurant L’Estacade in Bordeaux City - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Bordeaux City, France
Schiller's Favorite Seafood Places in Bordeaux City, France
Saint Emilion Wines and their Classification, Bordeaux, France
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in St. Emilion, France
The Wine Empire of the von Neipperg Family in France, Bulgaria and Germany
Tour and Tasting at Château Canon La Gaffelière, Appellation Saint-Emilion, Premier Grand Cru Classé – Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Tour and Wine Pairing Lunch at Château Beauséjour, Appellation Puisseguin Saint-Emilion, with Owner/ Winemaker Gérard Dupuis - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Tour and Tasting at Château Figeac, Premier Grand Cru Classé B, in Saint-Émilion– Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France
Tour and Tasting at Château Beauregard, Pomerol
Tour at Château Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol, with Dany Rolland
Wine Lunch at Château Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol, with Dany Rolland
Tasting were it all Started: At the "Garage" of Jean-Luc Thunevin, Owner and Winermaker of Château Valandraud, Premier Grand Cru Classé since 2012
Tour and Tasting at Château de Fargues, Sauternes, with Prince Eudes d’Orléans
Wine Pairing Lunch at the 1-star Michelin Restaurant Claude Darozze, with Marie-Hélène Lévêque, Owner of Châteaux Chantegrive
Tour of Château de Chantegrive, Appellation Grave
Tour and Tasting at Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé.
Wine Pairing Lunch at the 2-star Michelin Restaurant La Grande Vigne (at Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte)
Tour of the new Musee du Vin in Bordeaux City
Seafood lunch at Pinasse Cafe in Cap Ferret
Tour of the Earl Ostrea Chanca Oyster Farm and Oyster Tasting in Grand-Piquey, with Oyster Farmer Ralph Doerfler
The 5 Premiers Grands Crus Chateaux en 1855 of Bordeaux, France
What is a Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois? France
Tourt and tasting at Château Palmer, Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé
Tour and Tasting at Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron, Pauillac, 2ième Grand Cru Classé
Wine Lunch at Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron, Pauillac, 2ième Grand Cru Classé
Tour and Tasting at Château Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe, 4ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Michel Tesseron
At the Invitation of Owner Michel Tesseron: Private Dinner at Château Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe, 4ième Grand Cru Classé
Tour and Tasting at Château Sociando Mallet, Appellation Haut-Médoc
How a Barrel is Made: Visit of the Cooperage Berger & Fils in Vertheuil
Lunch were the Locals eat: At Le Peyrat in Saint-Estèphe in Saint Estephe
Tour and Tasting at Château Léoville Poyferré, Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé, with Anne Cuvelier
Tour and Tasting at Château Margaux, Appellation Margaux, 1ière Grand Cru Classé
Tour and Tasting at Château Kirwan, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Nathalie Schyler
Picnic Lunch at Château Kirwan, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé, with Owner Nathalie Schyler
Tour and Wine Dinner at Château Haut-Bailly, Graves, Appellation Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé, with Daina Paulin