Published the 07/15/2020 in The Cellar
Situé après Saint-Emilion, en direction de la Dordogne, nous avons choisi ce mois-ci un vin de caractère, et un excellent rapport qualité prix, le château d'Aiguilhe. Direction l'AOC Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux.
With 230 family properties and an average of 10 hectares per property, the AOC Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux appellation small properties that do not lack character . 25% of the winegrowers are in byodinamy! Situated about twenty kilometres east of Saint-Emilion, and a few kilometres from Castillon la Bataille, it is an ideal stopover for a tour of discovery of Bordeaux and the Dordogne.
The appellation benefits from the same limestone plateau as Saint-Emilion, and the estates benefit from a southern exposure and a significant difference in altitude of more than a hundred metres, which gives the landscape a Tuscany feel. And depending on the difference in altitude, one goes from gravelly soils at the foot of the Garonne, to clayey-limestone then limestone soils on the heights of the appellation. Château d'Aiguilhe occupies an important part of this appellation since, with 140 hectares, it is one of the largest properties. Merlot is therefore king in this appellation, with 70% of the production, followed by the powerful Cabernet Franc (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%).
Acquired by Stephan von Neipperg at the end of 1998, Château d'Aiguilhe embodies one of the most beautiful vineyards of Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux. Its haughty ruins, which have been removed inland, bear witness to a long history.
The present château, which is actually a fortified farm, dates from the 13th century. In the Middle Ages, everything suggests that the lordship of Aiguilhe commanded a vast territory and owned several important fiefdoms. Situated on the border of the areas occupied by the French and the English during the Hundred Years' War, it played an active military role, passing into the hands of both sides at the whim of the lord of the place. Later, the castle belonged to the Leberthon family, a famous line of Bordeaux parliamentarians. They, before emigrating on the eve of the Revolution, sold it to a certain Etienne Martineau who turned it into a vast estate of four hundred hectares in one piece, whose heirs did not relinquish it until 1920.
Today, the estate occupies a vast 140-hectare terroir, 90 of which are devoted to viticulture. The vineyard, exclusively located on the plateau, benefits from natural drainage and excellent sunshine thanks to an overall southern exposure. The soils, with a clayey-limestone and clay-silt structure, make up a thin layer of rather poor soil resting on a limestone substratum which provides the vine with remarkable water regulation. Added to the average age of the vineyard, these natural factors combine to create eminently favourable conditions for vine growing.
Château d'Aiguilhe produces three wines, two reds, the Château d'Aiguilhe and Seigneurs d'Aiguilhe, their second fruity and gourmet wine, but also a Sauvignon Blanc since 2015, the Blanc d'Aiguilhe.
We particularly like the Château d'Aiguilhe, sold for around 20 euros, which offers a fruity red wine with a nice balance. Between 85% and 90% Merlot, partially aged in new barrels, it is a wine that expresses its personality of the Right Bank of Bordeaux, while keeping a fruity and extremely pleasant side that makes it easy to approach for a large number of consumers.
Download the technical sheet here
