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FRANCE
Château de Brondeau
WINERY OVERVIEW
For more than a century, Château de Brondeau belonged to the Audy family, and Marie-Claude
Audy, wife of Bordeaux wine merchant Dominique Méneret, inherited the estate in 2001. In
2011, the property was sold to Mr. Francis Vuile, a former AOC Cognac producer. Sitting on the
banks of the Dordogne River, the estate is nestled in a jewel box of groves that seem to watch
over the 32 acres (13 hectares) of vines.
LOCATION OF VINEYARD
The vineyard is in close proximity to the production facilities and the home. The site is densely
planted – 2,400 vines/acre, or 6,000 vines/ha – on alluvial soils, with 80% Merlot and 20%
Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is trained traditionally with selective grassing over to retain the
richness of the terroir.
WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY
The grapes are sorted before transfer into cement vats adapted to the size of individual
vineyard parcels, all equipped with an effective temperature control system. During
fermentation, the cellar master performs several small daily pump-overs, and macerations do
not exceed 20 days. When the wine is run off, multiple tastings enable the isolation of several
separate lots. The wine is aged for approximately 15 months in vat using French oak staves.
This preserves the freshness of its fruit and does not allow wood notes to overpower the wine.
Blending takes place several months before bottling, which generally happens more or less in
early spring, depending on the vintage, after fining and a light filtering.
Owned by:
Francis Vuile
Winemaker:
Stéphane Dubesse
Founded in:
19th Century
Region:
Bordeaux Supérieur
Country:
France
Wine:
Château de Brondeau, Bordeaux Supérieur