Château Bernadotte

The estate

The house was built in 1860, and the name recalls Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, the marshal the Swedes called to their throne, who succeeded King Charles XIII in 1818. The estate as it stands is younger. In 1973 Curt Eklund, a Swedish industrialist, bought it, brought parcels together, the Bernadotte plot among them, and built a new cellar. 2 great houses followed: Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, under May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, in 1997, and the Champagne house Louis Roederer in 2007. At the end of 2012 Antares Cheng, chairman of King Power Group, bought it.

Guillaume Mottes is general manager and winemaker, Richard Gandiaga heads the production site, and Hubert de Boüard consults on the wine. Bernadotte was a Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in the classification of 2020 and is not in the list of 2025.

The vineyard, in 1 block along the Pauillac appellation, lies on fine gravel, sand, and clay and limestone, planted 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot at 10,000 vines a hectare, 30 years old on average; over 10 years the yield has averaged no more than 47 hectoliters a hectare. It has been certified AREA at level 2 since 2015 and Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms) at level 3 since 2016. The wine spends 14 to 16 months in barrel, 1 third new, 1 third of 1 vintage and 1 third of 2, for about 200,000 bottles a year. Château Fournas Bernadotte comes from a parcel of 5 hectares, about 35,000 bottles a year, and Désirée, a rosé, is named for Désirée Bernadotte.

At a glance

Appellation

Haut-Médoc

Commune

Saint-Sauveur

Classification

Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in 2020; not in the list of 2025

Owner

King Power Group, Hong Kong, since the end of 2012

Direction

Guillaume Mottes, general manager and winemaker; Richard Gandiaga, head of the production site

Consultant

Hubert de Boüard

Vineyard

About 40 hectares in 1 block; 10,000 vines a hectare; 30 years old on average

Ground

Fine gravel, sand, clay and limestone

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 51%, Merlot 48%, Petit Verdot 1%

Farming

AREA at level 2 since 2015; Haute Valeur Environnementale at level 3 since 2016

Cellar

14 to 16 months in barrel, 1 third new

Production

About 200,000 bottles a year

Wines

Château Bernadotte; Château Fournas Bernadotte; Désirée, a rosé

Sources: Château Bernadotte, the estate · Château Bernadotte, the history · Château Bernadotte, the team · Château Bernadotte, the wines · Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, the classification of 2025 · Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, the classification of 2020