Château
Château Côte Montpezat
A Castillon on the clay and limestone côte at Belvès-de-Castillon, built up by Dominique Bessineau from 1989 and part of Maison Claret since 2023, with a well of pilgrim legend at its heart.
- Appellation
- Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux
The estate
Dominique Bessineau, from Calais, bought Château Côte Montpezat in 1989 and added Château Haut-Bernat, in Puisseguin, in 1991; Delphine Toullec joined him in 1995. Maison Claret began at Haut-Bernat: Sean and Suzanne Legault, a Maltese and Canadian couple, founded it in September 2019 when they bought its 7 hectares, and in 2023 the Legault family brought in 2 more properties, Côte Montpezat and Château Puycarpin. At the heart of the vineyard stands a 17th-century house over an old well that, by legend, watered the pilgrims on the way of Saint James to Compostela from the 10th to the 15th century. The Cuvée Compostelle is named for that story.
The estate lies 40 kilometers from Bordeaux, on the clay and limestone côte that carries the vineyards of Saint-Émilion onto the lands of Castillon-la-Bataille. The vines are mainly Merlot, about 40 years old; the grapes are selected plot by plot and fermented in temperature-controlled vats; the wine ages in barrel and then in bottle. Sean Legault is owner and president, Jean-François Lalle technical director and Laurent Mothes cellar master, with Jean-Louis Vinolo as consulting oenologist. Maison Claret is certified Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), Terra Vitis and Bee Friendly.
At a glance
- Appellation
- Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux
- Commune
- Belvès-de-Castillon
- Classification
- No classification
- Owners
- Maison Claret, the Legault family, since 2023
- Direction
- Sean Legault, president; Jean-François Lalle, technical director; Laurent Mothes, cellar master
- Oenologist
- Jean-Louis Vinolo, consultant
- Ground
- Clay and limestone
- Grapes
- Mainly Merlot, about 40 years old
- Farming
- Haute Valeur Environnementale; Terra Vitis; Bee Friendly
- Cellar
- Plot selection; temperature-controlled vats; aging in barrel and in bottle
- Wines
- Château Côte Montpezat; Cuvée Compostelle
- The house
- Maison Claret: also Château Haut-Bernat, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion, and Château Puycarpin, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux
Sources: Maison Claret, Château Côte Montpezat · Maison Claret, the house · Maison Claret, the châteaux · Bessineau Vineyards, Château Côte Montpezat · Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, Château Côte Montpezat
The record
Château Côte Montpezat is in the Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux appellation.
Cru Classé
By invitation only.
On from here
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