Couvent des Jacobins

The estate

The convent was given to the Dominican friars, the Jacobins, in 1389, and they kept it until about 1780, sheltering pilgrims on the road to Compostela. Their bakery, built with the convent in 1389, is the oldest part of the building still standing and serves now as the tasting room; the cloister was rebuilt in 1985. Beneath the house the quarries go down more than 10 meters, cut for the stone that built Bordeaux and Saint-Émilion, and hold 15 degrees the year round. Jean Jean bought the convent in 1902 and left it in 1926 to his daughter Berthe, who married Noël Joinaud; the cellars and vineyard were reworked between 1957 and 1965, and Xavier Jean, 4 generations down from Jean Jean, runs it today.

Couvent des Jacobins was left out of the first Saint-Émilion classification of 1955. The revision of November 17, 1969 made it a Grand Cru Classé, 1 of 8 estates classified for the first time that year, and it has kept the rank at every revision since, in 1986, 1996, 2006, 2012 and in the list approved in September 2022.

The vineyard is 10.7 hectares on 4 kinds of ground: limestone bedrock on the eastern plateau, clay and sand over Fronsadais molasse to the southwest, clay and sand over a subsoil rich in iron at the foot of that slope, and clay and limestone on the northeastern plateau. It is planted 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the Petit Verdot fermented apart. The conversion to organic farming began in 2016, and Ecocert France has certified the wine from the 2020 vintage. Every parcel is fermented separately, no vat taking more than 1 hectare of vines, with macerations that rarely pass 30 days, and Couvent des Jacobins is raised 12 to 15 months, 40% in new barrels and 60% in barrels of 1 wine.

Calicem, first made in 2015, comes from less than 1 hectare of Merlot planted in 1961 and 1962, joined from 2020 by a smaller parcel at Mazerat. It is punched down by hand every day and raised 20 months in new barrels of 500 liters, and there are fewer than 3,000 bottles.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, inside the walls of the town

Classification

Grand Cru Classé, 1969 to 2022; not in the first list of 1955

Owner

Xavier Jean, 4 generations down from Jean Jean, who bought the convent in 1902

Vineyard

10.7 hectares

Ground

Limestone bedrock on the eastern plateau; clay and sand over Fronsadais molasse; clay and sand over a subsoil rich in iron; clay and limestone on the northeastern plateau

Grapes

Merlot 80%, Cabernet Franc 15%, Petit Verdot 5%

Farming

Organic from 2016; certified by Ecocert France from the 2020 vintage

Cellar

Parcels fermented apart, no vat above 1 hectare of vines; macerations rarely past 30 days; 12 to 15 months, 40% new barrels

Wines

Couvent des Jacobins; Calicem, since 2015, from Merlot planted in 1961 and 1962, fewer than 3,000 bottles

The quarries

More than 10 meters down, cut for building stone, at 15 degrees the year round

The buildings

The friars’ bakery of 1389, now the tasting room; the cloister rebuilt in 1985

Sources: Couvent des Jacobins, our history · Couvent des Jacobins, the convent · Couvent des Jacobins, from vine to wine · Couvent des Jacobins, Calicem · Association des Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Émilion, Couvent des Jacobins · Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, the Saint-Émilion classification of 2022