Château de Coudot

The estate

Coudot is a hamlet of Cussac-Fort-Médoc that has lived by its vines for nearly 2 centuries. Charles Cocks, whose Bordeaux, ses environs et ses vins of 1850 was the first edition of what became the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, lists Grenier fils, Lartigue the blacksmith and Robert, called Naniche, among its growers, and the later editions of Cocks and Édouard Féret carry the hamlet among the crus artisans and paysans of Cussac until 1922. By 1949 only 1 was left: the cru of M. and Mme Pineau, great-grandparents of the present family, making 10 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels).

In 1960 Joël Blanchard’s mother took it in hand, and in 1964, after 4 years of work, the first vintage was bottled at the property, as Domaine de Coudot. The consolidation of land in 1966 and 1967 ended the scattering of the vines, leaving 2.5 hectares in 7 parcels; there were 4.5 when Joël, the eldest, finished his studies in viticulture and oenology, and in 1981, with a loan for young farmers, he bought 6 hectares of vineland, 1.5 of them already planted with old vines. 6 years later the family holdings were brought together as the Société Civile du Château de Coudot, which Joël, Daniel and Rémy Blanchard run.

The vineyard now covers 11.25 hectares on the gravels of the Mindel, gravelly sands and patches of clay and limestone, planted 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc and fed only with natural organic matter. It is picked by machine, and the grand vin (the estate’s first wine) runs to 40,000 bottles a year. Coudot is a Cru Artisan du Médoc in the classification for the vintages 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Haut-Médoc

Commune

Cussac-Fort-Médoc, the hamlet of Coudot

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owners

The Blanchard family, through the Société Civile du Château de Coudot

Direction

Joël, Daniel and Rémy Blanchard

Vineyard

11.25 hectares

Ground

Mindel gravels, gravelly sands, some clay and limestone

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 35%, Cabernet Franc 5%

Farming

Natural organic matter only; picked by machine

Production

40,000 bottles of the grand vin

In history

Coudot, a hamlet of crus artisans at Cussac, from 1850 to 1922; bottled at the property since 1964

Sources: Château de Coudot, the history · Château de Coudot, the vineyard · Crus Artisans du Médoc, Château de Coudot · Qualisud, the Crus Artisans du Médoc classification, 2022 to 2026