Château de Sales

The château

De Sales has never been sold. The Sauvanelles, mayors and magistrates of Libourne, came to this land in the second half of the 16th century, and in 1643 they replaced its fortified house with a country house in the style of Louis XIII, little changed since and now a historic monument. The property has passed by inheritance and marriage through 4 names, Sauvanelle, Desaigues from 1735, de Laage from 1856 and Lambert from 1949, and 14 cousins own it today. Henri de Lambert took the vineyard from 28 hectares to 47.6 and presided over the Pomerol wine syndicate from 1969 to 1990; his son Bruno de Lambert ran the estate for 35 years, until 2017. Marine Treppoz then chaired the company formed that year, with Vincent Montigaud, who spent 23 years with Baron Philippe de Rothschild, as chief executive. Nicolas de Lambert des Granges chairs it, and Marie-Laure Latorre has run it since September 2025.

The directories found De Sales in 2 places, because its vineyard ran across the line between Libourne and Pomerol. The guide of Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, listed Château de Salles in 1874 in the sands of Libourne, under A. Delaage, at 40 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels); by 1893 its Pomerol section carried a drawing of the house and a note on a property of 100 hectares, 40 of them a fine vineyard kept whole through the phylloxera, with many vines more than 50 years old. Gold medals followed at Liège in 1905 and at Bordeaux in 1907, and in 1908 Féret gave an average of 140 tonneaux. An English book of 1920, Clarets and Sauternes, found vines of nearly 75 years and a wine that was not yet bottled at the château.

Today the vines cover 47.6 hectares, on gravel and warm sand carrying iron oxide, planted 73% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc at 5,900 vines a hectare. The estate has held Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms) since 2020 and uses no chemical weedkiller; its 42 hectares of wood, bamboo and park shelter 12 kinds of bat, 4 beehives set up in 2021 and a protected orchid. The grapes come in by hand and are sorted at the cellar door, then ferment for about 3 weeks in temperature-controlled concrete. The wine spends 12 months in oak, 15% to 20% of the barrels new each year, and is bottled at the château about 18 months after the harvest. Frédéric Laborde is technical manager; Jean-Claude Berrouet consults on the wine and Gilles Rey on the vineyard. Château Chantalouette is the second wine.

De Sales leans toward the brighter, more classical side of Pomerol. The 2010, which I tasted in November 2025, had red fruit, fine tannins and a clarity that shows how elegant Merlot can be when the year gives it balance. The 2015, which I tasted in April 2025, was young and lively, with plenty of fresh fruit, and probably the wine the table enjoyed most. The prices stay reasonable, which in Pomerol is worth saying.

At a glance

Appellation

Pomerol

Classification

No classification

Owners

The Lambert family, since 1949, heirs of a line that reaches back to the 16th century; 14 cousins

Direction

Nicolas de Lambert des Granges, chair; Marie-Laure Latorre, managing director, since September 2025; Frédéric Laborde, technical manager

Consultants

Jean-Claude Berrouet, the wine; Gilles Rey, the vineyard

Vineyard

47.6 hectares of vines on a property of 90; 5,900 vines a hectare

Soil

Gravel and warm sand with iron oxide Terroir of Pomerol →

Grapes

Merlot 73%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%, Cabernet Franc 12%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale, since 2020; no chemical weedkiller

Cellar

Picked by hand; about 3 weeks in concrete; 12 months in oak, 15% to 20% new; bottled at the château

Wines

Château de Sales; Château Chantalouette

The house

Built in 1643 in the style of Louis XIII; a historic monument

In history

40 tonneaux under A. Delaage in 1874; gold medals at Liège in 1905 and Bordeaux in 1907