Château du Tertre

The château

Du Tertre has always stood a little apart: it is the only classified growth in the commune of Arsac, on its own rise of gravel, and the land has a longer story than the wine. In 1590 Jacquette d’Arsac married Thomas de Montaigne, the essayist’s brother, and in the 17th century the land belonged to the de Ségur family, who also held Latour, Lafite and Mouton. The estate as such begins with Pierre Mitchell, an Irishman who made glass in Bordeaux and is credited with the jeroboam. He bought part of the seigneury of Arsac in 1724 and built the château in 1736, so the man who founded the estate made the bottles as well as the wine.

Jonas von Königswarter of Vienna bought it in 1870 and the Belgian merchant Achille de Wilde from 1925; Philippe Capbern Gasqueton replanted it from 1960, after the frost of 1956. Eric Albada Jelgersma, the owner of Château Giscours, bought it in 1997 and died in 2018. His family sold in 2021 to the Helfrich family of Les Grands Chais de France, and Alexander Van Beek, who had run it until the sale, stayed with Giscours. Cynthia Capelaere directs Du Tertre today, with Romain Beurienne as technical director and Éric Boissenot consulting.

The red vineyard is 52 hectares in one block, on fine, deep Günz gravel with clay and sand, rising to about 24 meters and planted at 9,200 vines a hectare. It is being replanted to meet the density rules of the appellation by 2035, which leaves about 39.5 hectares in production for now and has pulled the average age of the vines down sharply. The planting has been turned toward Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot and 11% Cabernet Franc. The wine spends 15 to 17 months in oak, 60% of the barrels new, and Les Hauts du Tertre is the second wine. Lower down, on cooler sandy gravel, 6.2 hectares were planted from 2012 to Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Viognier and Gros Manseng for a white, Tertre Blanc. The guest rooms in the château were decorated by Axel Vervoordt.

At a glance

Appellation

Margaux

Commune

Arsac, the only classified growth in the commune

Classification

Cinquième Cru Classé 1855

Owners

The Helfrich family, of Les Grands Chais de France, since 2021

Direction

Cynthia Capelaere; Romain Beurienne, technical director

Consultant

Éric Boissenot

Vineyard

52 hectares of red in one block, about 39.5 in production while replanting runs to 2035; 6.2 hectares of white; 9,200 vines a hectare

Soil

Fine, deep Günz gravel with clay and sand, rising to about 24 meters Terroir of Margaux →

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 63%, Merlot 14%, Petit Verdot 12%, Cabernet Franc 11%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), level 3, from 2017; ISO 14001, from 2014

Cellar

15 to 17 months in oak, 60% of the barrels new

Wines

Château du Tertre; Les Hauts du Tertre; Tertre Blanc, from Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Viognier and Gros Manseng