Château Faurie de Souchard

The estate

Faurie de Souchard sat on the north-facing slope of Saint-Émilion, next door to Château Dassault, and it was a Grand Cru Classé in the classification of 2012. Dassault Wine Estates bought it in 2013, and the reason was the obvious one: the vines were next door and they suited the house. In 2022 the group folded them into Château Dassault, which grew to 40 hectares, and the name dropped out of the classification that September, when Château Dassault was confirmed and Faurie de Souchard was no longer there to be ranked.

Under its own name it was a small Right Bank estate of 12 hectares: clay and limestone on the slope, sand and clay at its foot, planted 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with vines 23 years old on average. The grapes were fermented plot by plot in concrete and oak vats, and the wine spent 14 to 16 months in barrel or amphora, depending on the year. The last bottles to carry the label are now the only Faurie de Souchard there will ever be; the vines go on, under the name of their neighbor.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, on the north-facing slope

Classification

Grand Cru Classé in 2012; gone from the list of 2022

Last owners

Dassault Wine Estates, from 2013

Vineyard

12 hectares; vines 23 years old on average

Ground

Clay and limestone on the slope; sand and clay at its foot

Grapes

Merlot 70%, Cabernet Franc 25%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), level 3, from 2016; Bee Friendly label, 2021

Cellar

Plot by plot in concrete and oak vats; 14 to 16 months in barrel or amphora

Now part of

Château Dassault

Sources: Dassault Wine Estates, Château Dassault · Dassault Wine Estates, Château Faurie de Souchard · Dassault Wine Estates, Château Faurie de Souchard (French) · Dassault Wine Estates, the group · Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, the Saint-Émilion classification of 2012, the list of September 6, 2012 · Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, the Saint-Émilion classification of 2022