Château Fougas

The château

Vines were already growing at Fougas in the 18th century, when a surveyor painted them into a watercolor of the land. In the 19th it was a modest holding: Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, list it at Lansac from 1868 under P. Robert, at 15 to 20 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), with the crus bourgeois of the commune; Benau held it in 1886, and Berniard from 1898, when it made 20 tonneaux among the crus artisans et paysans. Jean-Yves and Michèle Béchet own it today, and they know what they are after: wines that speak of their place, with violets rather than tar, and refinement rather than concentration.

The estate sits on a plateau of blue and red clay rich in iron, a smectite, mixed with sand and gravel over the limestone of the Fronsac molasses; 2 small streams at the eastern and western ends of the vineyard drain it naturally. The vines, planted at about 5,000 a hectare, are farmed organically and biodynamically, certified organic and by Demeter, and the estate belongs to the Renaissance des Appellations. The grapes are picked by hand or by machine and cross 2 sorting tables, before and after destemming; each parcel ferments on its own in temperature-controlled stainless steel, with punching down in the Burgundy manner. Forces de Vie, 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, spends 18 months in new barrels; Maldoror, 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18 months in barrel; Organic, 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12 months. Ensemble is a white made from black grapes.

At a glance

Appellation

Côtes de Bourg

Commune

Lansac

Classification

No classification

Owners

Jean-Yves and Michèle Béchet

Vineyard

About 5,000 vines a hectare

Soil

Iron-rich blue and red clay with sand and gravel, over Fronsac molasses Terroir of Côtes de Bourg →

Grapes

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Farming

Organic and biodynamic: certified organic and Demeter; Renaissance des Appellations

Cellar

Stainless steel, punching down; 12 to 18 months in barrel

Wines

Château Fougas Forces de Vie, Maldoror and Organic; Ensemble, Blanc de Noirs