Château Frédignac

The château

The vineyard is older than the family. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, list Frédignac at Saint-Martin-Lacaussade from 1874, at 40 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), under Vve A. Ollière, and from 1883 as the Clos Frédignac of J. Pinaud, ranked 1st cru bourgeois; in 1898 they give its older name, Petit Trou, under Achille Laborde, who laid out the vineyard of Segonzac, and in 1922 they list it under Lamoulère. In 1919 Jean-Marie L’Amouller, a Breton in port at Blaye, fell for the region and for a young woman of Blaye, bought a house in the village of Frédignac and land at Saint-Martin-Lacaussade, and farmed it first as a mixed farm, then as vines. The vines of the former Château Saugeron were added in the 1970s. In 1984 Michel L’Amouller left the cooperative at Cars to make the first vintage of Château Frédignac, and in 2012 Vincent and Ludivine, both trained in environmental science, took over. They have farmed organically since 2010, with all the wines certified since 2014, and have made natural wines since 2018, with nothing added but a little sulfite when needed. A passive-energy building with 240 square meters of solar panels went up in 2014, and there are olive trees and guest rooms.

The 15 hectares lie on clay and limestone, over the Plassac limestone and the oyster clays, with vines 35 years old on average: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Marselan for the reds, Sauvignon and Sémillon for the whites. The whites and the natural wines are picked by hand, the reds by machine; the reds ferment 2 to 3 weeks, and everything is bottled at the estate unfiltered. La Favorite, the prestige cuvée, so named since the 2012 vintage, ages 12 months in French oak, 20% new; Le Bateau Ivre, of Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon, ages in amphorae; and the Atypical range includes pétillants naturels sold as Vin de France.

At a glance

Appellation

Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux

Commune

Saint-Martin-Lacaussade

Classification

No classification

Owners

The L’Amouller family, since 1919; Vincent and Ludivine since 2012

Vineyard

15 hectares; vines 35 years old on average

Soil

Clay and limestone, over the Plassac limestone and oyster clays Terroir of Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux →

Grapes

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Marselan; Sauvignon and Sémillon for the whites

Farming

Organic since 2010, all wines certified since 2014; natural wines since 2018

Cellar

Whites and natural wines picked by hand; bottled at the estate unfiltered; La Favorite 12 months in French oak, 20% new

Wines

La Favorite; Le Gabier; Le Bateau Ivre; Merlot Moqueur; the Atypical range

In history

The Clos Frédignac, once Petit Trou, a 1st cru bourgeois from 1883