Château Graves de Pez

The château

Graves de Pez began on the side. Paul and Paulette Bussier, from an old family of Cognac growers, came to Saint-Estèphe in 1960 at the request of the Tesseron family to run Château Lafon-Rochet, which they did for 35 years, and they bought for themselves the parcels that lay too far off or were too awkward for the château to work. Their grapes went to the cooperative. Paul Bussier died in 2002 and the children carried on until 2009, when the Bussiers’ grandson, Maxime Saint-Martin, took over at 21, left the cooperative and began making his own wine. He also runs Château Vieux Gabarey, his father’s family estate at Lamarque.

The 3.5 hectares are gravel, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot at 10,000 vines a hectare, with vines 60 years old on average. The wine ferments in temperature-controlled stainless steel and spends 12 months in barrels, one third of them new; it is sold only in bottle, about 4,800 a year. Since 2015 a parcel that ripens ahead of the rest has gone into L’Irrésistible, fermented entirely in an oak cask of 600 liters and raised 18 months in barrels, 50% new. Graves de Pez is a Cru Artisan du Médoc in the classification for the vintages 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Estèphe

Commune

Saint-Estèphe

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owner

Maxime Saint-Martin, since 2009

Vineyard

3.5 hectares; 10,000 vines a hectare; vines 60 years old on average

Soil

Gravel Terroir of Saint-Estèphe →

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot

Cellar

Stainless steel; 12 months in barrel, one third new

Production

About 4,800 bottles a year

Wines

Château Graves de Pez; L’Irrésistible

The house

Also Château Vieux Gabarey, Haut-Médoc

Not to be confused with

Château de Pez