Château Haut-Surget

The château

The Ollet-Fourreau family has grown vines on the Right Bank since the 1930s, in Lalande-de-Pomerol and Pomerol, and Haut-Surget is the estate that carries the family’s name. Paul Ollet started with 6 hectares; the family works about 40 today, run by Patrick Fourreau with Marie-Claude Fourreau from the château on the avenue de Chevrol at Néac. Hubert de Boüard and Philippe Nunes, of Hubert de Boüard Consulting, advise on the wine.

The vineyard is 25 hectares of sandy clay and gravel, planted 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, with vines of 50 years, and certified Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), level 3. The crop is thinned in July and picked by machine, then sorted hard on 2 tables, one that shakes and one that blows. The wine ferments in cement vats under controlled temperature, macerates 4 to 5 weeks, and is raised in vats and in barrels: about 170,000 bottles a year. Since the 2011 vintage the family has also made a Grande Sélection, from old vines picked by hand and fermented in barrel.

I tasted the 2020 at the château during the open days of April 2024 and again that May: deep ruby, plums, chocolate, vanilla and oak on the nose, then blackberry, cassis, cocoa, earth and coffee, with smooth tannins well knit into the wine, balanced acidity and a long, satisfying finish. It is generous and round, it delivers outstanding quality at a very approachable price, and it is a reminder that fine Bordeaux can be found outside the famous names.

At a glance

Appellation

Lalande-de-Pomerol

Commune

Néac

Classification

No classification

Owners

The Ollet-Fourreau family; Patrick and Marie-Claude Fourreau

Consultants

Hubert de Boüard and Philippe Nunes

Vineyard

25 hectares; vines of 50 years

Soil

Sandy clay and gravel Terroir of Lalande-de-Pomerol →

Grapes

Merlot 70%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%, Cabernet Franc 15%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3; green harvest in July

Cellar

Picked by machine; sorted on a shaking and a blowing table; cement vats; 4 to 5 weeks of maceration; vats and barrels

Production

About 170,000 bottles a year

Wines

Château Haut-Surget; Château Haut-Surget Grande Sélection, since 2011