Château La Fleur Morange

The estate

La Fleur Morange began with a marriage and a patient game of swaps. In 1977 Simon Landard left Château du Basque, at Saint-Pey-d’Armens, to the Lafaye family; in 1992 Véronique Lafaye married Jean-François Julien, and the family started trading parcels with the neighbors to bring together the oldest vines of the commune. The first vintage, in 1999, came from 14 ares, 8 rows, and made 900 bottles in a garage. The revision of 2012 made it a Grand Cru Classé, 13 years after that first vintage, and the list of 2022 confirmed it. Jean-François and Véronique Julien own it, and their daughter Mathilde works the vines, the cellar and the export trade with them.

The vineyard is 3.50 hectares at La Clote, at the foot of the slope the locals call the Terre Blanche, on clay and limestone rich in iron; 2 hectares of it are classified. It is planted 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, and the parcel that came from Château du Basque is more than 100 years old. No vine is left more than 10 bunches. The wine ferments in double-walled truncated vats, moves by gravity and is raised in barrels. There is also a white.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Pey-d’Armens, at La Clote, at the foot of the Terre Blanche slope

Classification

Grand Cru Classé, 2012 and 2022

Owners

Jean-François and Véronique Julien, since the first vintage of 1999

Vineyard

3.50 hectares, 2 of them classified; the oldest parcel more than 100 years old

Ground

Clay and limestone rich in iron

Grapes

Merlot 70%, Cabernet Franc 30%

Farming

No more than 10 bunches a vine

Cellar

Double-walled truncated vats; gravity; barrels

Wines

Château La Fleur Morange; a white

Sources: Château La Fleur Morange, the history · Château La Fleur Morange, the treasure · Château La Fleur Morange, the team · Association des Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Émilion, Château La Fleur Morange · Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, the Saint-Émilion classification of 2022