Château La Hourcade

The estate

Septime Cecchini came from the mountains above Florence in the upheaval of the 1940s, worked on the defenses of the coast, and bought 4 hectares of vines. In 1985 his youngest son, Gino, an accomplished rider who had served in the French mounted cavalry, bought the vineyard. He took the grapes to the cooperative until 1988 and left it in 1989 to make the wine himself; he was also mayor of the village until 2014. His son Quentin owns the estate today, and the oenologist Julien Maillet works on the wine. The place had growers long before the Cecchinis: from their edition of 1874 of Bordeaux et ses vins, the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret list growers at La Hourcade, in the Jau section of the commune, first among the crus paysans and from 1893 among the crus artisans and paysans on gravel; the largest of them, Allard’s, made 15 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) in 1893 and 1898.

The property covers 40 hectares, 18 of them vines, on Garonne gravel, planted 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot at 6,600 vines a hectare and picked by hand and by machine. The wine is raised in vats and barrels, about 1,000 hectoliters a year, some 130,000 bottles, and 80% of it is sold through the merchants. The estate also makes Château Les Médulli, a Médoc, and a Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. La Hourcade is a Cru Artisan du Médoc in the classification for the vintages 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Médoc

Commune

Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owner

Quentin Cecchini; the Cecchini family, with Gino Cecchini from 1985

Oenologist

Julien Maillet

Vineyard

18 hectares of vines on a property of 40; 6,600 vines a hectare

Ground

Garonne gravel

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 40%

Cellar

Picked by hand and by machine; vats and barrels

Production

About 1,000 hectoliters, some 130,000 bottles; 80% sold through the merchants

Wines

Château La Hourcade; Château Les Médulli; Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

In history

Growers at La Hourcade, at Jau, among the crus paysans and artisans from 1874

Sources: Château La Hourcade · Crus Artisans du Médoc, Château La Hourcade · Qualisud, the Crus Artisans du Médoc classification, 2022 to 2026