Château Labadie

The château

The place came before the family. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, list a small holding at Labadie, in Bégadan, among the crus artisans and paysans in 1868, and from 1883 a Château-Labadie under the Déjean family among the crus bourgeois (a Médoc classification), at 65 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), a listing they carry to 1922. The name goes back to a local legend of an ancient abbey. The Bibeys were farmers who grew vines; in 1970 Yves Bibey bought his first plots at Labadie, and in 1973 he married Adélaïde, who was born in the Netherlands. Yves made the first vintage at the property in 1988, and in 1999 their son Jérôme took over. The family also makes Château Pontet Barrail and Château du Moulin Neuf.

The vineyard lies on clay and limestone around Bégadan and on gravel at Laujac, planted 51% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot at 5,000 to 6,666 vines a hectare, 30 years old on average. It holds Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms) at level 3, ISO 14001 through a collective environmental management system and the Bee Friendly label, and all the winery’s effluent is treated. The wine ferments in stainless steel and concrete and ages in French and American oak, one quarter of it new each year. Jérôme Bibey brought back from Australia the idea for Alouette de Labadie, a dry white Bordeaux of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon aged in barrel on its lees; Malbec de Labadie is all Malbec, aged 6 months in French oak. Labadie was a Cru Bourgeois in the classification of 2020 and a Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in 2025.

At a glance

Appellation

Médoc

Commune

Bégadan

Classification

Cru Bourgeois in 2020; Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in 2025

Owners

The Bibey family, since 1970

Direction

Jérôme Bibey, since 1999

Vineyard

5,000 to 6,666 vines a hectare; vines 30 years old on average

Soil

Clay and limestone; gravel at Laujac Terroir of Médoc →

Grapes

Merlot 51%, Cabernet Sauvignon 42%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Petit Verdot 3%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3; ISO 14001; Bee Friendly

Cellar

Stainless steel and concrete; French and American oak, one quarter new

Wines

Château Labadie; Alouette de Labadie, white; Malbec de Labadie

The house

Also Château Pontet Barrail and Château du Moulin Neuf

In history

A Château-Labadie at Bégadan, a cru bourgeois at 65 tonneaux, from 1883 to 1922