Château Le Prieuré

The château

The Berthomieu de Meynot family bought planted land here in 1686. In 1897 Joseph Brisson, owner of Château Siaurac at Néac, bought the estate; Édouard Féret, in his survey of Libourne of that year, printed Le Prieuré Saint-Émilion among the first growths at 18 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) and explained that it had been cut from the cru des Cordeliers, a growth whose reputation was made. It passed by inheritance to the baron Louis Guichard and his family, and Olivier Guichard, minister of state and chief of staff to General de Gaulle, held it until 2004.

After that the owners changed quickly: Aline and Paul Goldschmidt from 2004 to 2017, Artémis Domaines from 2017 to 2020, and from September 2020 Les Terroirs de Suravenir, a company of the Crédit Mutuel Arkéa group. Since 2022 the technical team of Château Calon Ségur, in Saint-Estèphe, has run the vines and the cellar, with Éric Boissenot advising on the blends. Le Prieuré was a Grand Cru Classé in the first list, and the list of 2022 confirmed it.

The 26 plots run between 56 and 100 meters, on the asteriated limestone of the plateau and the clay and limestone slope that faces south. The 12 hectares are planted 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, 33 years old on average, with new plantings from massal selection. The estate farmed on organic lines from 2015 to 2021, when it stopped renewing its Ecocert certification while keeping its eco-friendly and biocontrol practices, and it has plowed its terraces and steep slopes by horse since 2015. The grapes come in by small tippers, are sorted in the vineyard and again at the cellar, and ferment in temperature-controlled stainless steel with gentle extraction; the wine spends 16 to 18 months in new oak with a moderate toast, in cellars carved into the old quarries. Délice is the second wine.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, beside the medieval town, on the plateau and the south-facing slope

Classification

Grand Cru Classé, in the first list and in 2022

Owner

Les Terroirs de Suravenir, since September 2020

Operator

The technical team of Château Calon Ségur, since 2022

Consultant

Éric Boissenot, for the blends

Vineyard

12 hectares in 26 plots, 56 to 100 meters; vines 33 years old on average

Soil

Asteriated limestone plateau; clay and limestone slope facing south Terroir of Saint-Émilion →

Grapes

Merlot 90%, Cabernet Franc 10%

Farming

Organic lines from 2015 to 2021, eco-friendly and biocontrol practices since; plowing by horse since 2015; Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), level 3; ISO 14001

Cellar

Sorted in the vineyard and at the cellar; stainless steel; 16 to 18 months in new oak, moderate toast; cellars in the old quarries

Wines

Château Le Prieuré; Délice

In history

A first growth at 18 tonneaux in 1897, cut from the cru des Cordeliers