Château Les Ormes Sorbet

The estate

Les Ormes Sorbet stands at Couquèques, close to the Gironde, and the Boivert family has owned it since 1764. The name came in the 19th century, when the family took in the vineyard of M. Sorbet, where tall elms stood. The line of Boiverts is also a record of how a Médoc family learned to sell its own wine. Eugène Boivert was bottling his wine in 1862 and selling it at a local market; Joseph took over in 1909 and gathered the best plots; Pierre made the wine from 1935. From 1970 Jean Boivert and his wife, Hélène, made the wine themselves, enlarged the vineyard and sold the whole crop in bottle, direct to their customers. Jean died in 2004, and François Boivert, the 9th generation, leads the estate today. The label still says Cru Bourgeois, but the estate is in neither the classification of 2020 nor that of 2025.

The plots lie on the dome of Eocene limestone known as the limestone of Couquèques, with sandy gravel over the limestone subsoil. The 18 hectares, 30 years old on average and planted at 8,500 vines a hectare, are 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The estate moved from AREA at level 2 to Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms) at level 3 in 2017; the soil is worked instead of weeded with chemicals, and the treatments are those allowed in organic farming, such as copper and sulfur, with organic manures. The grapes are picked only by hand and sorted on tables, fermented under temperature control and aged entirely in barrel for 16 to 18 months, 1 third of the barrels new each year, with a single bottling. The estate makes 80,000 bottles and sells them direct, along with 30,000 of its other Médoc, Château de Conques.

At a glance

Appellation

Médoc

Commune

Couquèques

Classification

No classification; labeled Cru Bourgeois, but not in the lists of 2020 and 2025

Owner

GFA Jean Boivert et Fils; the Boivert family, since 1764

Direction

François Boivert, the 9th generation

Vineyard

18 hectares; vines 30 years old on average; 8,500 vines a hectare

Ground

Sandy gravel over limestone, on the Eocene limestone of Couquèques

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 30%, Petit Verdot 5%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3, since 2017

Cellar

Picked by hand; 16 to 18 months, all in barrel, 1 third new

Production

80,000 bottles; Château de Conques, 30,000

Wines

Château Les Ormes Sorbet; Château de Conques

Sources: Château Les Ormes Sorbet · Château Les Ormes Sorbet, the estate and technical sheet · Château Les Ormes Sorbet, history · Château Les Ormes Sorbet, legal notice · Vignerons Indépendants de France, Château Les Ormes Sorbet · Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, the 2020 classification · Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, the 2025 classification