Château Les Trois Croix

The estate

Les Trois Croix is older than its title. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, list a holding called Aux Trois-Croix from 1868, under the Ambaud family, at 25 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) in 1883, and from 1897 under Bardeau, at 15. They filed it under Saillans in the late 1890s and under Fronsac, among the côtes of Canon-Fronsac, in 1908 and 1922, and not once did they call it a château.

The family of Patrick Léon took it over in 1995, and Bertrand Léon owns it today. The 15.2 hectares lie on clay and limestone, planted 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with vines 40 years old on average. The wine ages 12 to 15 months in barrel, 1 third of the barrels renewed each year, and the estate makes about 65,000 bottles a year.

At a glance

Appellation

Fronsac

Commune

Fronsac

Classification

No classification

Owners

The family of Patrick Léon, since 1995; Bertrand Léon

Vineyard

15.2 hectares; vines 40 years old on average

Ground

Clay and limestone

Grapes

Merlot 80%, Cabernet Franc 20%

Cellar

12 to 15 months in barrel, 1 third new

Production

About 65,000 bottles a year

In history

Aux Trois-Croix, under the Ambaud family from 1868 and Bardeau from 1897

Sources: Syndicat viticole de Fronsac, Château Les Trois Croix · Syndicat viticole de Fronsac, Château Les Trois Croix (English)