Château Linot

The estate

Linot is named for the linnets, small whistling birds that Yohan Juste used to watch among these vines, which he took over when his grandfather died in 2009. Until 2014 the vineyard was 7 rows, barely 2 barrels a year; then he rented 50 neighboring ares from his great-uncle. It is now 0.6 hectares of Quaternary gravel on the hill of Cos, 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot at 10,000 vines a hectare, 60 years old on average and the oldest planted in 1940, farmed by reasoned methods with the soil worked.

The grapes are picked by hand into crates, sorted by bunch and then by berry, and go by gravity into temperature-controlled stainless steel, where they stay 4 weeks on their skins; the wine spends 18 months in French oak, 35% new, and there are about 4,500 bottles. Yohan Juste, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France, makes it beside 2 other small wines, Château Serin and Château Petit Serin, as Les Vignobles Juste. Linot is a Cru Artisan du Médoc for the vintages 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Estèphe

Commune

Saint-Estèphe

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owner

Yohan Juste, since 2009

Vineyard

0.6 hectares; 10,000 vines a hectare; vines 60 years old on average, the oldest of 1940

Ground

Quaternary gravel, on the hill of Cos

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 30%

Farming

Reasoned; the soil worked

Cellar

Picked by hand; gravity; stainless steel, 4 weeks on the skins; 18 months in French oak, 35% new

Production

About 4,500 bottles

The house

Les Vignobles Juste, with Château Serin and Château Petit Serin

Sources: Les Vignobles Juste, Château Linot · Les Vignobles Juste · Maison du Vin de Saint-Estèphe, Château Linot · Crus Artisans du Médoc, Château Linot · Qualisud, the Crus Artisans du Médoc classification, 2022 to 2026