Château Martinat

The château

Martinat was taken over in 1994, and Lucie and Stéphane Donze run it today, with Cyrille Baillou and Sophie Baraillé. The 11 hectares at Lansac lie on veins of small gravel and red and brown clay, crossed by a vein of white gravel, and are planted 70% Merlot, 25% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc. The estate is certified Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms); the vines are disbudded, green-harvested and deleafed, and picked by hand.

The grand vin (the estate’s first wine), 80% Merlot and 20% Malbec from vines planted at 6,200 a hectare, spends about 3 weeks in temperature-controlled, epoxy-lined concrete vats and 14 months in French oak, for 60,000 bottles; the other reds age 14 to 18 months, depending on the cuvée, and Epicurea, a Merlot and Malbec, goes through its malolactic in barrel. There is also a pure Malbec, a white of Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris and a rosé, and from Blaye comes Château Les Donats, a pure Merlot.

At a glance

Appellation

Côtes de Bourg

Commune

Lansac

Classification

No classification

Owners

Lucie and Stéphane Donze

Vineyard

11 hectares; 6,200 vines a hectare

Soil

Small gravel and red and brown clay, with a vein of white gravel Terroir of Côtes de Bourg →

Grapes

Merlot 70%, Malbec 25%, Cabernet Franc 5%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale

Cellar

Concrete vats; 14 months in French oak for the grand vin

Production

60,000 bottles of the grand vin

Wines

Château Martinat; Epicurea; Malbec 100%; Château Les Donats, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux