Château Sansonnet

The estate

Sansonnet sits at the top of the plateau a few steps from the medieval town, on a thin layer of clay over the limestone, and it was ranked early: a list of the Saint-Émilion growths drawn up in 1841, which Charles Cocks reprinted in his guide of 1850, puts it in the first class of the Haut-Saint-Émilion, at 10 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels). Its owners were people of rank. The duc Decazes, a peer of France, had it in 1846; then the general de Coutard, who left it to his daughter the vicomtesse de Montaudon; then the vicomtesse de Larrard; and in 1892 Prosper-Jean Robin. By 1897 the 7 hectares had been replanted with the finest vines and made 25 tonneaux, and in 1922 Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, counted Sansonnet among the best of the premiers grands crus of the Haut-Saint-Émilion.

The modern record has been less steady. The list of 1996 struck Sansonnet off the classification, the revision of 2012 gave it back its rank, and the list approved in September 2022 confirmed it. Marie and Christophe Lefévère own it, with Château Moulin du Cadet, Château Soutard-Cadet and Château Harmonie, and in 2023 they rebuilt the working buildings whole, with a new vat room for work parcel by parcel and the cellars restored.

The vineyard is 7 hectares in 1 piece, planted 85% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, with vines 35 years old on average and grass left to grow on its own between the rows; it has been certified Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), level 3, since 2017. Pickers work by hand into crates and the fruit is sorted by density; the wine is punched down, does its malolactic in barrel and is raised 16 months, 70% in new French oak of a medium toast, 22% in foudres and 8% in amphorae. The 2023 vintage made 26,000 bottles. Envol de Sansonnet is the second wine.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, at the top of the plateau, a few steps from the medieval town

Classification

Grand Cru Classé, 2012 and 2022; out in 1996

Owners

Marie and Christophe Lefévère

Vineyard

7 hectares in 1 piece; vines 35 years old on average

Ground

A thin layer of clay over limestone

Grapes

Merlot 85%, Cabernet Franc 8%, Cabernet Sauvignon 7%

Farming

Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3, since 2017; natural grass

Cellar

Rebuilt in 2023; picked by hand into crates; sorted by density; malolactic in barrel; 16 months, 70% new French oak, 22% foudres, 8% amphorae

Production

26,000 bottles in 2023

Wines

Château Sansonnet; Envol de Sansonnet

In history

First class at 10 tonneaux in 1841; the duc Decazes in 1846; 25 tonneaux in 1897

Sources: Château Sansonnet, the château · Château Sansonnet, the visits · Château Sansonnet, the technical sheet of 2023 · Association des Grands Crus Classés de Saint-Émilion, Château Sansonnet · Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, the Saint-Émilion classification of 2022