Château Sémeillan Mazeau

The estate

Sémeillan was a cru bourgeois supérieur of the 19th century. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, listed it at Listrac from 1868, under Bonnet, of Castelnau, at 90 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) in 1874; it passed to the vicomte du Pavillon by 1886, made 120 tonneaux by 1898, and was still with the vicomtesse du Pavillon in 1922. In 1925 it went to P. A. Hosten. When he died in 1938 the estate was divided among his 3 daughters; 1 of them married P. J. Mazeau, and she and her heirs formed a civil company to run it under the new name of Château Sémeillan Mazeau. In 1998 Mr. Jander and his wife bought the property and restored it.

The latest turn came in 2021, when Pierre Jean Denis Bibian bought Sémeillan Mazeau together with Château Lagrave Cissan. He is the heir to a winemaking family of Listrac, but his career had been elsewhere: from 1981 he made wine in Madiran and built up Domaine Bibian there. Now he is manager, grower and cellar master, with his wife Léontine beside him.

The vineyard lies on the gravel plateaus of Pey-de-Menjon and Champ-de-Lagrêle, on small sandy gravels over a clay and limestone subsoil. It has been certified organic since 2015. The 2019 and the 2021 are both 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. The cellar doubles as a gallery for local artists. Sémeillan Mazeau is a Cru Bourgeois in the classifications of 2020 and 2025.

At a glance

Appellation

Listrac-Médoc

Commune

Listrac-Médoc

Classification

Cru Bourgeois, 2020 and 2025

Owner

Pierre Jean Denis Bibian, since 2021

Direction

Pierre Jean Denis Bibian, manager, grower and cellar master

Vineyard

The plateaus of Pey-de-Menjon and Champ-de-Lagrêle

Ground

Small sandy gravels over a clay and limestone subsoil

Grapes

The 2019 and the 2021: Merlot 75%, Cabernet Sauvignon 25%

Farming

Certified organic since 2015

Wines

Château Sémeillan Mazeau

The house

Vignobles Jean Denis Bibian, also Château Lagrave Cissan and Château Jander

In history

Bonnet, of Castelnau, in 1874; the du Pavillon family from 1886 to 1922

Sources: Vignobles Jean Denis Bibian · Vignobles Jean Denis Bibian, the estate · Château Sémeillan Mazeau, the 2021 · Château Sémeillan Mazeau, the 2019 · Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, Château Sémeillan Mazeau · Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, the classification of 2025 · Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, the classification of 2020