Château Simard

The estate

Simard takes its name from a village founded in the 15th century by Johan de Las Symas, a jurat of Saint-Émilion, where the Vauthier family’s 2 estates, Simard and Haut-Simard, now stand. The vineyard was bought in 1954 and belonged to Claude Mazière until his nephew, Alain Vauthier, took it over in 2008, so it has been in the same family for more than 70 years. It is 1 of the 6 Vauthier estates, with Ausone.

The vineyard covers about 40 hectares of the southern valley, running down to the plain, on a patchwork of clay and limestone, sand and gravel, planted 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are picked by hand and carefully sorted, fermented in concrete and stainless steel vats and aged with a light hand, a few months in barrel.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion

Classification

No classification

Owners

The Vauthier family, since 1954

Direction

Alain Vauthier, since 2008

Vineyard

About 40 hectares in the southern valley of Saint-Émilion, running down to the plain

Ground

Clay and limestone, sand and gravel

Grapes

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

Cellar

Picked by hand and sorted; concrete and stainless steel vats; a few months in barrel

The house

Vignobles Vauthier: also Château Ausone, Château La Clotte, Château Moulin-Saint-Georges, Château Haut-Simard and Château de Fonbel

In history

The village of Simard, founded in the 15th century by Johan de Las Symas, a jurat of Saint-Émilion

Sources: Vignobles Vauthier, Château Simard · Vignobles Vauthier, Château Simard (French) · Vignobles Vauthier, the family