Château Tour du Goua

The estate

Goua is a lieu-dit of Cussac, and the old books knew the place long before the estate. William Franck, whose Traité sur les vins du Médoc first appeared in 1824, lists growers there in 1845, and Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, follow it to 1922. The largest holding, Drouillard’s, grew from 10 to 12 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) in 1868 to 40 in 1893, and in 1898 they ranked it among the first crus artisans.

Tour du Goua lies between Saint-Julien and Margaux, 2 kilometers from the Fort-Médoc. The brothers André and Alain Blanchard succeeded their mother Odette in 1980. Alain retired in 2021, the year André’s son Jérémy settled on the property as a young farmer; he worked 1 year beside his father, who left in turn in 2022. Jérémy brought a new logo, new work in vineyard and cellar and, from 2021, the conversion to organic farming. The farm covers 20 hectares, 12.5 of them vines on Garonne gravel, planted 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot, 30 to 35 years old. The grapes are picked by machine and stay 21 to 25 days on their skins, the wine is raised in barrel and vat, and production runs to about 25,000 bottles, with a rosé, Le Rosé du Goua, beside the red. Tour du Goua is a Cru Artisan du Médoc in the classification for 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Haut-Médoc

Commune

Cussac-Fort-Médoc

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owners

The Blanchard family; Jérémy Blanchard since 2021, alone since 2022

Vineyard

12.5 hectares of vines on a farm of 20; vines 30 to 35 years old

Ground

Garonne gravel

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 50%

Farming

In conversion to organic, begun in 2021

Cellar

Picked by machine; 21 to 25 days on the skins; barrel and vat

Production

About 25,000 bottles

Wines

Château Tour du Goua; Le Rosé du Goua

In history

Growers at Goua from 1845; Drouillard’s holding, 40 tonneaux in 1893

Sources: Château Tour du Goua · Château Tour du Goua, the property · Crus Artisans du Médoc, Château Tour du Goua · Qualisud, the Crus Artisans du Médoc classification, 2022 to 2026