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BORDEAUX
APPELLATION
Château Hyot also covers 35 hectares but is located
more towards the bottom of the hills. The soils are
more clayey and the share of Merlot drops to 40%.
The wines, which are not expensive, are oaked with
chips. The results are good, but Aubert points out
that they require a fairly technical approach – the
wines have to be tasted every three weeks to get the
quantities right. Not everyone is equipped for such
precision.
Ninety percent of the wines are now sold in export
markets. Aubert misses the time when he had
30,000 customers in France, but gradually his
network of sales representatives retired. The wines
are now shipped to China and the United States,
but also Western Africa, where a kind of common
market facilitates exports. Admittedly, there is
competition from New World wines, but Bordeaux
has always enjoyed an incredible reputation and
Castillon, like all wines from Gironde, also sports
the ‘Grand Vin de Bordeaux’ statement.
Aubert has a fondness for the appellation. The price
of land – in the range of 30,000 euros per hectare –
is ten times cheaper than in Saint-Emilion, which
leaves room for newcomers to join the ranks of
producers, and also to help energise the appellation.
CHÂTEAU BRÉHAT IS ALSO A PART OF CHÂTEAU HAUT ROCHER
BÉATRICE AND JÉROME DE MONTEIL
CHÂTEAU BRÉHAT:
THE GOOD LIFE AS ORGANIC
WINEGROWERS
Béatrice and Jérôme de Monteil are among those
newcomers. In 2010, they gave up their careers in
Paris to take over the family farm from Jérôme’s
brother. That farm is Château Haut Rocher, now
their home, where they produce Saint-Emilion. But
the chateau also owns 5.5 hectares in the Castillon
appellation area, which follow on seamlessly
from Saint-Emilion and are marketed under the
Château Bréhat name. The vineyards are planted
to 70% Merlot, with the balance divided between
Cabernet Franc and Cabernet-Sauvignon. Whilst
for Saint-Emilion the wines are 100% barrel-fermented
in new casks, the ratio is 50% tanks and
50% 1-year-old barrels for Castillon. “From a marke-
AUTUMN 2022 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE
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