Chateau Bourgneuf History, Overview

 

Chateau Bourgneuf Vayron is one of the oldest, family owned properties in the Pomerol appellation. The Vayron family has owned and managed the estate starting in 1821. Until 2012, the wines of Chateau Bourgneuf were sold and labeled differently, depending on the country.

 

In some countries, the wine was sold as Chateau Bourgneuf. In other countries, the wine was marketed as Chateau Bourgneuf Vayron. That odd practice started in about 1970. That ended with the 2014 vintage, when the chateau officially changed its name to Chateau Bourgneuf.

 

 

Chateau Bourgneuf Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

 

The 8.86 hectare vineyard of Chateau Bourgneuf is planted to 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is well situated on good terroir, right next to the vineyards of Chateau Trotanoy on the Pomerol plateau. Trotanoy is not their only famous neighbor! Chateau LEglise Clinet is located directly northeast of Chateau Bourgneuf as well. They also have vines next to La Cabanne.

 

The terroir of Chateau Bourgneuf is made up of different soils. The vineyard has a section that is almost exclusively clay, which is their best terroir. They also have soils with sand, gravel and clay with some iron deposits as well.

 

The goal of the Right Bank estate is to slowly add more Cabernet Franc vines, bringing the percentage of that grape variety up to 15% of the planted acreage. On average, the vines are an impressive 40 years of age. They also have old vines, with one parcel that is more than 70 years of age! The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 6,000 vines per hectare.

 

To produce the wine of Chateau Bourgneuf, vinification takes place in traditional, temperature controlled, cement vats that range in size from 25 hectoliters up to 70 hectoliters. Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat. The wine is aged in an average of 35% new, French oak barrels for between 12 to 14 months, depending on the character and style of the vintage. The annual production ranges from 3,500 to 4,000 cases of Chateau Bourgneuf per vintage.