Chateau Cantemerle Haut Medoc Bordeaux Wine

Chateau Cantemerle Haut Medoc, Bordeaux wine, Fifth Growth, producer profile, with wine tasting notes, wine ratings, a history of the property, information on wine making and terroir, along with wine tasting reviews. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Cantemerle is one of the first well known Bordeaux estates you see as start the drive along the D2, as you head towards the Medoc. Chateau Cantemerle is also one of the oldest properties in the Bordeaux wine region. Historical documents listing the Lords of Cantemerle of La Sauve Majeur Abbey, can be dated all the way back to the 12th century. The documents exist thanks to the monks who recorded any business that transpired in the monastic community.

In 1147, the Abbey received vast territories as a gift from Arnaud, Lord of Blanquefort. Arnaud did this before leaving on a crusade. One hundred years later, when Aquitaine was still under English rule, a Lord of Cantemerle was fighting Saint Louis, the King of France.  He was called in 1241 by Henri III, King of England, to fight at the battle of Taillebourg, which he lost. Luckily, he was allowed to retain his property. His direct descendant, Ponset de Cantemerle took over the estate in 1340. Shortly after that, Cantemerle began producing wine. The first traces of Bordeaux wine production at Cantemerle took place in 1354. At the time, the Lord of Cantemerle paid his tithes on wine with a wine. By the 16th century, the estate was devoted to making Bordeaux wine.

In 1845, Pierre Chadeuil, the new owner of Pibran, a neighbouring vineyard, began to label his wines Chadeuil Cantemerle Château Pibran. He stated Cantemerle had been associated not only with the private estate of the Villeneuve family, but also with all the lands surrounding it. Because of that, he was fully justified in incorporating Cantemerle into the name of his Bordeaux wine. The logic was, it represented a region of origin, and not a family name. However, the owner of Cantemerle, Madame Villeneuve-Durfort did not agree. Producing documents from the 1570s, when the Villeneuve family had acquired the estate, she proved that Chadeuil’s claims were false and that Chadeuil was forced to pay damages and for the cost of the trial. He was also forced to change the name of his wine.

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In 1852, Fleuret-Jean-Baptiste, Count of Lavergne, was a pioneer in the fight against mildew. The first attempts to control it were done by dusting the vines with sulphur at Cantemerle. He was rewarded for his efforts with several medals and a prize from the Academy of Bordeaux.

Cantemerle was not only the worst hit of the Medoc classified growths during the phylloxera crisis, but the vines were also attacked by downy mildew between 1879 and 1887. Consequently, the annual production of Chateau Cantemerle was slashed by 50%
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In 1892, the descendants of the last of the Villeneuve family, Jeanne Armande, Baroness Charles d’Abbadie, sold Chateau Cantemerle to the Dubos family after owning the estate for over three hundred years. Théophile-Jean Dubos, husband of Charlotte Delbos, took over the estate in 1892, with the assistance of his two sons, Pierre and Bernard. The last private owner, Bertrand Clauzel sold the property in 1981 to the SMABTP group.

The 87 hectare Bordeaux wine vineyard of Cantemerle resides on silica and gravel soils. The Haut Medoc vineyard is planted to 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Cabernent Franc and 5% Petit Verdot with vines that average 30 years of age. The vine density is 9,600 voines per hectare. The terroir is mostly sand and gravel. Chateau Cantemerle is vinified in either conical, shaped wood vats or stainless steel. The better parcels are always vinified in the stainless steel vats. The wine is aged in 40% to 50% new French oak for between 12 – 14 months, depending on the vintage. There is a second wine, Les Allees de Cantemerle. The average annual production of Chateau Cantemerle is about 25,000 cases per year.

Chateau Cantemerle is a medium bodied, light, elegantly styled Bordeaux wine that drinks well young and is usually best enjoyed during the first two decades of life, even in the best vintages.

www.cantemerle.com