Chateau La Confession St. Emilion Bordeaux Wine

Chateau La Confession St. Emilion, Bordeaux wine 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

2001 was the debut vintage for Chateau La Confession in St. Emilion and it’s new, young owner, Bordeaux wine maker, Jean-Philippe Janoueix. It only took a few years until Chateau La Confession started showing what it was capable of. 2005 was the first vintage expressing the quality of wine Chateau La Confession.

Some of this has to do with the novel ideas Janoueix began experimenting with. This was the first vintage where Janoueix warmed the barrels before placing the wine in them. According to Janoueix, this technique allows for a more gentle extraction with no shock to the Bordeaux grapes.

The 7.5 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau La Confession is planted on clay, chalk and siliceous soils. On average, the vines are 43 years old. In the vineyard, Janoueix practices double cane pruning for the Merlot and single can pruning for the Cabernet Franc. At Chateau La Confession, Jannoueix thins the leaves in June on the East side and does the same for the Cabernet on the westside. They perform the first green harvest in June.

Chateau La Confession is fermented in open wood tanks come from Taransaud with no added yeasts. Punching of the cap and pumping overs alternate night and day until 70% of the alcoholic fermentation has been completed. The total vatting time is between 5 and 6 weeks.

Malolactic fermentation occurs in oak barrels from Allier. Stirring of the lees takes place during fermentation. At Chateau La Confession, Jannoueix uses a combination of different shaped, oak barrels. 50% of the barrels are in the traditional shape and the other 50% are in the shape of a cigar. Janoueix likes the cigar shaped barrels because they offer a better digestion of the lees by the wine, owing to a wider surface of exchange brought by their shape. The wine remains in barrel for between 15 and 19 months, depending on the vintage. On average, the production of Chateau La Confession is 2,500 cases per year.