Chateau Villars Fronsac Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Villars Fronsac with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, the history of the property, and information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Villars History, Overview

Chateau Villars was founded at the tail end of the 19th century by Octave Trocard. At the time, the estate was close to 18 hectares in size. Over the years, Chateau Villars has slowly expanded in size. Currently, the property occupies close to 36 hectares in the Fronsac appellation, which is slightly more than twice the size of the estate when it was first created.

Today, Chateau Villars is still a family-owned property as the vineyard and winemaking are managed by Thierry Gaudrie, a direct descendant of Octave Trocard. In fact, Thierry Gaudrie is the seventh generation of his family to own and manage the vineyards of Chateau Villars. Prior to Thierry Gaudrie, Chateau Villars was managed by his parents, Jean Claude Gaudrie and Brigitte Gaudrie.

Chateau Villars Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 30-hectare Right Bank vineyard of Chateau Villars is planted to 81% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon.

In addition to their vineyards, 3 hectares of the estate are reserved for parkland surroundings and meadows, while another 3 hectares are forest land, which is not able to be cultivated. But the forest land does add to the terroir, which is mostly clay, chalk, and limestone soils on top of sandstone soil. Their best parcels are on the plateau at 55 meters in elevation.

The vineyard can be divided into 3 parts with parcels close to the chateau, another section is just due south of the chateau and a third parcel is located east of the chateau. Each parcel provides a slightly different terroir.

On average the vines are close to 35 years of age. Until 2005, the vineyard had some of the oldest vines in the Right Bank, which were over 100 years in age. Those vines were just not producing enough fruit and had to be removed so the land could be replanted. The replanting also added more Merlot to the vineyards, as many of those older vines were Cabernet Sauvignon.

To produce the wine of Chateau Villars, vinification takes place in traditional cement vats. The wine is aged in an average of 33% new, French oak barrels for 10 to 14 months, depending on the vintage and its characteristics. Prior to 1978, the wines were never aged in new oak barrels. On average, the production is close to 8,500 cases of Chateau Villars per vintage. There is a second wine, Chateau Moulin Haut Villars.

The best vintages of Chateau Villars are: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009 and 2005.

Thierry Gaudric also produces Chateau Malvet and Charme de Villars from vines that are planted in the Fronsac appellation.

When to Drink Chateau Villars, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Villars is much better with at least 2-3 years of aging in good vintages. Young vintages can be decanted for 1 hour, allowing the wine to soften and open its perfume.

Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Villars offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 3-10 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Villars with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Villars is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau Villars is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Villars is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

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