Chateau Le Prieure (2020) St. Emilion Grand Cru

Chateau Le Prieure dates all the way back to 1696, when it went under the name of Cru des Cordeliers. The more modern era begins when what we know of as Chateau Le Prieure was purchased in 1897 by Joseph Brisson. Once that purchase was completed, he altered the name of the Bordeaux estate to Chateau Le Prieure.

In 1998, the owners of Chateau Le Prieure conducted a complete renovation of the St. Emilion estate. This is included rebuilding the wine making facilities and replanting about 50% of their Right Bank vineyard. During the replanting, the amount of Cabernet Franc was increased to 25%, while the Merlot was reduced to 75%. They purchased nine, new, thermoregulated, stainless steel vats and sorting tables. The addition of these nine, new vats allowed Chateau Le Prieure to vinify on a parcel by parcel basis, which helped improve the quality of their wine.

In 2004, the owner, Olivier Guichard passed away. Today, his daughter Aline Guichard and her husband Paul Goldschmidt are responsible for managing Chateau Le Prieure. They also count Chateau Vray Croix de Gay in Pomerol and Chateau Siaurac which is located in Lalande de Pomerol among their Right Bank holdings. However, that all changed in March, 2014 when the Goldschmidt family sold a large percentage of their holdings to the owner of Chateau Latour , Francois Pinault through his Artemis group.

The 6.25 hectare Right Bank vineyard of Chateau Le Prieure is located on the border of St. Emilion and Pomerol. The vineyards are a bit spread out in different terroirs, some of which are located not far from Chateau Trottevieille , while other parcels are closer to Chateau Troplong Mondot , Chateau Pavie -Macquin and Chateau La Clotte . The terroir consists of thin layers of clay over limestone soils. The vineyards are planted to 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. They have old vines. On average the vines are kept at an average of 41 years of age The vine density is 7,100 vines per hectare. Since 2008, the vineyard has practiced only sustainable farming management. Starting with the 2016 vintage, the estate moved to using only 100% organic and biodynamic farming techniques.

To produce the wine of Chateau Le Prieure, vinification takes place in 9 stainless steel vats of various sizes. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel. The wine is then aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for between 12 to 16 months. The amount of new wood used depends on the style and character of the vintage. The winery was consulted by Stephane Derenoncourt from 2006 to 2009 and since 2010, by Alain Raynaud who remained with Chateau Le Prieure until 2014. Close to 1,800 cases of wine are produced each vintage.

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