I have spent the best part of my life fighting the battle of Castillon. Not the old 1453 one against the English but the modern one started in 1922 when Castillon was unfairly chopped out of the new St Emilion AOC by the sort of committee that now decides where World Cups get played.
That dodgy lot swapped our noble limestone hills (same as the hills of St Emilion) for a swathe of cattle pasture on the wet floodplain of the Dordogne. Unjust! We was robbed!
So, next day, with the J's and Clare, first do a circumnavigation of the district. Show the site of the ancient Battle of Castillon – a sad English defeat, plus the site where they re-play the battle every summer – and as many medieval châteaux and fortresses as I can fit in an hour. (More castles per square mile here than anywhere on earth).
To Silvio's Chateau Faugeres (our next door neighbour). He just had to build a new winery because the boundary between Castillon and St Emilion runs slap through the middle of his château. So he has a Castillon winery on one side and a St Emilion winery on the other. Both by famous architects. Clean, efficient, new … like Silvio.
I love his Castillons more than his St Emilions but might be biased.
Super lunch by new local Flying Chef. Jean-Baptiste Depons (nb. we should use him). Fine service meal; attractive menu with print of Chateau from original painting done with the Chateau wine.
Their white wine is DELICIOUS, Sémillon with a Sauvignon Gris component which they prize highly. Grown on the top of their hill. St Emilion white! Of course, it can only be labelled 'Bordeaux'.
Then to Château d'Aiguille to meet Count Stefan de Niepperg and Patrick, the winemaker. Do so admire what has been done here. Probably the most successful château in Castillon. Now 60 hectares – BIG! – but delicious and selling well all around the world. Used to be the château of the Counts of Castillon but burnt down, now a picturesque ruin.
As we drive out of the woods, in the water meadows below the castle, a shepherd is driving his flock of sheep and goats across the lane. What century are we in?
The vast place has plenty serviceable outbuildings plus the modern, circular winery. German-Swiss efficiency does a great job here. Gentle, gentle, gentle. Pigeage, no crushing, full berry fermentation. Even after punching process berries are unbroken and seeds remain within. Inspired by Burgundian delicate Pinot Noir handling. Very gentle.
Production: 60% first wine, 35% of second wine (Seigneurs d’Aiguilhe) – 150,000 to 180,000 bottles – 60ha, but not all in production
Clare’s tasting notes:
‘10 – deep dark colour, full violet scented, big bodied but v strongly structured - for the long term (Nb very late malolactic, not completely finished, same as at La Clarière - don't worry, Henry !!)
‘09 – just bottled, lovely sweetness to this, really crystal clear fruit, v great wine, lovely freshness
‘08 – less profound but playful fruit, stoney palate, tighter
‘05 – dark honey and treacle, spice on this gingerbread and jam, structured, a baby still
‘01 – lovely fresh smooth drinking now, really more-ish drink
Patrick, Stefan and Hugh at Aguille
Then on to Stéphane Derenoncourt at Domaine de l'A. This is right next door to us at La Clarière. A tired Stéphane had just got back from California and was due to fly out again the next day. Tough game, winemaking on different continents.
Has a neat little Burgundian-style cellar he built himself. It was in full swing, pressing. He took us off for another very impressive tasting. During which he did tell Hugh that the reason he – maybe the most celebrated wine consultant today – decided to set up here (rather than somewhere like Fronsac which he knew better) was partly due to tasting our La Clarière wines and seeing what we were doing here. He's an old friend of our Jean-Marc.
Count Stefan had said something similar.
So it was all worth it!
Back in the Eighties, no one in our district could contemplate making the investments in vineyards and chai that would lift their winemaking to St Emilion standards. Castillon wine sold for peanuts. Pay peanuts; get plonk, as we could say.
Then in 1980, monsieur Cassin and I started thinking we could maybe get our trusting customers to pay a more realistic price if we made a better wine. So we replanted with good vines, built a new cellar of stainless steel and fine oak barrels. We started to sort our harvest, throwing away poor quality grapes. (Neighbours convinced we were mad).
But the customers; our lovely Confrères loved it. So we kept modernising/improving. And people like Stéphane and Stefan noticed!!! Now there's a group of us. We WILL get Castillon the Recognition it deserves.
Stefan believes you always need a few characters to push an appellation. ‘Make the music’ and others will follow … we are making our music.
Hugh Johnson has heard it and likes it. We need to get more writers over here.
That's the next move.
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