Château La Confession

A VERY FINE SAINT EMILION WINE ON THE RISE THANKS TO THE SOIL AND VERY GIFTED WINEMAKER

by Izak Litwar

I have known Jean-Philippe Janoueix since May 1996, when I met him at his father office in Libourne. He was then 25 years old, already married and he already had an diploma from USA in property management. In 1993, while being in military service, he finished national degree in viticulture (BTAO). 

I was then spending one month in Bordeaux collecting material for my book about Pomerol. We went to several Pomerol properties owned by his father to taste and then he drove me to Chateau de Chambrun in Lalande de Pomerol, a little property he bought in 1994. It was his first acquisition of a vineyard..

After de Chambrun, he acquired Chateau Croix Mouton (1997) just outside Fronsac appelation and close to Dordogne river, neighboring estate Chateau Le Conseiller (2002), planted 20.000 vines per ha and created vineyard called 20 Mille, then in 1999 he took over full responsibilty for winemaking and commercialisation at Chateau La Croix St. Georges in Pomerol. He created Sacre Coeur in Pomerol in 2010 and Chateau Cap St.Georges in St.Georges-Saint-Emilion (2014). He's also been doing harvest and vinification of Chateau La Croix since 2016 vintage, owned by his father. Busy guy indeed.

In 2001 he bought some hectares of vines opposite Taillefer and created Chateau La Confession. In 2007, after selling de Chambrun, he purchased Chateau Haut Pontet in secteur Grand Pontet, very close to village of Saint-Emilion. This new vineyard had overtaken the name of Chateau La Confession from the one opposite Taillefer, second wine got name Haut Pontet and incorporates Merlot grapes from first "version" of La Confession.

His style of winemaking is semi-modern, which means fair use of modern techniques combined with useful "old" ones and emphasis on keeping the character of the soil in the wine. His main aim is to maintain freshness and fruity character of the wine underpinned by sufficient dose of new oak. Jean-Philippe Janoueix's taking no prisoners with his approach to winemaking, for you never get tired, musty, unbalanced and edgy wines from him. 

Château La Confession’s seven and a half hectares (18.5 acres) of clay-limestone soils lie upon a fine slope. At harvest time, we appreciate the cool, calm mornings, the gentle rustling of the vines and the suspense of the winery. In winter, we allow ourselves to be drawn into the chateau’s fireplace by the smell of vine smoke infusing a fine rib of beef. Wreaths of blue holly decorate our white earthenware crockery, in harmony with the label of the bottle opened a little earlier to allow the wine to breathe. The Exposition Universelle of 1855 comes to mind as the crockery awaits the meal with impatience. La Confession reveals itself in all its soft elegance, savoured before a roaring fire.

Wordplay is inevitable when a wine is so well suited to it. Let us confess to a recurrent theme of ripe black and red fruits from the finest sun-drenched years. Let us confess to seductive, alluring textures on the palate with restrained opulence obtained from partial ageing in ‘cigar’ barrels. Next, let us confess to incredible tight precision, underlining the minerality of the terroir and the wine’s many complex dimensions. Finally, let’s dwell for a moment to confess the remarkable length… and let us pray for absolution, at least until the next bottle is uncorked.   Château La Confession is vinified using techniques that we hold dear, with all of the care and precision that an exceptional wine demands.

Saint-Emilion has a rhythm all of its own, with winding cobbled streets that transport you in time, charming stone houses and ancient wells. The perfumed scent of the region’s finest ‘cannelés’ lingers heavy in the air… The peaceful life of this small Medieval town is a delight to enjoy, sipping the pleasures of a glass of La Confesssion on a sunny terrace in the market square. A world-reputed centre for wine is untouched by its fame, continuing its gentle existence among the vines, set upon one of the planet’s finest terroirs. From our fine Chartreuse with its emblematic flags, we do all that we can to honour the grandeur and beauty of Saint-Emilion’s Grand Crus.