Château Simard

Château Simard has an enviable address on the sunny southern slopes of Saint-Émilion. Surrounded by the region’s first growth vineyards, Château Simard’s vineyard has excellent exposure and predominantly clay soil mixed with sand and gravel. Château Simard’s classical, refined style can be attributed not only to its fine vineyard location, but also to its traditional winemaking practices and distinctive aging program. The blend each year reflects the vineyard’s makeup of Merlot blended with Cabernet Franc. Elegant and balanced upon release, Château Simard expresses its deep roots in Bordeaux’s famous Right Bank.

With a legacy that dates back to the 17th century, Château Simard is located near the ancient and beautiful town of Saint-Émilion. Called the hill of 1,000 châteaux, Saint-Émilion is home to the Right Bank’s most prestigious estates.

Among the most renowned of these is Château Ausone — one of only two estates classified in 1955 as Saint-Émilion Premiers Grands Crus Classés A — which is Château Simard’s sibling. Château Ausone’s proprietor, Alain Vauthier, acquired Château Simard when his uncle Claude “Coco” Mazière passed away in 2008.

The Saint-Émilion region is marked by moderate temperatures due to the nearby Dordogne River, which acts as a tempering mechanism to prevent spring frost and to moderate the summer heat. This allows for a long growing period to ensure perfect ripening.

Merlot is king in Saint-Émilion, with Cabernet Franc its queen. These two grapes comprise most of the production of the region. The wines from Saint-Émilion are known for being sumptuous, with smooth tannins and the ability to age over long periods of time.

A quintessential Saint-Émilion producer, Château Simard’s vineyard is surrounded by the region’s first growth vineyards. The 40-hectare (98.84-acre) hillside property is marked predominantly by clay with sand and gravel soil and a deep water table, forcing the vines to grow far into the ground. It is planted to Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines that average 50 years in age.

In the 2006 reclassification of Saint-Émilion, Château Simard’s vineyards qualified for Grand Cru classification, which is showing from the 2008 vintage on the label. However, the winery’s owner at that time, Claude Mazière, valued his freedom from regulations and preferred to continue as he had for decades, hand-selling each vintage to his loyal customers.

Château Simard produces only one wine. It is classically elegant, with a refined style that results not only from the excellent vineyard location, but also from traditional winemaking methods employed at the château. Winemaking at Château Simard includes fermentation in concrete vats and an extended maceration period. During aging, the wine is racked using traditional methods. It is bottled and aged in the cellar, allowing the fragrance and flavors to develop complexity, nuance and finesse.