Château Verdignan

Known as one of the oldest wine-growing estates around Pauillac and without doubt the oldest of Saint Seurin de Cadourne, Verdignan stands out first of all by the sheer beauty of the architecture of the château.

The building is still striking even if one third of it was destroyed by fire.

The numerous photographers who stop to put it on film find that there is a distinct architectural similarity with other Médoc constructions built earlier in that part of the 18th century.

For many years, the know-how in the crafting of wines was monopolised by the abbeys. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the vat-room of Verdignan was built just a few hundred yards from the former abbey of Cadourne, which was a well-known staging post for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela who, after crossing the estuary, arrived at the village called La Maréchale.

As part of the renovation of the Gironde estuary, an enormous work plan financed by the EEC has just been undertaken to rehabilitate the harbour that was frequently used to load the barges carrying the barrels of wine to Bordeaux.

A significant date is engraved in the stone lintel of the oldest door of the vat-room at Verdignan: 1720.

Jean Miailhe became owner of the vineyard in two stages, first in 1972 and then in 1975.

©Château Verdignan

The vines of Château Verdignan are planted in 60 hectares of excellent gravely soil situated in Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, a town near Saint-Estèphe in the district of Pauillac, in the HAUT-MEDOC appellation. Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne draws maximum benefit from the nearby estuary of the Gironde and of the Atlantic.

The vineyard is planted with 65% of Cabernet Sauvignons, 5% of Cabernet Franc and 30% of Merlot grapes.

On average, the vines are 30 years old.

From the working of the wines to the ageing of the wine, across the four seasons, we follow long-standing traditions with due respect for the environment and a ready acceptance of modern technology. Our aim is to optimise the quality of our grapes to ensure that we bring in a healthy harvest at optimal ripeness.

©Château Verdignan

The Harvests

Grassing between the rows, leaf removal after flowering and crop thinning enable the grapes to ripen in the best possible conditions. Harvesting is performed " à la carte ", always starting with the Merlot grapes and then the later ripening Cabernets. It is a period which calls for painstaking, detailed attention to be sure of optimising the quality of the grapes by enhancing the different quality nuances of each grape variety (terroir and age of the vines) and to determine the percentage to be eventually drawn off on vatting.

Vinification

Vinification follows the traditional Bordeaux method in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats.

Work in the vat-room (pumping over, stirring, racking) and the length of maceration are determined according to the characteristics of each vintage and above all to the style of wine sought.
Upon completion of the alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentations, several tastings are held in December before the final assembly of the premium wine with our consultants, Jacques and Eric BOISSENOT.

Only two thirds of the production will be kept for the premium wine so as to give the best possible expression to the classic combination of grape varieties of our appellation.

Ageing

The wine is aged in barrels for 12 months, with one quarter or even one third of new barrels each year, mainly in French oak.

When the spring of the second year comes round, after fining a final blend is made to ensure that the premium wine to be bottled is perfectly homogenous.

We use natural corks, extra heavy bottles, bottling according to the HACCP standard and since the 2005 vintage each bottle is engraved with a batch number.

The bottles are then stored in an air-conditioned cellar to optimise their ageing and to enable us to offer our customers perfectly kept wines ready for their drinking pleasure.

©Château Verdignan