Château Ferrière

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Château Ferrière is one of Bordeaux's lesser-known wineries . Since the classification of 1855 , the winery has been classified as Troisième Grand Cru Classé (third highest level of classification).

It is located in Margaux in the immediate west of the village on the “Route du Vin”, department road no.

In addition to Château Ferrière, the owner Claire Villars-Lurton also manages the Château Haut-Bages-Libéral and Château La Gurge wineries . Her husband Gonzague Lurton runs the Château Durfort-Vivens winery .

The floor

The parcels on which the Château Ferrière is produced are located exclusively in the municipality of Margaux. The soil consists of a homogeneous layer of medium to fine pebbles several meters deep, which were deposited fluvoglacial from the Garonne from the Pyrenees during the Günz Ice Age . It is relatively calcareous and offers excellent drainage.

The Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety thrives on this soil. In addition to the fact that the soil is extremely barren and that the yields are therefore naturally reduced, the heat balance of the vineyards, which is favored by the gravel, contributes to the earlier maturity of the grape variety. Due to the massive gravel layer, the vine plant is forced to drive the roots very deep into the ground; the range of nutrients is more diverse and has a minor impact on the variety of aromas in the wine.

The wine

Ferrière wine is extremely rare, as the estate is only eight hectares in size. It is the smallest of the classified Médoc wines. 80% of the area is planted with the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety , 15% with Merlot and 5% with Petit Verdot . The average age of the vines is 35 years.

The alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The maceration time is approx. 20 days. The wine is then transferred to barriques , where the wine first undergoes malolactic fermentation and matures for 16-18 months. 60 percent of the barrels are replaced every year.

The second wine of the estate is called Les Ramparts de Ferrière . Château Ferrière is accompanied and advised by the oenologist Jacques Boissenot and his son Eric.

history

The history of the estate begins when the trader Gabriel Ferrière (1721–1792) bought the property in 1765. The history is unknown. The unmarried Gabriel bequeathed the estate to the son of his cousin André, who was also called Gabriel Ferrière (1747-1828).

Despite the turmoil of the French Revolution , the family managed to keep the property. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the winery has always been highly valued; the rank of 3rd plant in the classification of 1855 confirmed the appreciation.

The Ferrière family owned the estate until 1917. It was not until Henri Ferrière (1852–1934) separated from the château, as shortly beforehand the entire burden of the commercial business had been placed on him. The buyer was Armand Feuillerat, who already owned Château Marquis de Terme . Armand later bequeathed the estate to his daughter, married Madame Durand.

Ms. Durand had little interest in the estate, which suffered from various crises ( phylloxera , powdery mildew , wars and the Great Depression ) between 1880 and the Second World War . She rented the vineyards to Alexis Lichine , the owner of Château Prieuré-Lichine and administrator of Château Lascombes . During this time, the wines were matured in the cellars of Lascombes. First, 4.5 hectares of vineyards were newly laid out.

In 1988 Jacques Merlaut finally acquired the estate through his Taillan Group and, in 1992, was completely separated from Lascombes. His daughter Bernadette took over the management of the estate. When she and her husband were killed on a hiking holiday in the Pyrenees in 1992, their daughter Claire Villars-Lurton took over management. Claire studied with the well-known oenologist Émile Peynaud .

literature

Web links