Château des Antonins , Bordeaux Superieur                                

Château des Antonins has belonged to the de Roquefeuil family since the 1850s. Located in the southern part of Graves, 13 kilometres from Langon, the estate includes a toll bridge, a chapel, a monastery and five windmills. The Chateau takes its name from the Antonins, a monastic order who set up the monastery in the 13th century, as a centre of cure for ergotism. After phylloxera much of the vineyard was dug up and planted with other crops, and only a small part remains dedicated to vines.

He wants to make a red wine that is powerful, hence the long maceration, and the need of some time before drinking. This approach is going against the tide within the appellation of Bordeaux Superieur, where the tendency is to make wines for immediate consumption. The proportion of Cabernet to Merlot in the wine varies from year to year, while the average yield of 45 hl/ha is well below the maximum of 62 hl/ha permitted for the appellation. He started experimenting with microbullage with the 2001 vintage.

Viticulture 
Size: 25 ha
Variety: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot
Soil: Gravelly sand, 1 part ‘sableux limoneux’
Average of vines:  85 years
Training: Cordon royat
Density: 3300
Yield: 45 hl/ha
Cultivation: Traditional.  Grass between rows, leaf thinning and vendange verte
Harvesting: Machine
 
Vinification 
Destemmed: Yes
Yeast: Cultured
Maceration: Long vatting of 3-4 weeks
Fermentation: Lasts approx 1 week at up to 35-36°
Cuve: Stainless steel
Cap: Pumping over
MLF: In cuve
 
Elevage 
Length:  Bottled 2 winters after harvest
New oak: no
Filtered: Yes
Production: 60,000-80,000 bts