Château Labadie, Médoc, Cru Bourgeois                              

In the Middle Ages this northern part of the Médoc was a desolate region (some might posit that nothing much has changed…) of moorlands with a few vines concentrated around the local priories. Vine growing and the development of the area as we know it today really started in the sixteenth century, when leading merchants and political figures from Bordeaux starting buying up land and creating large estates. Around Bégadan this process was given a fillip with the arrival of Dutch engineers, skilled in the art of draining marshlands.
By the eighteenth century, winemaking was firmly established, so much so that by 1880 there were 25,000ha under vine in Bordeaux, the region’s most glorious hour. A succession of natural disasters – phylloxera, oidium, mildew - decimated the vineyards. These were then followed by two World Wars interspersed with the Depression of the 30s, all of which led to the number of hectares under vine at the beginning of the 1960s being less than 6,000. Over the past 30 years the surface area has doubled but with the current crisis it is unlikely to remain at this level.
Yves Bibey comes from a long line of farmers, but from a young age it was viticulture which inspired him. He bought his first 4ha in 1970 and snapped up the Cru Bourgeois Château Labadie when it came up for sale in 1973. (The name Labadie comes from the “Abbaye” which once stood on this site). Until 1988, grapes from their 50ha of vines were taken to the local cooperative in Bégadan. Since that time there has been a constant drive for improvement: in 1999 a temperature control system was installed which allows them to practise both pre-fermentation cold-soaking and to raise the temperature up at the end of the maceration period. It was in the same year that their son Jerôme joined the team. They have also been following the principals of lutte raisonnée since 2002 and are currently working on a programme of soil revitalisation.
They have built their reputation on consistently producing distinctively Médocain wines, which are powerful and slightly austere in their youth and which, with time, give a fine, classic style Bordeaux, for which they regularly receive accolades from the various wine competitions and magazines.

Château Pavillon, Canon Fronsac

Michel Ponty's grandfather bought this chateau in 1925 and his father bought Grand Renouil in the 1930s. Michel, former president of the Syndicat de Canon Fronsac, now looks after the chai and sometimes the vineyard too. Work in the vineyard and winery is traditional: 'All you need is good terroir and grapes and the rest is attention to detail'. Grass is grown between rows to minimise vigour, and effeuillage is carried out later on in the season, as early effeuillage can result in shrivelled grapes. Grapes for all wines are put into plastic bins in the vineyard to avoid crushing. . The vines of Chateau du Pavillon are orientated South and are next to the Chateau itself. Grand Renouil is made from grapes grown on the steeper slopes of the commune of St Michel de Fronsac. A large part of the vines are over 70 years old.