Chateau Fougueyrat, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
A new beginning for Château Fougueyrat
Château Fougueyrat was operated by the Nicoux family until before the turn of the millennium as a stellar Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. Indeed, the excellent terroir where the vineyards thrive testifies to great class. With prestigious Grand Cru Classé neighbors like Cap de Mourlin, Soutard, Larmande and Dassault, it is hard to argue with that...
In 2001, the Mortelmans family acquired the 7 acres of beautifully situated vineyards with accompanying cellars. To keep the chateau among the select group of Saint-Émilion Grand Cru's, everything and everyone was promptly recalibrated for quality.
Top location in Saint-Émilion
Located on Saint-Émilion's famous limestone rock, the vineyards are planted with 85% merlot, 10% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon. They were realigned and even partially realigned. Thanks to a double short pruning (vendanges vertes), nothing but quality is pursued in the vineyards.
In the cellars, alcoholic fermentation can be monitored very closely thanks to small temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Maturation in French oak barrels has also been revised, so one-fourth of the oak barrels are renewed annually. The remaining wine matures in one or two year old barrels.
Annual investments ensure a bright future for Château Fougueyrat and thanks to oenologist Stéphane Toutoundji (Château la Serre, Château la Pointe, ...) they now know how to use the most innovative techniques. Thus the winery can compete with the best Grand Cru and even Grand Cru Classés, and can also begin to dream back to its status that it enjoyed in 1949: Grand Premier Cru Classé!
Thanks to the large predominance of merlot, Château Fougueyrat is ready to drink young, but can of course face several years of cellaring. Exceptional vintages like 2000 & 2005 may not have to shy away from twenty years of cellaring.
MAIN DISTRIBUTOR FOR BELGIUM!