Our tasting today comes from the wonderful tasting room at Chateau de Ferrand in Saint Emilion,
where Wine-Searcher's Wine Director David Allen MW is fortunate enough to be tasting an en-primeur sample of their wine from the 2023 vintage. Given the Bich family's Business the beautiful illustration on the estate's surroundings that you see on the wall behind David was of course drawn with a Bic ballpoint pen!
Château de Ferrand is a 42-hectare (104-acre) estate in Saint-Émilion, on Bordeaux's so-called Right Bank region (on the right/north bank of the Dordogne river). It gained Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé status in 2012, and makes two wines: the grand vin and a second label, Le Différent de Château de Ferrand.
The well-drained, clay-rich soils that underpin the estate's 32 hectares (79 acres) of vineyard are planted to 75 percent Merlot, 15 percent Cabernet Franc and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard is one of the more elevated properties in Saint-Émilion, and the vines benefit from good ventilation and sun exposure. Ferrand does not use herbicides in the vineyard and is in conversion to fully organic viticulture.
When the grapes enter the winery, they are sorted both by hand and through an optical sorting system. Individual plots are kept separate throughout the winemaking process, and are gravity-fed into vats for vinification.
The wines are aged for 12-16 months in French oak barrels of which roughly 60 percent are new. The wines are then bottled and held in the cellars to complete the aging process.
The château was founded in 1702 by Elie de Bétoulaud, and was owned by the Bétoulaud family until 1978 when it was sold to the Bich family, owners of the Bic corporation. Today, Château de Ferrand is owned by Pauline Bich Chandon-Moët and her husband Philippe Chandon-Moët.
To find out more about this wine, its pricing and where to buy it go to the Wine-Searcher website: [ Ссылка ]
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