Château Maison Blanche 2016

Lot presentation

Château Maison Blanche 2016

The wine

This is the original wine produced by this domain, composed largely of fruit from old vines. The cuvée is matured for 15-18 months in French oak barrels with no shavings or oxygen added. A small amount of sulphur is added, between 50 and 90 mg/L. The wine is neither fined, filtered, pasteurised or sterilised. In tasting it presents aromas of dark red fruit (cherry, plums) and a powerful, dense and well-structured palate, complemented by stark freshness and blended tannins. Offering great cellaring potential to boot, this cuvée pairs perfectly with red meat or game. For the recent vintages, decant a few hours before drinking.

About the Producer Château Maison Blanche

Located in the Montagne-Saint-émilion appellation, the Château Maison Blanche was founded by Marie Constant and her husband Octave Pineau (sub-prefect of Vienne) at the end of the 19th century. It was they who had the beautiful house built with white stones from Vienne (which therefore differed from the yellow stone of Saint-Emilion), which gave the domain its current name: the Métairie du Château Petit Corbin thus became Château de La Maison Blanche. In 1938, the domain was bought by Louis Rapin, who extended, restructured and renovated it. Louis Rapin's daughter, Françoise Rapin, succeeded him in 1972 and handed over the running of the domain to her husband Gérard Despagne (vineyard owner in Saint-Emilion, from a family of winemakers who settled in the region over 500 years ago). He had an underground winery built, along with a large archive and an enormous barrel cellar. From the end of the 1990s, Nicolas Despagne (the current owner) joined his father and began working in the cellar, then later in the vines. He was behind the domain's decision to convert to organic, and then biodynamic agriculture, the ‘natural' style of winemaking (no inputs, very little or no sulphites added), as well as the refusal of all technology in the winery. We highly recommend this domain's wines, which are at once powerful and elegant, with wonderful freshness and great aging potential. A Bordelais gem, just the way we like them!

Detailed characteristics