Château des Bardes

Château des Bardes in Saint-Emilion

The tranquil winery Château des Bardes is located in the east of Saint-Emilion, one of the best known and most famous wine-growing regions in the southwest of France, in the Bordelais. The ancient Romans already cultivated wine here. There are two famous appellations in Saint-Émilion: Saint-Èmilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru.

The winery Château des Bardes is located on a limestone plateau. It is this soil for which the area is internationally known. The special thing about it is that the soil stores water, which it then releases again only very slightly and successively. Thus, the vines always receive just the right amount of water: not too much and not too little. in 1999, the wine-growing region was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

In September 2000, the former French professional skier Sylviane Garcin Cathiard bought the vineyard. She left it to her daughter Hélène Garcin-Lévêque to take care of the fortunes of the winery. The dedicated winemaker does this with particular passion and dedication.

In addition to Château des Bardes, the family also owns other wineries: Clos L'Èglise in Pomerol, Château Haut-Bergey in Saint-Emilion and Château Branon in Pessac Léognan.

The Terroir

If you could invent an exceptional terroir, you would create something like Château Bardes. It is a south-facing amphitheater with a limestone base covered with a magnificent, very robust layer of clay.

When the clay is saturated with water, the limestone absorbs the excess and stores it to make it available again to the vines when it is dry. An arrangement between the elements that allows the vines to defy harsh conditions and excel themselves to offer the rich, concentrated fruit whose expression characterizes the great wines of the Saint Emilion limestone plateau.

The people behind the wine

The wines are above all the story of an encounter. The encounter between Patrice Lévèque, a passionate winemaker, and his wife Hélène Garcin. Patrice rarely leaves his vineyard, which receives his constant attention. As if it were one of his children, he can't imagine being away for too long because, as he says himself, "When it rains, when it freezes or when a heat wave comes, my vines have no choice but to endure it. If I want to do my job properly, I have to stay with them in all conditions."

While this man of the soil has the means to create a great Saint Emilion and a great Pomerol, he likes his wine best when it is enjoyed. The enormous care with which the terroir could offer a masterpiece would be in vain if Hélène, his wife, did not devote all her energy to present it to the public. This complementary union, this natural harmony, is not unlike that between the elements of this exceptional terroir.

A story in which setting and characters play alternately from the same score, which ultimately conveys its message in the fleeting moment of tasting the wine.

All-around renewal of Château des Bardes

Sylviane Garcin Cathiard invested heavily in her new winery and had it extensively renovated. Not only the Château itself underwent a comprehensive renewal, but also and especially the cellar was equipped with the latest technology. New and modern buildings were also erected, equipped with a special steel that protects against rusting through.

Ecological management

Winemaking at Château des Bardes is done gently and close to nature. Chemical weed killers are completely avoided. The buildings are also run sustainably, with solar panels, rainwater filters and a wind turbine.

Château des Bardes in numbers

• the vineyards cover 17 hectares
• Merlot grows on 75% of the vineyard
• Cabernet Sauvignon grows on 25% of the vineyard area
• the wines are aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels
• over 40,000 bottles of wine are bottled annually