Owned by the Vayron family since 1821, this lovely vineyard is situated in the heart of Pomerol’s most prestigious terroirs, with Château Trotanoy as its neighbor. Since 2008, the wine is made by the youngest Vayron to join the family venture, Frédérique, the daughter of current owners Xavier and Dominique.

Formed by a gentle, sloping plot, the west-facing vineyard enjoys ideal sun exposure, thanks to which some of its parcels were spared from the great frost of 1956. 

Situated in one of the warmest parts of Pomerol, Château Bourgneuf produces wines that are deep and dense, layered and complex, with perfectly rounded tannins. The wine’s ripe fruit aromas make it seductive when young, but a few years of cellaring are strongly rewarded.

The merlot and cabernet franc vines, of an average age of 40 years, are planted on gravelly clay enhanced by an iron-rich subsoil. The vineyard is maintained traditionally and conscientiously throughout the year. Vinification takes place in thermo-regulated concrete tanks, and aging is carried out in oak barrels (35% new) for 12-14 months. 

Nose of ripe red fruit with slightly toasted evident oak. Very concentrated, powerful, warm palate marked by oak tannins.

After a mild winter, spring alternated between sun and rain. Narrowly escaping a frost on April 13th, it was the rain in early June that first influenced the vintage. Indeed, the flowering suffered as a result and Merlot grapes counted an average of just 120 berries (instead of 200 usually). Confirming global warming trends, the summer was exceptionally sunny and warm, just missing the historic record for hours of sunshine set in 2018. On the gravel plateau of Pomerol, hydric stress set in as early as mid-July. Happily, we received gentle, favorable rain on July 26th (1.4 inches) that set off a quick and even veraison. This moment marked the qualitative turn of the vintage. At the end of August, Merlot grapes weighed 1.2 grams on average (instead of 1.5 grams in a normal vintage), heralding exceptional concentration but low yields. Graced by fine weather, Château Bourgneuf harvested optimally ripe grapes from September 19th to 30th.