Château Prieuré Canteloup is one of these treasures Bordeaux conceals, nestled in greenery, few kilometers from Bordeaux. Here Valérie and Xavier Germe produce a Côtes de Bordeaux that is worth the visit at the estate that is open to the public (by appointment) at only 10 kilometers from the big city.
The Château is in the Germe family since 1939. Valérie and Xavier run it since 1991. The domain stretches over 20 hectares out of which 10 in production on a clay and limestone and gravelly soil. Mainly planted with Merlot (60%), the vineyard is complemented with 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, but the owners also have a plot with 110-year-old Malbec stocks!
Valérie and Xavier chose a high density (5,500 stocks per hectare) to favour the competition between the plants. They produce less but with a better quality and maturity. The vines are disbuded, the shoots are thinned, the leaves are thinned out by hand; they alternate grass cover and ploughing, and practice selective harvest, plot by plot.
For the vinification, they are helped by Dr Alain Raynaud, a wine grower of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, founder of Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux, and consultant for domains worldwide, especially in the Napa Valley for Colgin Wines who got a 100 by Robert Parker.
Château de Prieuré-Canteloup produce elegant, fine, complex wines, worth laying down but enjoyable young. The 2011, bottled this year, will seduce you with its floral notes and scents of undergrowth, flavours of red fruits and black ripe berries on the palate, a beautiful balance and pleasantly supple tannins.
Château Prieuré-Canteloup is regularly awarded, especially at the Challenge International du Vin competition where the 2010 got the Bronze in 2013, the 2011 the Gold in 2014, and the 2012 the Bronze in 2015. They also got à 89 by Robert Parker for their 2009.
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