This rough diamond from Saint-Estèphe was taken over by the Cardon family in 2012. Chris Cardon, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, manages the estate with his son-in-law Lloyd Lippens. Hectare after hectare, the family constituted a vineyard of 30 hectares. Yet La Haye is not that young. The wine vocation of the chateau appeared in 1556 and the house even sheltered the lovers Henry II and Diane of Poitiers, leaving traces of this royal passage with two intertwined letters, H and D in the stone of the castle and on the labels.
The various facets of La Haye still needed to be cut. The vineyards of the estate are between 30 and 40 years old. Château La Haye is certified High Environmental Value Level 3. For a greater respect of berries, the harvest is made in small crates. The grapes are destemmed and since this year, the family has invested in a destemmer, sign that a work towards refinement is in progress. The winemaking, done with the help of enologist Eric Boissenot, is done in small vats that allow plot selection. Classified Cru Bourgeois and laureate with the 2013 and the 2014, the family aims at the classification in Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel.
Whereas previously, the wine matured in 100% new oak, the family now prefers to let its wine age in a third of new barrels, a third of one wine and a third of two wines, always French oak. La Haye enjoys an average of 12 months of maturation. The Château produces between 50 and 60,000 bottles a year. The average price of the bottle sold at the property is 27 EUR all taxes included, a good ratio for the fans. The château also produces a second label from the youngest vines, Le Cèdre de la Haye (40,000 bottles) and a micro cuvee of 3 to 4,000 bottles, only in the best vintages, Majesté de La Haye. However, in a desire to improve La Haye, the family plans to integrate this selection into the grand vin.
The second jewel of the family is in the Pauillac appellation. Château Bellevue—to the name of which Cardon was added to mark its entry into the family but also its revival—is an estate that had lost its vineyards following the frost in 1956. Of the original 12 hectares, the family has recovered 2.5 hectares, from under the noses of illustrious neighbors. Today, 0.6 hectares are in production with old vines aged 60 years. The rest is currently being replanted.
Last October, the young Lloyd Lippens wanted to submit his work to the expert palate of the proeminent Chinese sommelier Nelson Chow, president of the Hong Kong and China sommelier association. By successively tasting the 2014, 2015 and 2016 of Château La Haye, Nelson Chow could note the apparent evolution in the work of the family. All of them reveal beautiful aromas of fruit and spices, but the wines have gained structure year after year. La Haye is standing out with its own style and the tasting with the Chinese expert confirmed that the small rough diamond was gradually becoming more and more radiant.
Today, soil analyzes are still in progress to precisely define the terroirs. The story continues its course, rewritten in the Medoc tradition but with a little accent from elsewhere, promising a bright future for this little jewel of Saint-Estèphe.
Sylvia van der Velden
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