Grand Corbin Despagne

Die Familie Despagne besitzt dieses Chateau seit 2 Jahrhunderten, heute wird es in der siebten Generation von Francois Despagne geleitet.

Auf 26 Hektar Rebfläche stehen Merlot (75%), Cabernet Franc (24%) und Cabernet Sauvignon (1%) mit einer Pflanzdichte von 6000 bis 8000 Reben pro Hektar. Das Durchschnittsalter der Reben beträgt 38 Jahre.

Die Trauben werden von Hand in kleinen Kisten gelesen und mehrfach sortiert und dann je nach Anforderung der einzelnen Parzellen vinifiziert.

- DECANTER, James Lawther (7/2013): „…The property to draw our attention to (…) is Chateau Grand Corbin-Despagne. Francois Despagne lives on the estate and ist he seventh generation oft he family to run it. A number of changes have been introduced since it was classified in 1996 (tob e promoted again in 2006), including lower yields fort he Merlot and Cabernet Franc, a second label and organnic cultivation, and the wines now have real vibrancy. It also represents the best value for money tob e found in the GCCs at the moment.“

- Robert Parkers WINE ADVOCATE, William Kelley: „François Despagne is the seventh generation of his family to steward this 28-hectare Saint-Émilion estate, located just across the border from Pomerol, and he is intent on bringing it back to the heights of which anyone who has tasted vintages such as 1929 or 1961 know it is capable. Returning to the estate after some years researching wine microbiology, he dug 150 soil pits—discovering that the historic delimitation of parcels on the estate corresponded precisely to the underlying geology. Soils are thin sand over blue clay, and replanting favors Cabernet Franc (with an in-house massale selection)—which represented about 60% of the surface area before the 1956 frosts and subsequent replanting. Despagne has converted to organic and biodynamic farming, reducing yields, and that is translating to new levels of depth and concentration. In the winery and cellar, however, the approach is rather classical, with a tendency to work more reductively and preserve better purity of fruit (Thomas Duclos consults), emphasizing seamlessness and depth over extraction and impact. The 2021 is a real success at this address, with impressive purity and depth of fruit.“

Weingut: Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne

Menschen/Inhaber: Francois Despagne

Region/Ort: Saint Emilion

Betriebsgröße: 26 Hektar