Château d'Agassac

Lithography of Château D'Agassac by Léo Drouyn in 1865

According to a local tradition, a Latin inscription found in the underground galleries of the Château dates its construction back to the 13th century. But the first of its known lords was Guillaume-Raymond d'Agassac in 1172, Lord of Blanquefort.

Beginning in 1238, the Gaillard de Gassac Family was the owner of the seigniory of Agassac which extended more than 800 hectares. The lord was the vassal of the king of England. In 1357, the seigneury was sold to the lordship of Albret and some members of the family came to Agassac, such as Arnaud Amadieu I, Charles II of Albret or Jean II of Albret. From 1580 to 1841, the property belonged to Pommiers Family. One of its members was President of Guyenne Parliament house.

In 1792, the first vines were planted and the winery was created.

In 1841, the estate was purchased by Marcel Richier, a French agricultural engineer. During the 19th century, wines of the property were sold abroad under Château Ludon and Château Pomiès.

In 1961 two members of Capbern-Gasqueton Family, Philippe Capbern-Gasqueton and Henry Capbern-Gasqueton, purchased Château D'Agassac. At the same time, Philippe Capbern-Gasqueton was the owner of Château Calon-Ségur, one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus Classés (Third Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 in Saint-Estèphe, and Château du Tertre, one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus (Fifth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 in Saint-Estèphe.

In 1996, the winery was purchased by the international insurance group Groupama, who began renovating the estate.

The estate is situated in the southern part of Ludon-Médoc between two gravelly outcrops and an area of sandy gravel.

The first outcrop consists of extremely fine gravel from the river and is characteristic of the commune of Ludon-Médoc. This gravelly structure, which can reach depths of up to 3 meters, lends itself to draining of water and results in a considerably early ripening of the grapes in this part of the vineyard.

The second outcrop is made up of large Gunz gravel which forms a carpet 6 meters deeper than the first outcrop. However, given the greater proportion of clay, it lends itself to full-bodied wines with a more firm backbone.

Wine Storehouse

• Area: 43 hectares
• Grape varieties: Merlot 50% / Cabernet Sauvignon 47% / Cabernet Franc 3%
• Average age of the vineyard: 25 years
• Planting density: 6,700 shoots per hectare
• Crop management: Crop thinning, bud and leaf removal
• Certifications: "Terra Vitis" and "Integrated Agriculture"

Fermenting Room

• Harvest: The grapes are first sorted in the vineyard, then in a second sorting in the cellar
• Winemaking: 23 temperature-controlled stainless steel vats with maceration (wine) for 3 to 4 weeks
• Ageing: 12 to 15 months, 60% in new barrels and 40% in vats
• Coopers: Berthomieu, Cadus, Miquel, Doreau, Baron
• Bottling in the estate: Fining with egg whites and light filtering

Château D'Agassac - Cru Bourgeois - 2007

D'Agassac is one of the wines of the Haut-Médoc with the best scores and the most awards. In April 2003, it was called "One of the 100 best wines of the World" by the Wine Spectator selection in United States.

The winery produces various wines:

• Château D'Agassac: Grand vin of the vineyard, Cru Bourgeois since 1932.
• Château Pomiès-Agassac: second wine of the estate.
• Château Pomiès-Agassac: the other second wine of the property. It is a selection of the finest batches used to produce the Château Pomiès-Agassac "classic"
• L'Agassant D'Agassac: the second label of Château D'Agassac since 2006 made with 90% Merlot grapes.
• Précision D'Agassac: a Vintage Cuvée produced only since 2009.

Logo from Best Of Wine Tourism

The estate is open for visiting and wine tasting. Château D'Agassac, a member of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, has won the Best Of Wine Tourism Contest in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2012. It is possible to rent the estate for seminar, dinner or wedding.

• Château D'Agassac official site (in French and English)
• Best Of Wine Tourism official site
• Great Wine Capitals Global Network official site