Chateau La Cabanne which is a member of “l’union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux” and also “Cercle Pomerol prestige.
The château consists of a 10 ha. vineyard situated on the high terrace of Pomerol, on soils of gravel and clay, which overlie an iron-pan or crasse de fer. Its location places it in the geographical center of Pomerol surrounded by Château Clinet, Latour-Pomerol, and Trontanoy. Vines have been grown there since Gallo-roman times, but the origin of the name, which is also that of a LIEU DIT (place name), dates back to the XIV century, an era when one saw isolated huts (cabanes) dotted around, which housed the serfs and husbandmen.
In the fifteenth century, it appears that the vineyard belonged to the May of Certan, who were the first to obtain a royal warrant authorizing the culture of wine on a large scale in Pomerol.
The history of this family in Pomerol goes back to 1912 when François Estager left his native Correze and went to live in Libourne where he founded the firm of Etablissments François Estager. He rapidly developed the sale of fine Bordeaux wines and then set off to make them known in the north of France and Belgium. In 1934 his love of the land finally drove him to become a viticulturist.
In 1966 he was succeeded by his son Jean-Pierre Estager who bought Château la Cabanne in the same year. He also founded another company called “Vignobles Vve François et Jean-Pierre Estager”, which mainly looks after the family vineyards.
Thanks to the constant and meticulous work he has been able to modernize and develop the family firm. The harvest is nearly all done by machine and the grapes are collected in enamel coated trailers and quickly taken to the stemmer-crusher, thus avoiding all oxidization. At this château great care is taken that the grapes are fully matured and that as much tannin as possible is extracted from them to balance the high proportion of new oak used here.
Fermentation takes place in cement vats lined by hot enameling or stainless steel vats. The temperatures of the must is automatically regulated (hot or cold) according to the weather conditions. Once the malo-lactic fermentation have been provoked and are finished, the wines are aged in oak casks for approximately 20 month
Second label: Domaine de Compostelle.
- Area under vines: 10ha.
- Av. prod.: 5,000 cases.
- Distr. of vines.: 1 plot.
- Soil: Gravelly clay soil on a subsoil of scoria. (concretion of sand and iron.)
- Length of maceration: 20 days.
- Temp. of ferm.: 29°-32°C.
- Control of fermentation: Automatic (Hot or Cold).
- Type of Fermentation vat: Stainless steel & Cement.
- Age of barrels: 60% new.
- Time in barrel: 18-20 months.
- Fining: With egg whites before bottling.
- Type of bottle: Bordelaise.
- Bottled at the chateau: 100%.
- Grape varieties: 92% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc.
- Average age: 28 years
- Av. yield per ha.: 40-45hl per ha.
- Harvesting: Mechanized.
- STORAGE: 5-12 years.
- SERVICE TEMPERATURE: 17°C.
- FOOD / CONSUMPTION: They are a perfect complement to lamb, veal, poultry and delicate game.