Château Pomeaux
Château
Pomeaux
POMEROL
BORDEAUX
Bordeaux is France’s largest and most important wine region. Many of the world’s greatest connoisseurs and wine critics consider Bordeaux’s leading wines to be the finest and most prestigious wines in the world.
Bordeaux’s combination of climate, soil, grape varietals, and advantageous location creates ideal conditions for producing and distributing fine wines. Abundant sunshine, adequate but moderate rainfall, and the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean provide a highly favorable Maritime climate for the Bordeaux region. On the western or left bank of the Garonne River and Gironde estuary, where the soils are predominantly calcium-rich limestone and gravel, Cabernet Sauvignon is the ascendant varietal. On the eastern or right bank, where the soils are primarily clay and gravel, Merlot Noir dominates.
Bordeaux is located at the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers and their tributaries. These waterways combine to form the Gironde estuary as it flows into the Atlantic Ocean and facilitate the transportation and distribution of Bordeaux’s wines both within France and throughout the world.
Wine production in the Bordeaux region dates to the ancient Romans, who began to cultivate grapes and produce red wine in the area they called Burdigala in the 1st Century B.C. Bordeaux wine production and exports grew markedly over the next two millennia, increasing dramatically beginning in the 12th Century A.D. when Eleanor of Aquitaine (the name by which present-day Bordeaux was then known) married Henry Plantagenet, the future king of England, and wine began to be exported. Over the following centuries, Bordeaux became a large and important city and a leading exporter of fine wines.
POMEROL
Pomerol is a wine-growing commune and Appelation d’origine controlee (AOC) located on the eastern or right bank of the Garonne River in Bordeaux. Pomerol is the smallest of Bordeaux’s important fine wine regions, covering an area of only approximately three kilometers by four kilometers. Pomerol has 800 hectares of vines under cultivation, with an average annual combined production of 35,000 hectoliters by 140 declared producers. The soils of Pomerol are a mixture of gravel, sand, and clay, with deposits of iron known as crasse de fer in its subsoils. These conditions are ideal for the plantation and cultivation of Merlot Noir, which constitutes 80% of all grapes grown in Pomerol. The remainder of Pomerol’s vines is comprised of Cabernet Franc and a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Only red wine is produced in Pomerol. Harvest yields are limited to a maximum of 42 hectoliters per hectare (≈ 2.2 tons per acre) and finished wines must contain a minimum alcohol level of 10.5%. Pomerol is the home of some of the most highly-praised and expensive wines in the world. Many believe that Pomerol is the most prestigious of the Bordeaux appellations and produces the world’s finest wines. The wines of Pomerol are characterized by their deep color, velvety texture, and concentrated ripe-plum flavors, and do not exhibit the high acidity and tannins that are typical of many other Bordeaux wines. Pomerol wines often display truffle, chocolate, cedar, roasted nut, spice, and raisin notes.
CHATEAU POMEAUX
Chateau Pomeaux consists of 2.2+ hectares of prime vineyards, a beautiful and charming chateau, and a world-class winery located in a magnificent situation in Pomerol. Chateau Pomeaux’s vines, which are 100% Merlot Noir, average 45 years of age. Chateau Pomeaux’s soil is a combination of gravel, clay, and ferruginous sand with iron-pan and clay in the subsoil. Chateau Pomeaux’s vineyards are maintained in a meticulous manner, its grapes are grown and harvested using an optimum combination of traditional and modern techniques, and its wines are vinified and aged to achieve the highest quality possible.
Chateau Pomeaux is located on the southeastern slope of the Pomerol plateau, near the border of the communes of Pomerol and St. Emilion. Some of the world’s finest wine properties are neighbors of Chateau Pomeaux, whose vineyards are located approximately two kilometers from Chateau Petrus, one kilometer from Chateau Le Pin and Vieux Chateau Certan, and one-half kilometer from Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Figeac.
Chateau Pomeaux’s dedication to ultimate quality begins in its vineyards. Only the best varieties of Merlot Noir grapes are planted at Chateau Pomeaux. Chateau Pomeaux employs rigorous double guyot pruning, green harvests, late picking to ensure optimum maturity, meticulous hand picking, and careful selection. For more than two decades, Chateau Pomeaux’s grapes and wines have been biodynamically and organically cultivated and produced. Chateau Pomeaux’s vineyard yields are strictly controlled to ensure its wines are made from only the highest quality grapes.
Although harvest yields of a maximum of 42 hectoliters per hectare are permitted in Pomerol, Chateau Pomeaux’s yields are strictly controlled to an average of only 30 hectoliters per hectare.
A unique combination of traditional winemaking and modern equipment is used in Chateau Pomeaux’s winemaking. After grapes are harvested, they are carefully sorted, destemmed, and rigidly selected. Grapes that are selected for Chateau Pomeaux wines are then subjected to temperature-controlled maceration and fermentation in large oak tanks, lengthy periods of malolactic fermentation in small new oak barrels, scrupulous vinification, and extended aging in new oak barrels.
The combination of magnificent terroir and the decision of Chateau Pomeaux’s owner to sacrifice quantity for exceptional quality results in wines of supreme character and elegance.
Chateau Pomeaux produces extraordinarily rich and robust wines with elegant balance and a delicate and marvellous bouquet. Chateau Pomeaux’s wines are powerful and rich, bursting with black cherry and plum flavours. They develop truffle, chocolate, and cedar notes over time. They can be enjoyably consumed when they are young and will benefit further from extended aging. Chateau Pomeaux’s wines have received highly favorable commentary and ratings from leading wine journalists and publications, including Decanter magazine, Wine Spectator, and James Suckling.
