Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Visit: Château de Chantegrive, Appellation Grave, with Owner Marie-Hélène Lévêque - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France

Picture: Annette Schiller and the Owner of the Château de Chantegrive, Marie-Hélène Lévêque

Following an outstanding Lucheon at the 1 Star Michelin Restaurant Charles Darroze with the Owner of the Château de Chantegrive, Marie-Hélène Lévêque, and her excellent wines, Marie-Hélène Lévêque showed us her winery. We also met Arnaud Dubois, the Technical Director of Château de Chantegrive.

Pictures: Wine-pairing Lunch at the 1-star Michelin Restaurant Claude Darroze, with Marie-Hélène Lévêque, Owner of Châteaux Chantegrive - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2016, France

Château de Chantegrive is a large estate with 96 hectares under vine on an exceptional terroir of gravel terraces. It produce both red and white Grave wines which are highly regarded by wine critics world-wide. Château de Chantegrive is member of the ‘Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux’, the Association of Premium Châteaux of about 140 members.

Pictures: Arriving at Château de Chantegrive

Château de Chantegrive

Marie-Hélène Lévêque: If you like fairytales, here is ours! Our story begins in 1966 when Henri & Françoise Lévêque decided to create what became later the Chateau de Chantegrive ! They were strong believers of the potential of the Graves "terroir", which convince them to sell their superb stamp collection to acquire their first two hectares. What happened next is a success story, the result of a relentless work always oriented toward the future and the new technologies. “It was a childhood dream, we made it come true” Françoise & Henri together formed a very dynamic duo, a solid visionary team, and above all: a couple of passionate wine lovers.

Pictures: Winery Tour at Château de Chantegrive, Appellation Grave, with Owner Marie-Hélène Lévêque

In 2006, the Lévêque family called upon the services of Hubert de Bouard, owner of the world-famous Chateau Angelus, to act as consultant oenologist entrusted with the mission of taking the quality of Chantegrive wines even further. His understanding, his adaptability, and his expert advice have given a tremendous boost to the property in terms of quality.

Pictures: Marie-Hélène Lévêque and Arnaud Dubois, the Technical Director of Château de Chantegrive.

50 years later and 96 hectares futher, the new generation of children has taken over the Chateau de Chantegrive. Marie Hélène Lévêque carries on the work of her parents with a dynamic passion alongside her mother, brothers and sisters.

Pictures: Winery Tour at Château de Chantegrive, Appellation Grave, with Owner Marie-Hélène Lévêque

The Terroir

The Graves appellation is the only one in France which bears the name of the soil that produces the wines. Located on the left bank of the Garonne river and bordered to the south west by forests, this geographical situation provides protection from extreme weather systems coming from the Atlantic ocean as well as protection against the risk of drought due to the proximity of the Garonne.

Ever since the Quaternary period the terroir has slept on thick gravelly depo- sits brought down from the Pyrenees by the Garonne over thousands of years. Today these outcrops are made up largely of gravel, shingle, and coarse sand, all mixed with silt and resting on a layer of clay and limestone subsoil. The gentle slopes of the outcrops provide good natural drainage towards the Garonne.

At night the gravelly soil gradually releases the heat stored up during the day, thus contributing to the ripening process of the grapes. The vineyards of Chantegrive are south or south-east facing, which is perfect.

Pictures: Winery Tour at Château de Chantegrive, Appellation Grave, with Owner Marie-Hélène Lévêque

Bye-bye

Many, many thanks Marie-Hélène Lévêque!!!

Picture: Annette Schiller and the Owner of the Château de Chantegrive, Marie-Hélène Lévêque

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