Refreshing Acidity of Bordeaux White Wines from the South Bank of the Dordogne River

Château Jean Faux is a very old estate located in the village of Sainte Radegonde. The village is on the south bank of the Dordogne River, facing Saint-Émilion and Castillon, and its origin dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was a Templar village. In the 16th century, the estate was owned by the family of Ezekiel du Mas, Count of Mélac, a famous general of Louis XIV. Since 2002, the ownership of the estate has belonged to the Collotte family; it stretches for 45 hectares, including 1.5 hectares of vines.

Being close to Saint-Émilion, the terroir of Château Jean Faux shares certain exceptional characteristics, such as the soil that is mainly made up of clay-limestone. The vineyard aspect allows ideal conditions for grape ripening, south and south/west for black grape varieties and the cooler northern slopes being dedicated to white grape varieties.

At Château Jean Faux, they take environment preservation and sustainable viticulture very seriously, with the aim of improving the biodiversity, to increase in the activity of the soil and give balance to the wines. The grapes have always been organically grown, without any use of chemicals. The estate has been Ecocert certified in 2011, furthermore, in 2016 it gained the biodynamic certification of Biodyvin and in 2017 the Demeter one.

Here is a summary of the characteristics of the grapes used for making the wine tasted: 

Sauvignon Blanc: this is white grape variety, late budding and relatively early ripening, making it well suited to be grown in cool climates and regions with a threat of early autumn rains. It grows vigorously; therefore, it gives its best in poor soils. The canopy must be carefully managed to avoid shading and under-ripening, causing an overly green fruit flavour. Dry white Bordeaux blends have pronounced intensity aromas of grass, bell pepper and asparagus with gooseberry, grapefruit and wet stone flavours, typically showing medium body and alcohol, rather than high acidity.

Sémillon: this is a traditional variety of the region; it is a mid-ripening variety, susceptible to botrytis bunch rot and to noble rot in the right conditions. In dry white Bordeaux blends, it provides low to medium intensity aroma (apple and lemon), body and acidity to soften Sauvignon Blanc’s more intense flavours and high acidity.

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Les Pins Francs – Chateau Jean Faux – Bordeaux A.O.C. – 2019

Sauvignon Blanc 85%, Sémillon 15%

The grapes were gently pressed and underwent a cold pre-fermentation maceration for maximum extraction of aromas. The fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless steel vats with wild yeast. Malolactic conversion did not take place to preserve the purity of the aromas and the characteristic refreshing acidity. The wine aged in stainless steel vats for 12 months before bottling.