Château Carbonneau

Château Carbonneau is a family owned and run Château, situated on the eastern limits of the Gironde. The estate straddles the communes of Pessac sur Dordogne and Gensac at an altitude of 75m above sea-level. The 30 ha is split between vines and 20 Aquitaine Blond cattle. The cows have an important part to play in the fertilising of the vines. The Franc de Ferriere family took over the Château in 1992, Wilfred and Jacquie worked hard to renovate the property and vines. Today, their children join them, they are certified organic and will be certified biodynamic this year.

Passac-sur

FRANCE

Since the 2019 harvest, Carbonneau has been in organic conversion with the Ecocert agency and will has been organic certified (AB) from the 2022 harvest.

Winemaking has always been the essence of our activity. The year 2016 is the 20th vintage that we have produced on the property.

Carbonneau also obtained the High Environmental Value Level 3 (HVE3) label in 2020.

Viticulture

With Merlot and Sauvignon as our main red and white varietals, Chateau Carbonneau is quite typical of what can be found on the right bank of the Bordeaux region. The clay and limestone of our soil allows the Cabernet Franc to flourish and gives a perfect base, with its structure and spicy notes, for blending with the Merlot.

Winemaking

The Chateau was built around 1880 with a large winery and a magnificent stone press. Following the depression in the 1930s and the emergence of cooperatives, the chateau’s production was sold to the Gensac Wine Cooperative. In 1995 the owners decided to pull out of the cooperative and once again make wine on the property. This marked the beginning of a new era for Carbonneau. The old winery was restored, new stainless steel vats were installed and the cellar housed its first barrels in 50 years. The winery was constructed in stone of the same era as the chateau and naturally closes the courtyard . Whether it is on the vineyard or in the winery, Wilfrid and his team are committed to produce wines that express all the potential of Carbonneau’s terroir. The vineyard is located on the hills of the property which benefits from a favorable south/south-west exposition. In the fields below, 20 Aquitaine Blond cattle happily share 30 hectares of more fertile grounds. The role of the cattle is tightly linked to the vineyard as they provide full natural manure based fertiliser produced on the farm. Since the 2019 harvest, Carbonneau has been in organic conversion with the Ecocert agency and will be in organic certified (AB) from the 2022 harvest. This conversion was a logical decision for the château since it is in line with our desire and our commitment to develop the quality of our wines over the years reflect the expression of our terroir. This is why in 2021 we started the conversion not only of the vineyard but of the farm in its entirety towards biodynamic agriculture and it will be in biodynamic certified (Demeter) from the 2023 harvest. Biodynamics is a step further towards respect for life and peasant know-how. It is also a philosophy that aims to optimize farm resources in order to reduce our dependence on external inputs. Whether in the vineyard or in breeding, the objective for the future is the health of our soils in order to increase their fertility over time.