The 5 most famous wine estates in France
France is the largest wine producer in the world and its ancient wine history started more than 2,500 years ago. Over the years, some estates have become mythical. Here is a short list of 5 estates and wines that all wine lovers dream of tasting once in their life.
1 - Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is located within the small commune of Vosne Romanee in Burgundy. The vineyard for its flashship wine, Romanee-Conti, only covers 4.4 acres, for a production of around 450 cases of wine each year. It is made exclusively from Pinot Noir grape.
The other exclusive wine the estate produces is La Tâche, in twice the amount as the Romanee-Conti, as well as portions of Richebourg, Romanee-St.Vivant, Grands Echézeaux and Echézeaux. To purchase bottles at the estate, clients must acquire all the wines of the domain by boxes of twelve, which means one bottle of Romanée-Conti among 11 bottles of other domains.
2- Chateau Margaux
World famous Chateau Margaux is situated in Bordeaux, covering about 250 acres. The grape-varieties are 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.Margaux was in the original Premier Cru classification of 1855, and today is still regarded as one of the best Bordeaux houses. Margaux wines are among the most expensive wines in the world. A bottle of Château Margaux 1787 holds the record as the most expensive bottle of wine ever broken, insured at $225,000. A passage from William Styron’s 1979 bestseller “Sophie’s Choice” boosted the wine’s literary reputation. “Were a wine to be drunk in paradise,” Styron wrote, “it would be Chateau Margaux.”
3 - Chateau Petrus
Chateau Petrus is a Bordeaux wine estate located in the Pomerol appellation near its eastern border to Saint-Émilion. Petrus wines are made up entirely of Merlot grapes (on occasion with small amounts of Cabernet Franc). In Pomerol there is no classification as in Médoc or Saint-Emilion. But the small surface, 28 acres makes it rare- only 2500 cases each year - and therefore very expensive. Pétrus' fame grew in the 1960s, as it got promoted in restaurant Le Pavillon in New York, reaching a symbol status in the United States. Today Petrus wines are arguably the most sought after in the world.
4 - Chateau d'Yquem
Chateau d' Yquem is a sweet white wine producer from the southern Bordeaux sub-region of Sauternes. The grapes for this wine come from a 250-acre plot. The wines of d'Yquem, made up of Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, are widely prized for their complexity, concentration and honey-like sweetness.
In great vintages and when stored properly, the wines of d'Yquem can age for a century or more. In 1996 famed wine critic Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate gave a 100-point rating to a bottle of 1811 Chateau d'Yquem.
Le Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces, former owner of Chateau d'Yquem, Honorary Sponsor of The French Cellar. His testimonial here
5 - Chateau Grillet
The only wine from Rhone valley in this list. Like Petrus or Romanee Conti, the limited production of Château Grillet makes it rare and, in many ways, almost mythical. The whole appellation Chateau-Grillet -only 9 acres- is owned by the estate, and is made 100% of Viognier grapes which is very rare. It is one of the only two appellations in all of the Northern Rhone Valley that exclusively produce white wine.The slim brown bottles of Château-Grillet are easily recognised and are used by no other French winery. The estate belongs to French billionaire Francois Pinault since 2011, founder of the multinational holding PPR (now Kering).
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