Château de Pressac

Château de Pressac is magnificently situated on the slopes of Saint-Émilion. Part of it dates back to the 13th century. It has been altered at various times, but the oldest part, which has remained intact, consists of the entrance gate (13th century), the surrounding wall and two old towers. It was at Château de Pressac, at the end of the Battle of Castillon, that the treaty ending the Hundred Years’ War was signed. D’Aubigné, recounting the capture of Castillon, says that after the surrender, the stronghold was handed over to old Pressac.
He is in charge of a superb 36-hectare vineyard, made up entirely of fine grape varieties, situated on beautiful, perfectly exposed slopes; it is planted in particular with Merlot and Cabernet, which have replaced the Noir de Pressac, a grape variety imported into Gironde by a lord of Pressac and which later took the name of Malbec. Jean-François and Dominique Quenin took over the estate in 1997 and have undertaken major improvement work. To bring the steep hillsides back into cultivation, as they had been at the beginning of the century, they have not hesitated to create terraces with contour lines, while the winery has been completely redesigned, notably with the adoption of an original system of punching down the cap in temperature-controlled concrete vats. It has recently been enlarged, and ten smaller vats have been created for parcel-by-parcel vinification. The wines of Château de Pressac are highly coloured, with a sustained intensity. The bouquet is both dense and concentrated, with great finesse. On the palate, the wine is generally very supple and easy to drink, with a long finish thanks to a good tannic structure, leaving behind flavours of blackcurrant. Château de Pressac is sold exclusively through the Place de Bordeaux. Its second wine, Château Tour de Pressac, is marketed directly by the owners. Château de Pressac was promoted to Grand Cru Classé in 2012.