Château Corbin-Michotte

Château Corbin-Michotte is a magnificent property in a single block, very close to Pomerol.
The vineyard is made up of the most sought-after grape varieties. The high proportion of Cabernets, 35% of the plantings, which is rare in Saint-Émilion, represents an exceptional quality effort. Yields are deliberately kept low to obtain very high quality and a remarkable typical character. This vineyard has never been treated with herbicides.
The great quality of the wines of Corbin-Michotte, at once delicate, full-bodied and rich in bouquet, is due to a grey-brown sand-silt soil resting on a strongly ferruginous clay-sand subsoil (iron residues), with some gravel at the surface. It is a Quaternary alluvial bed of the river Isle located at 35 m above sea level. This soil is one of the richest in certain trace elements, in particular barium.
The amplitude of the fluctuations of the water table causes a water deficit at the time the grapes ripen; the result is very rich wines.
This château once formed part of a large feudal estate that belonged to the Black Prince during the English occupation. Its vineyard is very old and was the property of a great Bordeaux négociant. It was bought in 1953 by M. Jean-Noël Boidron, who restored it and still runs it. The cellars were entirely rebuilt and designed on an original plan, to make the best use of the quality of the grapes. These are harvested and sorted by hand with great rigour. In the event of rain, harvesting is stopped until the grapes are dry again. Fermentation is carried out by the cru’s natural yeasts.
Vinification is temperature-controlled and the ageing in new oak casks is carefully monitored. Only lots of wine reaching the high quality sought for this cru are blended for bottling. The declassification varies from year to year, but is always so rigorous as to reach 100% in the small years (1963, 1965, 1968, 1984). The wine is then sold under the name Château Les Abeilles.
Bottling is carried out by the owner with the utmost care.
M. Jean-Noël Boidron also runs with the same attention Château Calon, A.O.C. Montagne-Saint-Émilion and A.O.C. Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion, as well as Château Cantelauze in Pomerol and Mayne d’Olivet in the A.O.C. Bordeaux blanc.