Château de Portets

Château de Portets, one of the oldest in the Gironde, is the most evocative memorial to local history. It is listed on the Inventory of Historic Monuments. Over the centuries, it has many times witnessed momentous events. The old château no longer concerns itself with the role it played in the past.
Yet it occupies the site of a sumptuous villa built by the Gallo-Romans. After centuries of splendour, the latter was looted by the Visigoth invaders and did not keep one stone upon another. A feudal château succeeded it, equipped with thick walls and sturdy towers. This impregnable fortress commanded the road and the river.
In the 16th century, it was the residence of the Baron de Montferrand, then, from September 1587, the property of Guillaume de Gascq, Baron of Portets, with full jurisdiction over the lands of La Comtau. The official deeds of the barony bore the inscription: “Gascq ne varietur”.
In August 1649, the Bordeaux troops of the Marquis de Lusignan came under fire from the artillery of the Duc d’Épernon, quartered at the foot of the château, at the place called Port-du-Roy, right where the Gascq tower stands.
On 31 July 1808, this residence received a visit from Napoleon I, returning from Spain before his solemn entry into Bordeaux. A bronze plaque placed in the main courtyard recalls this memorable day.
Today, this château is the most imposing building of old Portets, with its wrought-iron gates, its grand staircase, the tower of the Baron de Gascq, its Renaissance pavilion, its vast paved courtyard and its park.
Thus Château de Portets stands majestically at the centre of an estate devoted to growing vines.
The vineyard, located in the famous Graves terroir and planted with carefully selected grape varieties (Merlot and Cabernet for the reds, Sémillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle for the whites), produces on the one hand generous red wines, appreciated for their ability to age well, their fine ruby colour and their pleasant bouquet, and on the other hand dry white wines of marvellous finesse and fruitiness.
A cold pre-fermentation maceration is carried out on the red harvest for 4 days, and the wine is aged on lees at the end of vatting.
Monsieur Jean-Pierre Théron, agricultural engineer and qualified oenologist, Officier du Mérite Agricole, has devoted himself to promoting the age-old reputation that M. Seguineau de Lognac, following a long line of 15 barons de Gasq, earned for this model estate. It provided the setting for the Celebration of the Fête de la Fleur de la Vigne, in June 1973 and June 1976, by the Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et de Graves.
Madame Marie-Hélène Yung-Théron, daughter of M. Jean-Pierre Théron, awarded the insignia of Chevalier du Mérite agricole, now runs this wine estate with talent. To round out the range of her wines, she jointly runs Château Port du Roy. The 8-hectare vineyard, with the controlled appellation Bordeaux Supérieur, produces a red wine much noted for its character, colour and bouquet.
She puts all her heart and expertise into continuing this momentum of reputation. Her wines, whose quality is recognised in several specialist magazines, have received medals at the various competitions of Vins de Bordeaux, Brussels and Mâcon, and recently they were promoted at the Wuhan competition in China.
Madame Marie-Hélène Yung-Théron takes part in the Bordeaux wine route in Graves and Sauternes and subscribes to the Charte Vignobles et Chais en Bordelais.