Château la Croizille

A 5-hectare property, château La Croizille lies in the heart of the Saint-Émilion vineyard,
in the commune of Saint-Laurent-des-Combes. Planted 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, in a clay-limestone soil, the vines enjoy an excellent exposure.
A long-established wine estate, cited as such from the first editions of Bordeaux et ses vins, château La Croizille has an old vineyard, 30 years old on average.
It was as perfect connoisseurs of the situation and of this vineyard’s capacity to produce a very great wine that the De Schepper-de Moor family — already owners for over half a century of a nearby estate — acquired it in 1996. The first ten years were devoted to restructuring the vineyard. The terraces were reorganised and several plots replanted. The emphasis is on vineyard management, which receives special care throughout the growing cycle: short-pruned vines, grass cover, leaf removal on the east side in June and the west side in September, green harvest to leave only 4 to 5 bunches on each vine, manual sorting of the bunches in the vineyard to bring to the vat room only a healthy, perfectly ripe harvest. Vinification then makes it possible to make the best of the full natural potential of the grapes brought in at maturity.
Finally in 2009 it was decided to build an entirely new cellar. The Schepper family deliberately chose a contemporary building.
The cellar indeed seems to emerge from the limestone rock and is composed of a simple volume that calms the contrasting landscape while meeting the technical requirements of wine production. The link with the wine landscape is maintained inside the building thanks to external openings that punctuate the space and create views onto the vines. Upstairs the visitor finds a panoramic view of the landscape through a large glazed fault. The tasting area, conceived as a promontory, overlooks the cliff and offers a peripheral view. The work was completed just before the 2012 harvest. A new temple dedicated to the glory of Saint-Émilion wine and of château La Croizille in particular was born.
The demolition of the old buildings led to a discovery: a well cut into the rock itself, more than 15 metres deep and in perfect condition. Every effort has been made to restore this relic to the glory of our age.