Overlooking the Gironde estuary from the heights of Valeyrac, this imposing Renaissance-style residence commands a vineyard planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. The care given to the vines has just one aim: to express the Médoc terroir in the grapes that will be used to make Château Rousseau de Sipian wine. Limited yields, a return to ploughing the vines and hand-picked grapes are just some of the ways to make a great Médoc wine. This is the philosophy of Christopher Racey, who in 2000, together with his father Roy, bought this enchanting château on the edge of the Médoc. Of British origin, they are great lovers of French wines, and have undertaken the necessary restoration and modernisation work to give their château the letters of nobility it deserves.
The construction of a new vat room with automatic temperature control and the conversion of the château’s cellars into a barrel cellar are just a few examples of the many efforts made to produce a quality wine that has already been hailed in the specialist guides – Hachette, Gilbert et Gaillard – and recently awarded a gold medal for the 2001 vintage at the Concours des Vins d’Aquitaine. The château was built in 1850 by the Rousseau family, but the estate’s vocation as a winegrower predates this date. In the second half of the 19th century, the vineyard covered 40 hectares. Then, through successive inheritances and sales, the estate became fragmented. Vines ceased to be cultivated during the Second World War. At the end of the Second World War, the château passed into the hands of major companies (first the Compagnie Française de Matériel de Chemin de Fer, then Marcel Dassault Aéronautique) and was converted into a holiday camp. It was not until the arrival of the Laveau-Bock family in 1989 that the château resumed its wine-growing past. This marked the rebirth of the estate’s wines.
