Chateau Lilian Ladouys 2015, St Estephe Cru Bourgeois

Description

Chateau Lilian Ladouys is located in the St Estephe Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) of Bordeaux. It is a rising star of the appellation. 

The history of Lilian Ladouys can be traced back as far as 1564 when it was in ownership of Jacques de Bercoyan Lord of Lafite, a Bordeaux magistrate. In fact, the estate is situated just a few hundred metres away from Chateau Lafite Rothschild in neighbouring Pauillac. By this time the estate was already known as La Doys. Lilian Ladouys suffered during the difficult inter-War years in the early 20th Century which saw the estate deteriorate until it was eventually sold of piecemeal. During the mid-1980s the estate was acquired by Christian Thiéblot and his wife Lilian, after whom Chateau was named. 

Today the estate is owned by Jacky and Francoise Lorenzetti who bought the estate in 2008.  Since 2008 there has been massive investment and a marked improvement in the qualities of the wines. Jacky and Francoise Lorenzetti have since acquired Chateau Pedesclaux, Pauillac in 2009 and Chateau d’Issan, Margaux since 2013. The investment in Chateau Lilian Ladouys is surely paying off. In 2020, after the Lorenzettis had restructured their premium Saint-Estèphe vineyards and chosen to tailor their viticultural practice to respect the environment, Château Lilian Ladouys was classified as a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel. The next generation, Manon Lorenzetti, entered the business in 2018.

The vineyards are located on the Cos Plateau in the south west of the St Estephe appellation and are situated on gravel and clay soils over limestone subsoils (80% Peyrosols and 20% Argilo calcaires). The estate now consists of some 80 hectares of vineyards planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot, 4% Petiti Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. The vines have an average age of 35 years plus and are spread over 90 different vineyard plots.

After harvest, the fruit for the main wine is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats before being transferred to oak barrels (40% to 60% new depending on vintage) where it is aged for an average of 14 months prior to fining, filtration and bottling.