Chateau Lestage La Mouette Bordeaux AC

Description

Chateau Lestage La Mouette is a white wine bottled as a Grand Vin Blanc Sec. It is made at Chateau Lestage which has been owned by the Chanfreau Family / Vignobles Chanfreau since 1963.

Chateau Lestage consists of a single block of 42 hectares of vineyards located at the highest point in the Medoc, the Puy de Menjon, at an altitude of 43m. Chateau Lestage was originally classified as a Cru Bourgeois Superieur in 1932 however, in 2003, it was certified as a Cru Bourgeois in 2010 for its 2008 vintage. The Chateau itself, located amidst the vineyards, was built in 1870. Chateau Lestage shares a remarkable terroir with the family’s other chateau, its neighbour, Chateau Fonreaud consisting of gravel soils on the plateau with clay-limestone and marl on the slopes – perfect for Merlot. The vineyards are tended using sustainable methods with the greatest respect for the vines and their environment.

A white wine had been produced at Chateau Lestage since the late 19th Century but by the 1050s, with the rise of the popularity of Bordeaux red wines, dwindling white sales and some poor vintage, it was discontinued. However, Chateau Lestage La Mouette was re-launched with the 2016 vintage.

Chateau Lestage La Mouette is a blend of 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillon. The small half hectare plot of vines is planted on clayey-limestone soils. The grapes are hand-picked with several passes through the vineyard to ensure only the most perfectly ripe grapes are harvested. The grapes are whole bunch pressed and the wine is fermented and aged in barrels. The wine is matured on the fine lees with regular bâtonnage stirring to reveal all the complexity of the beautifully ripe grapes. The wine is bottled just before the summer of the following vintage. Annual production will be about 3000 bottles per vintage.

Chateau Lestage practices sustainable viticulture and the vines are cultivated according to environmentally friendly growing practices, respecting both the plant and its environment and are members of Terra Vitis.

Why is it called La Mouette?

In keeping with the local Listrac-Medoc tradition of naming white wines after birds, this wine is named La Mouette, the seagull, and joins the “Le Cygne” the swan) from Chateau Fonreaud and “Le Merle Blanc” (the white blackbird) of Château Clark, amongst others.