Inside Calon-Ségur owner’s new right bank estates

It’s a rare occurrence when a château gets two heavy-hitting owners in relatively quick succession, rarer still when the situation is applied to three different properties.

Châteaux Siaurac (Lalande-de-Pomerol), Vray Croix de Gay (Pomerol) and Le Prieuré (St-Emilion GCC) were owned by the Guichard family when in 2014 François Pinault-controlled Artémis Domaines (Châteaux Latour, Grillet, etc.) took a shareholding interest, acquiring all three properties outright in 2017.

Three years later in 2020 they were sold again, this time to insurance company Suravenir, owner of high-flying St-Estèphe third growth, Château Calon-Ségur.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 12 wines from Siaurac, Vray Croix de Gay and Le Prieuré

Aline Guichard inherited the family-owned châteaux in 2004 and she and husband, Paul Goldschmidt, had already made advances in replanting and restructuring the three properties.

Imagine the boost when Artémis came on board, followed by the promised potential under Suravenir where funds, if not limitless, look to be extremely generous.

Technical expertise has been one of the immediate benefits, the finance directed towards improving vineyard practices and equipment. But that’s not all. Plans for new cellars and land are already in-hand, something Suravenir hopes will help strengthen the reputation of each individual property.

So, what exactly has changed?

The first sphere of attention when Artémis arrived was the vineyards. As well as the purchase of modern equipment and the construction of a viticultural hangar at Siaurac, a new team was put in place with training given to improve precision in the execution of the tasks.

This was important for two reasons. The same group handles the work in all three properties with the terroir varying in each:

• clayey-gravel, sand, gravel and clay at Siaurac;
• gravel and clay at Vray Croix de Gay;
• limestone and limestone-clay at Le Prieuré.

Secondly, a programme of organic conversion was launched in 2015, meaning a return to working the land, with Vray Croix de Gay and Le Prieuré certified in 2018.

Le Prieuré uses horses for most of the viticultural work and both properties follow biodynamic practices. The process of conversion is still on-going at sizeable Siaurac where it has taken longer to impose organic order but chemical weedkillers have now been definitively abandoned.

On the winemaking front, former Petrus winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet (44 vintages under his belt) was hired by Artémis as a consultant and continues in the role today.

The grapes at Le Prieuré and Vray Croix de Gay are hand harvested whereas the system at Siaurac is 50-50 between machine and hand harvesting, a policy from the Guichard era and still deemed to be satisfactory.

The winemaking itself remains traditional, with perhaps gentler extraction these days and more work on the press wine.

In the absence of a cellar, Vray Croix de Gay is vinified at Siaurac. But plans are well advanced for a cuverie to be built in Pomerol on the site of a derelict house which stands on a parcel close to Château Lafleur. There’s also a project for expanding the facilities at Le Prieuré.

Suravenir right bank châteaux: the facts

Owner: Suravenir Assurances (subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Arkea)

Château Siaurac (Lalande-de-Pomerol)

Area under vine: 46ha

Grape varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon

Annual production: 200,000 bottles (includes second wine, Plaisir de Siaurac)

Château Vray Croix de Gay (Pomerol)

Area under vine: 3.64ha

Grape varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Franc

Annual production: 14,000 bottles (includes second wine, L’Echanteur)

Château Le Prieuré (St-Emilion GCC)

Area under vine: 6.24ha (plus a further 5.39ha purchased in 2021 but not yet integrated)

Grape varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Franc

Annual production: 23,000 bottles (includes second wine, Délice du Prieuré)

Who is the key figure managing these estates?

Vincent Millet, Calon-Ségur’s general manager and with previous experience at Château Margaux, heads up all the Suravenir estates and is clearly no slouch given his success with Calon-Ségur.

A name to keep in mind is Pénélope Godefroy, technical director for the three Right Bank properties. Recruited by Artémis Domaines in 2007 to handle quality control, as well as research and development in the company vineyards, she gained valuable experience at the estates in Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône – including exposure to a more environmental, organic and biodynamic approach.

Transferred by Artémis to the Right Bank in 2014 to shoulder technical responsibility for the three properties, she continues in that role under Suravenir. ‘It’s stimulating to work in three different terroirs as they all have varying expressions,’ she says.

Clearly, her management and winemaking skills (backed by ready capital and sound advice) seem to work, because the new systems have been put in place and there is a sense the three properties are moving forward.

‘Three years of biodynamic experiments at Château Latour convinced me of the benefits and how it strengthens the vine’s self-defence system so we will continue down that road. It’s also motivating for the team,’ she explains.

Fruit and precision are the goals, and with this technical aspect in hand Suravenir can now concentrate on strengthening the ‘brand’ names.

Which of the three châteaux could be a rising star?

Château Vray Croix de Gay has the backing of the prestigious Pomerol name and some well-placed parcels near Lafleur and Trotanoy.

A new winery will give it a little more clout but it remains tiny and in the firmament of the big names of the appellation may have difficulty rising higher. Price comparisons at present place it alongside the likes of Beauregard and Feytit-Clinet.

Château Siaurac already has something of a reputation as a solid estate, the largest in Lalande-de-Pomerol complete with 19th century château and park.

The wines are likely to improve further and continue to be good value but I can’t see it making star status.

Which leaves me putting my money on St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé Château Le Prieuré as the property most likely to make significant gains.

There’s already an affirmed character, the limestone plateau and south-facing limestone-clay slopes offering a cool, fresh note and grippy structure.

Fruit from parcels with a greater portion of clay is usually destined for the second wine. Indeed, Pénélope Godefroy mentions a ‘Burgundian approach’ to cultivating the different parcels and that in her eye it is more like working a ‘garden’.

Well placed on the limestone plateau with close neighbours La Serre and Troplong Mondot, Le Prieuré has just acquired another 5.39 hectares in the same vicinity and an application has been made for their inclusion in the 2022 St-Emilion classification.

Organic conversion is already underway and in 2021 the fruit will be vinified separately to see what other changes need to be made. This, plus the eventual construction of a new winery, makes the future for Le Prieuré look exciting.

Tasting notes and scores for 12 wines from Siaurac, Vray Croix de Gay and Le Prieuré

Wines are listed per estate in vintage order

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