Chateau Larmande

There were records showing wine was produced at Chateau Larmande as early as 1585, and there was a foundation stone showing the estate was built at 1640, readily proving that this is an estate of long history.

A number of owners throughout the years, the chateau was passed to the Pion de Case and St Genis families, before to a partnership of the Meneret and Capdemourlin families. When Fernand Meneret and Alice Capdemourlin got married, they inherited the estate, around the time of WWII. Their descendants continued to control it for another four decades.

The vineyard was expanded to 22.5 hectares throughout the years, and in 1990 it was sold to La Mondiale, an insurance group, which invested to repair and restore the cellars, as well as building a new tasting room. More land was also purchased to increase the size to 25 hectares.

The vineyards is located on the north of St-Emilion, with mostly sandy soils and some clay with flint and limestone. The vines are pruned in double Guyot and averaging 30 years of age. About 60% is Merlot, with 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Manually harvested, the grapes are sorted by hand and destemmed before going to another sorting table, with fermentation performed in staineless steel vats of temperature control, with different plots vinified separately. The wine is macerated on the skins for two to four weeks, and malolactic fermentation in vat and barrel for another 18 months before release, of which 60% is new oak.

The grand vin is Chateau Larmande with 9000 cases, and a second wine Le Cadet de Larmande is also made, but from a specific plot which deemed of lower quality. The wines are of good quality, regarded by many as one of the best in St-Emilion.

I have recently tasted the 2005 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Good quality St-Emilion of deep ruby color, the wine has a reasonable intensity, showing fair complexity and developing characters of blackcurrant and black cherries, plum, chocolate, cedar, forest floor. Medium in acidity, the tannin is smooth and silky. Medium in body, the palate is reasona...bly concentrated, showing blackberry and black cherry, plum, cedar, fennel. With a reasonable finish, it is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.