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History
There are a certain number of estates in the Haut-Médoc appellation producing quite remarkable wine, although they may not currently be in the limelight. This is so for Chateau Camensac. After several decades of relatively mediocre performance, this château has clearly revived the tradition of quality that earned the château a place in the prestigious 1855 classification. The brothers Elysée and Enrique Forner, purchased the property in 1964. This achievement is undoubtedly due to the huge effort made by the Forner family since 1964 (The brothers Elysée and Enrique Forner, purchased the property in 1964). The Forner family launched a major renovation programme soon after acquiring Camensac. They installed ultra-modern equipment and entirely renovated the winemaking facilities, in keeping with the estate's large scale. The remarkably restored chateau building symbolises this renaissance. The château (a simple, but beautiful, 18th century manor house) is flanked either side by cellars and outbuildings. "Nature alone, however advantageous, cannot guarantee the production of outstanding wine" is the prevailing attitude at Château Camensac…Despite this modesty, it is obvious that the estate has outstanding natural assets: excellent soil and a dimension that makes it possible to make extremely refined selections. A dynamic, quality-oriented policy makes the most of these assets, giving Camensac balance and distinction increasingly recognised by the wine media. Now 76, Elysée wants to retire, according to Jean-Pierre Foubet, a member of the Merlaut family involved in the deal. Elysée has no children, while Enrique, already retired, has three children who live in America and Spain, where the Forners own Marqués de Cáceres in Rioja. The Merlauts have been minority owners of Camensac since Jacques Merlaut, who heads the family's Groupe Taillan, helped the Forners buy the property. Foubet said the Merlauts were happy to take control, and the estate is now split 50-50 between Jacques' son Jean and one of Jacques' granddaughters, Céline Villars-Foubet. Céline and Jean-Pierre, her husband, will manage Camensac. The couple has run Chasse-Spleen, a cru bourgeois, since 2000, transforming a solid but overlooked property into a best seller. They hope to do the same with Camensac, using its classified-growth status and its promising wines to grab a bigger share of the export market. "We have found a well-managed vineyard, but indoors we are going to invest in new, smaller fermentation vats," said Jean-Pierre. "We have known this terroir for a long time now, and we want to express it." Nowadays’ owner: Jean Merlaut, Céline Villars-Foubet
Technique Information
Location: Château Camensac borders on the Saint-Julien appellation, in the commune of Saint-Laurent-Médoc.
Appellation: Haut Medoc
Neighboring Chateau: Chateau La Tour Carnet(4th Growth of Haut-Medoc in 1855)
Chateau Belgrave (5th Growth of Haut-Medoc in 1855)
Acreage: 75 hectare
Soil: commune's finest gravelly rise, the topography is fairly steep and the pebbly soil quite deep.
Grape Varieties: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.
Average age of vines: 35 years
Cultivation density: 10,000 vines per hectare
Viticulture: Only natural fertiliser is applied, and quite sparingly. Pruning is rather severe and, if need be, bunches of green grapes are removed to improve concentration.
Winemaking:
Château Camensac(First Label): The wine is left on the skins at temperatures that are never too high so that all the goodness can be slowly and gently extracted. At Camensac, it is not rare for the wine to be left on the skins for 25 days, or even longer in great years. Château Camensac is barrel-aged in the traditional Bordeaux way. Camensac uses from 35 to 70% new oak (the rest consisting of barrels that have been used for one single vintage), and the wine spends from 17 to 20 months in barrel.
La Closerie de Camensac(Second Label): The others are used to make a second wine, La Closerie de Camensac. This is also a way of separating wines from various parts of a vast vineyard, and not just those made from young vines.
Yield: the average yield does not exceed 40-45 hectolitres per hectare
Brand: Château Camensac(First Label)(A.O.C. Haut-Médoc)
La Closerie de Camensac(Second Label)(A.O.C. Haut-Médoc)
Annually production: 200,000-300,000 bottles
Character:
Chateau Camensac offers a great introduction to Bordeaux without the prohibitive price-tag. The influence of Michel Rolland as consultant winemaker is evident on the wine style: Fleshy, luscious fruit and mature tannins.
Best vintages: 2000, 2005
Awards: Chateau Camensac was classified as Fifth Growth in 1855.
Website: http://www.chateaucamensac.com
Serving Suggestion
Cellar Humidity and Temperature: 75-85%, 15 ℃
Serving Temperature: 17-19 °C
Optimal drinking and aging potential: 10-15 years
Food match:
Basic meat and potato dishes: filet mignon, lamb filets, steaks that are sauteed or grilled, the other red meat, Game, Cheese: Saint Nectaire, Edam, and Gouda.
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