Château Cantinot
Meet one of the Blaye jewels ….
The Château Cantinot is a family property of 30 hectares located in Cars, in the AOC Blaye Côtes-de-Bordeaux. Even though the Château was built in 1811, _ in the lower part of the property there are ruins of a 16th century house and traces of vines attesting to the ancient presence of a vineyard.
“We acquired Château Cantinot in July 2002. At the time the property was spread over 9 hectares of vines. Little by little we have grown to reach 30 hectares spread over 3 main sites (Cantinot, Capron, Haut-Boutet). ”
Currently the property produces about 180,000 bottles of which 65% are sold abroad.
Focus on Yann Bouscasse, co-owner of Château Cantinot
“I have not always been in the wine industry. I worked for a long time as a marine broker in the transportation of natural gas and liquefied gas. I always liked _ wine and a good table … I was very friendly with François Nony Borie. Thanks to him I discovered and tasted most of the Médoc wines.
We have long sought property in the Médoc but … we did not find anything that was financially within our means, with a seductive terroir and where we could do a lot of things to improve the quality. One day François heard about a property of Blayais for sale. It was in the budget, there was a lot to improve and the terroir looked good. So we came to see it and we quickly fell under its spell … We embarked on this adventure at 50 years old! It was a bit of our mid-fifties crisis …
We have absolutely reviewed everything (vineyard, production tools) with the sole objective of being able to produce great wines. We knew it was going to be difficult but we did not suspect that it would be as difficult to take on a vineyard! Our first vintage was the 2003. In 2004 we launched the Tours of Cantinot and in 2009 the cuvée Orbite (made from whole grapes). ”
What is the signature of the wines of Château Cantinot ?
“When we arrived at Cantinot we were at the time in AOC 1st Cote de Blaye. We knew that it was a difficult name and we wanted to make different wines because we were already convinced by the potential of our terroir. We wanted to show that it is possible to make quality wines, great wines in this kind of appellation.
During my first meal with Olivier Dauga I asked him to take out the wines he liked and that I would also bring the wines that I loved. We already knew what we did not want to do but we had to define together the style of the wines that we would do. After all, it’s not up to us to do it according to the terroir, the earth, the geology, the things that can be done …
My wines are like my children, they have the same father, the same mother but four different characters … each one in his place and his own personality.
Generally we do not want to make wines too extracted. We want sweetness, fruit and gourmandise. ”
What is wine for you?
“For me wine is conviviality, sharing between friends, friends. When sharing a bottle between people of good companies we talk about everything, we redo the world, we exchange … Wine is also to be around a table, eat well, enjoy good products. It is a whole part of epicureanism. ”
How do you manage the vineyard / property?
“We manage our vineyard very reasonably. I have a mindset closer to biodynamics than to organic farming, but I do not want certification. We pay great attention to biodiversity and the health of our vineyards. We plant flowers, try to attract bees, conserve woods, maintain biodiversity, we grow grass, work the soils, minimize our impact on nature …. »
Do you have plans for Château Cantinot ?
“ Yes. We intend to create a collection of three bottles containing a 100% Cabernet Franc, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and a 100% Merlot. We find interesting to propose mono-varietal wines because we have delicious lots that can not fit into any of our other cuvées … and then the approach is very interesting for wine lovers! ”
Where does the name of the property come from?
“The ancients say that in local patois ‘Cantinot’ designates a place of demarcation … no doubt because we are at the crossroads between two roads. We never changed the name because in my previous area of work we never renamed a ship. It also has the advantage of being a short name, easy to pronounce and we like it. ”
Anecdote:
For the small anecdote the property has been producing a white rosé 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Château Cantinot
1 Cantinot,
33390 Cars
+33 (0)5 57 64 31 70
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