Château Fleur Cardinale
A Saint-Emilion Cru Classé where passion, family, and epicureanism are key words
The Château Fleur Cardinale is a family vineyard, Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Emilion. The property is located in the municipality of Saint-Etienne de Lisse. Historically the oldest written records attesting to the present of vines on the property date back to the 18th century. However, it is attested that large Roman agricultural estates (poly- agricultures) existed on and around Saint-Emilion. It is therefore likely that vines were present on these lands well before the 18th century.
The Decoster family acquired the property in May 2001. At the time Château Fleur Cardinale was spread over 17 hectares. Upon their arrival the Decoster family embarked on major renovation projects but also restructuring and expansion of the vineyard. Currently Château Fleur Cardinale covers 23.5 hectares. The property produces around 100,000 bottles (1st and 2nd wine) sold in more than 60 countries.
Why did you choose to buy here?
“It’s a passion craft. Initially it was the idea of my mother-in-law but both were already great Bordeaux wine lovers. They already lived in the countryside in Limoges so they did not mind living in the vineyard. The relationship with nature was already very present at home before coming. It was a crazy idea to leave everything to come here and take on such a challenge but it was a nice idea. However, they do not necessarily want to do this until the end of their lives.They had given themselves 5 years to take up the challenge.My father-in-law would say to you: we’re going to make wine, our wine that will please you. But if one day we are told that the wine is worse than before then we will leave because we are here to do better.
When you have never made wine in your life it is complicated to buy 70 hectares at once… Here it is on a human scale. My parents-in-law hesitated between Lalande-de-Pomerol and Saint- Emilion.Before coming to work in the Porcelain sector of Limoges they owned the brand Haviland. So they came here with the idea in mind that it is easier to sell a product when an illustrious city name is associated with it. At the time Saint-Emilion was more buoyant than others… It helps a lot to sell, to enter markets be- cause making wine is good but it still has to market properly. They settled here thanks to Jean-Luc Thunevin.They did not know him at all, but when they met him he offered to help to make wine, to exploit the fabulous terroir. It is important to surround yourself well, especially with a person who has been there for much longer than you, who can bring you their knowledge, expe- rience and knowledge of the land.”
What does wine represent for you?
“It’s our life! It’s not just a job, it’s a way of life. It is something that concerns us night and day.There is a quote from Confucius that sums up our approach to the job very well:‘Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a single day of your life’. At Fleur Cardinale we are a relaxed vintage wine!
The wine remains for us every day a superb discovery, every day we marvel at the possibilities and discoveries. One life would not be enough to learn everything from this job… It is part of the last ramparts of a certain way of life in perdition… in the sense that here you plant something, society can advance as fast as it wishes, but nature has its own pace. It is impossible to speed it up.Wine is time, it is the art of patience. Being a winemaker is a way of life, a way of life that makes you aware of it! ”
Where does the name of Château Fleur Cardinale come from?
“The property already bore this name before my parents-in-law acquired it.The former owners were passionate about equestrian races and had a stable. Initially the vineyard was called Clos Bel Air but after the death of their favorite mare, ‘Fleur’, they decided to rename the property by contrac- ting their name with one of their favorite racehorses, ‘Cardinale’.”
What is the signature of Fleur Cardinale wines?
“I think our wine stands out, espe- cially because of what’s going on in the mouth.We have very silky textures, creamy and melted tan- nins.It is this tactile sensation that seduces! The nose is also explosive. We have cold soils, called ‘late’. We harvest very often between mid-October and end of October. Our terroir allows the vine to re- charge more intensely because the thermal amplitude between night and day is wide.The vine can the- refore more intensely use the soil minerals to relax.”
If you had to describe the property, the atmosphere in a few words, what would you say?
“Enthusiasm, family, neo-winemaker, relaxed and lucky.”
Do you have projects? Where do you see Fleur Cardinale in 10 years?
“We want to continue to work on quality and increase the preci- sion of the fruit so that it is as pure as possible.We are already certified HVE ISO 14001 but we would like to go further, to go towards viticulture ever more respectful of the environment. We already use a lot of practices in Organic Farming such as orga- nic fertilizer, green harvest, sexual confusion, hives to promote biodiversity… Our treatment is based on copper, sulfur and a stimulator of natural defense that helps the place to defend itself from attacks.We are getting closer and closer to organic.
We have major projects of renovation and extension of the cellars. We also want to optimise technical tools, to go even further in the research for the purity of the fruit.”
Thanks to the Decoster family for its warm and friendly hospitality.
Château Fleur Cardinale
33330 Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, France
+33 (0)5.57.40.14.05
www.fleurcardinale.com
