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Tasting notes: Predominantly Merlot with a dark ruby red robe. This Saint-Emilion has an intense bouquet of earthy tones and hints of tar and black fruits. The palate is powerful, yet elegant with notes of blackberry, raspberry and plum notes. Medium tannins. Persistent length.
Château Villemaurine is a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé estate located on the northeastern fringe of Saint-Emilion town, in the heart of the Saint-Emilion limestone plateau. The estate has been in the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru classification since the inaugural 1955 classification, dropping out only once, in 2006, and being reinstated in 2012.
The first records of Villemaurine date back to the 1600s and the château has had a run of owners throughout the years. By the mid-Twentieth Century, the estate was run by a Madame Passemard and Dr Jean Vauthier before it was bought in 1970 by Vignobles Robert Giraud
When demoted from the Saint-Emilion classification in 2006, the estate had only just been acquired by the current owners – the Onclin family. They bought the property in 2005 from asset management enterprise L'Union Française de Gestion, which had been running the estate since the Giraud family sold it back in 1984.
Owned and run by the Onclin family, the estate is part of the wider Vignobles Onclin group, which includes the Mouls-en Médoc based Cru Bourgeois Château Branas Grand Poujeaux.
Although the estate in total runs to 12 hectares (30 acres), the Grand Cru Classé portion of the vineyard – a single block – covers seven hectares (17 acres). The latter is planted to Merlot (80%) and Cabernet Franc (20%), a relatively classic Saint-Emilion vineyard blend.
The main wine, or Grand Vin, generally reflects these proportions and is vinified in stainless steel tanks before being put to barrel for 6-18 months. Between 60 and 80 percent new oak is used.
The estate also produces a second wine, Les Angelots de Villemaurine, with a higher portion of Merlot (between 90-95%) to Cabernet Franc and which sees around 40% new oak. Approximately 30,000 bottles of the Grand Vin and 20,000 bottles of the second wine are made annually.
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