Château Labégorce-Zédé is an estate in Soussans on the left bank of the Bordeaux region. It was once part of Château Labégorce. It makes red wine under the Margaux AOC. Luc Thienpoint took over Château Labégorce Zédé after his family (Flemish family, owners of Château Vieux Château-Certan in Pomerol and other estates) bought it in 1979. In January 2005 Hubert Perrodo of Château Labégorce bought Château Labégorce Zédé, fulfilling his aim to re-unite the Labégorce and Labégorce-Zédé estates. The 2004 was Luc Thienpont’s last vintage. Since Labégorce-Zédé was sold in 2005 Luc has been cultivating the Clos des Quatre Vents in Margaux.

Owner: Château Labégorce since 2005.

Background: On 12th August 1795 the greater part of the Labégorce estate was sold to the Benoist family for £425,000. One of their daughters married Jean-Emile Zédé. In 1840 Pierre Zédé took over the estate. Of his several children Gustave invented the submarine, and Emile-Hippolyte, who was Vice-Admiral, took over the family property and added his name, hence Labégorce-Zédé. | 1961 Jean Battesti (a ‘pied noir‘) bought the estate, renovated part of the vineyard, but had no successor. | 1979: Acquired by the family of Luc Thienpont.

Classification: 1932 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur.

Vineyards: 36ha in the mid-1990s. Bordeaux Supérieur AOC 9ha from Merlot (60%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Petit Verdot (10%) on the palus, used for Z de Zédé, and created in 1988. | 27ha of Margaux AOC: 10% Cabernet Franc, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot. The oldest Petit Verdot was planted by L’Admiral Zédé in the 19th-century. 

TerroirLabégorce-Zédé is the biggest landowner on the Plateau de Marsac. The entire vineyard lies at Labégorce, a lieu-dit on the Plateau de Marsac, apart from 2 ha behind Château Margaux and Château Maléscot St Exupéry. North easterly aspect. Clay soil descending to the palus and the Gironde estuary, and deep, coarse gravel on more elevated ground around the village of Soussans.

Viticulture: Under Luc Thienpont each plot was drained at replanting leaving wide alleys are left for air circulation. Riparia Gloire de Montpellier rootstock was used for all but 2ha on SO4. No acaricides were used. Pruning: double guyot with retour, low canopy; Merlot is pruned first, then Petit Verdot, then Cabernet Sauvignon. Vine age in the mid-1990s was one third 30–80 years old. One third was planted by M Battesti between 1965 and 1973, having an average age of about 25 years, and the rest were planted by Luc Thiepont. Vine density in the mid-1990s was 75% @ 10,000 vines/ha; some at 1.5m instead of 1.2m) after the 1956 frost.

Winemaking: Under Luc Thienpont each plot was hand picked and the grapes were vinified apart in cement vats. Temperature control by coil. No filtration. Improved selection since 1984 by creating a second wine, Domaine Zédé;

Red wines

Petit Verdot: 1990 In 1990 Luc Thienpont bottled some Petit Verdot separately. The resultant wine gives the lie to the notion that a Médoc wine must automatically be a blend of different grape varieties. Granted, 1990 was an exceptional year, but although varietal Médoc Cabernet Sauvignons from the same vintage have length they lack width, and although varietal Merlots have more width they do stop short, three quarters instead of all the way through on the palate. The conclusion to draw is that Petit Verdot is the real vidure or biturca grape variety cited by Pliny which has been taken always to be the ancestor of the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Bordeaux Rouge AOC, Z de Zédé

Margaux AOC, Domaine Zédé: A second wine, Domaine Zédé, was created in 1984 by the Thienpont family.

Margaux AOC, Château Labégorce-Zédé1983 Château Palmer’s manager described Thienpont’s 1983 as bettered only by Palmer (an 1855 third growth) and manager Margaux (a first) in a vintage regarded as one of the best for Margaux in the 1980s. | 1989 Contained more Cabernet Sauvignon than the 1990. | 1991 Made from first generation fruit only (all second generation buds were removed). | 1994 40% Merlot. | 1995 35% Merlot and Petit Verdot. | 1998 A same of the Petit Verdot: lovely crisp black fruit, earthy, refined but not powerful (tasted in Burghley Road 28/12/2003).

Contact

Château Labégorce-Zédé

F-33460 Soussans (Gironde), France

Tel+33 (0)5.57.88.71.31 | Website: www.labégorce.com

Bibliography

Visit: April 1998 hosted by Luc Thienpont.