Château des Annereaux is an organic estate winery in the commune of Lalande-de-Pomerol on the right bank of the Bordeaux region. The estate’s main wine is Lalande-de-Pomerol AOC. Bordeaux AOC is also made.

Owner: In 1969 local merchant Jean Milhade took a half share in Château des Annereaux. In 2004 his heirs sold this back to the other co-owners, Dominique Hessel–who traces his lineage directly to the estate’s original owning family, the Annereau–and his wife Marie. They have now handed over to their son, Benjamin. Another branch of the Hessel family owns Château La Tour Blanche in St Christoly, and Château Moulin à Vent in Moulis-en-Médoc.

History: Château des Annereaux derives its name from the Annereau [sic] family. Their presence here was documented in 1390 when the region was part of Gascony and was called ‘Lalande in Poumeyrou.’

The house is thought to have been built in 1590 and was listed as a ‘manor’. In the 1660s the Annereau [sic] family married into the Maléscot family (one of whose heirs was later associated with what became Ch Malescot-Saint Exupéry in Margaux in 1827). In the late 19th-century Château des Annereaux dealt successfully with phylloxera by grafting its vines onto resistant (American) rootstocks. In 1912 the manoir was painted pink in the Italian-style. In 1956 the vineyard was largely destroyed by extreme cold. An attempt to turn the land to maize (corn) failed, the soil not being rich enough. Libourne’s then mayor, Robert Boulin, proposed creating a Lycée Viticole (viticulture and winemaking school) here but this was eventually built in Montagne-St-Émilion instead. 

Vineyards, terroir: A single block in the W of the Lalande-de-Pomerol AOC on the middle terrace of the Isle (river) valley. Quaternary era (Riss formation) deposits: sands, gravels & large pudding stones. 25 hectares (62 acres) of vines in total, of which 22.7 hectares of Lalande de Pomerol (85% Merlot, 11% Cab Franc, 4% Cab Sauvignon). The remaining 2.3 hectares are bottled as a Bordeaux Rouge (see below).

Certification: 2010 First vintage with full organic certification. | 2020 Still certified organic. 

Winemaking: Cement vats (dating from 1911).

Red wines

Bordeaux Rouge AOC, Château des Annereaux: From 2.3ha of Merlot (80%) and Petit Verdot (20%) in the ‘Parcelle de l’Âne Mort’ (‘Plot of the Dead donkey’). This crosses the western limit of the Lalande de Pomerol AC, hence bottled as Bordeaux Rouge.

Lalande-de-Pomerol AOC, Château des Biscarrats: The second wine.

Lalande-de-Pomerol AOC, Château des Annereaux: The grand vin (main wine). Fluid, approachable, herbal style. See label.

Contact

Château des Annereaux

3 Rue des Annereaux

F-33550 Lalande-de-Pomerol (Gironde), France

Tel+33 05.57.74.30.04 | Website: www.annereaux.com