La Raison d’Hêtre
WHY BUY IT ?
- A story to write with the Thienpont’s family
- The know how and signature of Jacques, Fiona & Maxime
- The entry door to get the 2016 vintage
- Very exclusive distribution, only 10000 bottles produced total
- A fantastic value wine
- The desire to make this property the best Castillon
Talking about the name “L’Hêtre”, its history is very new. But, in fact, this domain of Castillon was managed by Stephane and Beatrice Goubau for the last 10 years, under the name of Château Goubau. It is during these ten years that the couple invested into the organic certification of the vineyard. Jacques Thienpont visited this estate in the Côtes de Castillon during the harvest 2015. He was immediately struck by the great location and the stunning view, perched at the end of the limestone plateau that runs eastwards from Saint-Emilion. So it is the reason why he decided to invest, with his sister Anne De Raeymaeker. In 2016, the families hired Maxime Thienpont as manager, their nephew who had grown up at another familial estate Château Labégorce Zédé in Margaux. Few monthes later, they made the decision to rename the estate by “L’Hêtre”, thus continuing the arboreal theme that Jacques has used for all his domains. In 2017, two families had the opportunity to purchase the neighbouring domain: Château La Montagne, a 25 hectare estate with an impressive château including the potential of planting a further 10 hectares of vineyards. Even if Thienpont Family had bought Château Goubau before the ageing of vintage 2015, the vintage 2016 is the first vintage made entirely by the new owners and is therefore the first to carry the new name : L’Hêtre.
The vineyards enjoy good southeasterly exposure, a continuous gentle breeze and are divided between the limestone plateau and a mixture of clay, limestone and chalk soil slopes. The wines are fermented in concrete and oak vats and aged in a mixture of one-third one year and one-third second year barrels. The grape variety of L’Hêtre is 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. La Raison d’Hêtre, the second wine of the estate, is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc also, but from the young vines and from the parcels of clay-limestone on the lower slopes. The artwork for the labels was created by Belgian artist : Anne Van Herreweghen.
At the tasting, L’Hêtre is dark purple, fresh and sweet on the nose with a good expression of autumn fruits; on the attack the wine is firm and rich with good, ripe tannins and a round, silky structure, on the palate the wine is fresh and spicy.
Their Team
- Propriétaires : Famille THIENPONT
- Directeur : Maxime THIENPONT
