Château Franc Baudron

Identity

Château Franc Baudron is a winegrowing estate situated in the commune of Montagne. The property is owned by the Guimberteau-Foray family. Sophie Guimberteau and Charles Foray are the estate's winemakers.

History and philosophy

The history of Château Franc Baudron began in 1923 with Albert-Georges Guimberteau. At that time, the vineyard covered 4 hectares. Nelson Guimberteau, born in 1921, joined the family estate in 1936, when the surface area reached 8 hectares. Later, Michel Guimberteau (born in 1952) began working on the estate and, alongside Bernadette Milhard, helped triple the vineyard's size. In 1999, Vincent Guimberteau joined the property. Then, in 2010, Sophie Guimberteau and her partner Charles Foray arrived at the estate, driving a new dynamic focused on environmentally friendly viticultural practices. The estate initiated its conversion to organic farming (Agriculture Biologique) in 2010 and achieved Agriculture Raisonnée certification in 2005. The estate's philosophy prioritises quality and authenticity, allowing nature to take its course as much as possible, with the ultimate goal of eliminating all inputs.

The appellations

The estate's parcels are distributed across multiple appellations: 32 hectares are located in AOC Montagne Saint-Émilion, and 10 hectares in AOC Bordeaux.

Practical information

Château Franc Baudron is located at 1, impasse de Baudron, 33570 Montagne. The estate welcomes visitors Monday to Friday from 9 am to 12 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm. On Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, visits are by appointment. Tastings are available, and the estate offers accommodation options. The property can be contacted by telephone on 05 57 74 62 65 or 06.79.81.41.96, and by email at franc.baudron@orange.fr.

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The vineyard (terroir)

The vineyard of Château Franc Baudron covers a total surface area of 44.4 hectares. It is characterised by varied soil types, including clay-limestone plateaus, heavy clays, and sandy-gravel soils. The average age of the vines is around 40 years, with Cabernet plantings over 70 years old planted by Nelson Guimberteau. Planting density is approximately 5,500 vines per hectare. The estate practices ploughing and soil tillage, as well as mechanical under-row weeding, without the use of chemical weedkillers. Sowing of leguminous, aromatic, and melliferous cover crops is carried out over 7 hectares. For fertilisation, organic cow manure is applied to lower-vigour parcels. The estate also uses homemade herbal teas and plant preparations (nettle, horsetail, fern) to reduce sulphur and copper treatments. Harvesting is carried out both by hand and by machine. Canopy management practices such as de-suckering, debudding, trimming, and leaf stripping are also employed.

Flagship cuvées

Château Franc Baudron produces wines in all three colours, with a range spanning red, dry white, sweet (moelleux and liquoreux), rosé, and crémant. The “Mirande” cuvée is a red wine crafted from equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This wine is made with no added sulphites and displays aromas of ripe dark fruit (blackcurrant, plum) and spicy notes. Another red cuvée, “L’Authentique”, is characterised by vinification without oak ageing. The estate also offers the “Recto-Verso” cuvées in both red and white.

Vinification and ageing

Winemaking at Château Franc Baudron follows a low-intervention approach, seeking to let nature express itself. The estate carries out separate vinifications according to terroir type. Daily punch-downs (pigeage) are performed and malolactic fermentations take place in vat. For certain cuvées, such as Mirande, vinification involves foot-treading and vatting in small stainless steel tanks, with a maceration period of around three weeks. Ageing can take place in stainless steel tanks, shielding the wine from oxygen. The objective is to reduce the use of inputs, including sulphur, with the ambition of eventually eliminating them entirely. The wines are generally unfined, and select cuvées are crafted without added sulphites.