Winegrower Bordeaux
Château Guadet :
developing an asset passed down over the generations
Four centuries mark this patronymic which is so closely linked to the history of Saint-Emilion…
The description given by Guy Petrus-Lignac, manager of Château Guadet (formerly named Château Guadet Saint Julien) is an invitation to take a voyage into the history of wine.
From the Gallo-Roman period right up to modern times, Guy Petrus-Lignac, who now runs this wine heritage monument, welcomes us to his estate.
Bringing modernisation to Saint Emilion
Located in the centre of the village, the property’s cellar is filled with prestigious references. Legendary Saint-Emilion growths lie alongside Girondine paintings, stowed away here during the French Revolution. Intact, disconcerting, superb, this limestone cellar is also used from time to time for making films… Since 2000, Guy Petrus-Lignac has devoted all his efforts to producing an elegant, contemporary wine.
After an initial career as a senior manager in the pharmaceutical industry, Guy Petrus-Lignac took over the management of the estate, proudly taking on the challenge of developing a great growth wine whilst adapting it to its contemporary era. Endeavouring to give new impetus, he called upon the services of eminent wine-maker Stéphane Derenoncourt, with whom he shares the same vision of the estate’s vineyard. Together they established a technical assessment of this exceptional terroir and tackled the task of ensuring that the vineyard became a tool in perfect working order. Substantial investments were made to renew the estate’s machinery and equipment. Computerisation now enables updates in real time concerning the condition of the vines on the 5.7 hectares of the vineyard. Field selection (‘sélection massale’) was carried out in order to create a more uniform standard of quality; leaf-thinning is done in certain parts of the vineyard, depending on sun exposure and the ecosystem is carefully protected… This rather classic plan of action rapidly provided the progress that had been anticipated.
Perpetuate the renown
of a Great Classified Growth today
To have such an illustrious name means ensuring tremendous professionalism and faultless, high standards of quality. This is why Guy Petrus-Lignac and Stéphane Derenoncourt have worked in collaboration for the past two years, selecting particular plots of the vineyard and working as a team with the treasured harvest for wine-making. “We make terroir wines and modernise them” points out Mr Lignac. “Consumers don’t always have cellars that are suitable for long ageing and they seek wines that can be consumed young. This is why we are developing our style towards ever purer wines with adapted methods. For example, we no longer crush the harvested grapes.” The aim is to preserve the mineral quality derived from the magnificent limestone terroir here and succeed in making the wines more complex.
Wines develop, so do their producers, even in this stronghold of great growths, which still has plenty of secrets to reveal…
The Wine :
• Château Guadet Grand Cru Classé ("Château Guadet-Saint-Julien Grand Cru Classé", was the name of this estate up until 2005),
• Le Jardin de Guadet.
Size of the vineyard: 5.5 hectares (clay-limestone soils)
Grape varieties: 75% Merlot, 25 % Cabernet Franc
Average annual production:
Château Guadet: 24 000 bottles
Jardin de Guadet: 1 200 bottlesChâteau Guadet
33330 Saint Emilion
Tél. 05 57 74 40 04
Fax. 05 57 24 63 50
www.guadet.com 
