Fronsac Royalty: Château de La Dauphine 2001-2018

BY NEAL MARTIN | JUNE 07, 2022We need to talk about Fronsac. That’s the
title of my imaginary novel that tells the story how Fronsac, once regarded as
one of Bordeaux’s eminent appellations was usurped by Saint-Émilion and Pomerol.
Fronsac is where Charlemagne constructed his fortress in 770 and Cardinal de
Richelieu purchased land for his family in 1663. Its wines sold for higher
prices than either of those aforesaid appellations throughout the 18th
century. Then, in recent decades, as the stars of those neighbouring
appellations aligned, Fronsac was budged out of the limelight. Thankfully, in
recent years, several Fronsac wineries have begun delivering the goods. Writers
like myself regularly extol their virtues, badgering those with myopic tastes
to broaden them. This article is part of my ongoing campaign. Recent vintages
of Château de La Dauphine have been impressive.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1654613212531-la+dauphine+-+old+photo.jpg">By coincidence, I found this ancient photograph of the château, probably taken around the turn of the century.History The château building was constructed between
1744 and 1750 by a lawyer, Jean-Baptiste de Richon. Not long afterwards, the
estate came to prominence when Maria Josepha of Saxony, daughter of the King of
Poland and the daughter-in-law of King Louis XV, resided there for several
days. Her title was the “La Dauphine de France” (la dauphine is the French term
for the wife of a crown prince). She never became queen as her husband died of
tuberculosis. Still, before his death, they had several children including three
future kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X. The significance
of her stay prompted the renaming of the estate.

The estate was owned by François-Régis
Marcetteau de Brem until 1985, whereupon Château de La Dauphine was sold to J-P
Moueix. In 2000, it changed hands once more when it was bought by Jean Halley,
co-founder of the Promodes Group. Halley passed away in 2011, whereupon his
son, Guillaume, took over and commenced a number of investments. In 2015, the
Labrune family, founder of the tech company CEGEDIM, bought the estate and
continued the program of investments, including the application of biodynamics
in the vineyard.

Château de La Dauphine is now run by General
Director, Stéphanie Barousse. I asked about her career
path that led to all things Fronsac. “I did not come to my
current position following the usual path,” she replied. “I arrived at La
Dauphine 15 years ago, and it is where I began my career, where I have grown up
and evolved into who I am today.&nbsp;I have been lucky, and I’ve had the
opportunity to undertake all the jobs that are part of La Dauphine from the
vineyard to accounts, sales to the winery. This is a major asset. It’s enabled
me to become intimate with the property and its component parts that I’ve
helped develop. I climbed the ladder over the years and became
Deputy Managing Director in 2015. A woman at the head of the property was
pretty unusual seven years ago.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1654613250345-dauphone+stephanie_copy.jpg">I could not resist publishing this photo of
an acrobatic Stéphanie Barousse posing with a bottle of
her wine. Next time I take a photo of Michel Rolland, I shall request a
one-handed handstand.Vineyard At 53-hectares, Château de La Dauphine is one
of the largest estates in the region. The original vineyard occupies a
south-facing amphitheatre. The vineyard comprised of 40-hectares until 2016
when it was enlarged by their acquisition of Château Haut-Ballet in St.
Michel-de-Fronsac. In July 2021, further expansion was announced after the
purchase of the 13-hectare Canon-Fronsac estate of Château Vrai Canon Bouché,
making it 66 hectares in total, one of the most significant in the Fronsac appellation.
I asked Barousse to update me on this acquisition. “Part of the production will be integrated into Château de La Dauphine in
2022 since Château Vrai Canon Bouché will be organic. We are keeping the
Château Vrai Canon Bouché name for the historical American market. Château Vrai Canon Bouché has exceptional terroir identical to Château
de La Dauphine’s Grand Vin: plateaus with asteriated limestone, Fronsac molasse
and very good exposure of the plots. Furthermore, a
majority of these plots are planted with Cabernet Franc, which will allow us to
increase its proportion in our first wine from 10 to 25%. Our objective is to produce a great Bordeaux with complexity, fine
tannins, smooth, tight texture, length and balance. We now have to go beyond
the classification to establish the property as a Grands Vin de Bordeaux.”

Given its size, unsurprisingly La Dauphine contains
14 different soil types. These broadly fit into three types: a plateau of clay-limestone
above asteriated limestone, which comes from the Haut-Ballet parcels, an
inclined of shallow Fronsac molasse and at the foot of the slope, more sandy/silt
clay over a clay subsoil. In 2018, the vineyard consisted of 90% Merlot and 10%
Cabernet Franc, though as already stated, this will change considerably with
their recent expansion. Pruning is simple Guyot.

I asked Barousse about their massal selection
program. “We have maintained a massal
selection program for 20 years,” she replied. “This involves working closely
with the nursery to preserve our selections now and for future vintages.&nbsp;The
program is focused upon obtaining the 25% Cabernet Franc and Sancerre Sauvignon
Blanc for the white wine both entirely from massal
selections. These make it possible to offer
more complexity in the Grands Vins de Bordeaux.”

Organic viticulture has been applied at
Château de La Dauphine since 2012, certified by “AB” three years later. Two
years later, the entire vineyard was converted to biodynamic viticulture,
although they are not pursuing certification at the present moment. Tied with
biodynamics has been their research into aquaponics. I asked what this was all
about.

“The word ‘aquaponics’
is a combination of aquaculture - fish farming - and hydroponics - growing
plants without the use of soil. Aquaponics is the growing of herbs, vegetables,
and leaves (salads, spinach, etc.) in symbiosis with a fish farm. The
excretions from the fish add nutrients to the water. Rich in organic
fertilizer, this water is transported to the plant growing system. The plants
absorb the nutrients necessary for their growth and purify the water, which is
then returned to the fish. Aquaponics is still a relatively recent practice and
is being embraced as a sustainable way of growing good quality fruit and
vegetables while at the same time raising fish."<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1654613267874-dauphine+vatroom_copy2.jpg">The&nbsp;Château de La Dauphine&nbsp;vatroom.Winemaking The fruit undergoes a double sorting upon
entering the winery receptions with no optical sorting machines. The circular-designed
winery is equipped with 26 concrete (along the same tulip-design as those at
Cheval Blanc) and 16 stainless-steel vats that are 50-hectoliter in size. Fruit
is transferred into vat by gravity, using a mobile rotating arm, and then undergoes
a 30-day maceration. The wine is then matured for around 12 months in French
oak barrels, around 30% renewed each year, three cooperages used (Taransaud,
Seguin Moreau and 500-liter Stockinger). Given the size of the production, they
use the space-efficient OXOLine system, which essentially allows winery workers
to tackle whatever barrel they wish without disturbing others that you must do
if simply stacked on one another. Michel Rolland was appointed consulted in
2011, duties handed over to his right-hand man, Julien Viaud in 2015. A second
wine is produced, as well as a white and rosé.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1654618162876-dauphine+bottles.jpg"> The WinesChâteau de La Dauphine is one of the leading
Fronsac estates, one probably overlooked by some cognoscenti simply because its
postcode is neither Pomerol or Saint-Émilion. That’s a shame because recent
vintages such as the 2010, 2016 and 2018 stand equal to some of the top-ranking
estates in those appellations. Pick of the bunch might be the exceptional 2015
and amongst older vintages, a 2005 that is evolving with grace. I often find Château
de La Dauphine intense on the nose – no shy retiring wallflower – replete with
black fruit occasionally tinctured by liquorice and/or dark chocolate.&nbsp; Like many Fronsac wines, it is quite powerful
and structured, deserving at least four to five years’ cellaring just to shave
some of its tannic edges, though it has a propensity to age well over 15 to 20
years, possibly longer in benevolent vintages.© 2022, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism. <hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/enticingly-fallible-bordeaux-2021-en-primeur-may-2022">Enticingly Fallible: Bordeaux 2021 En Primeur</a>, Neal Martin, May 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/this-is-not-just-another-winery-haut-bailly-1964-2018-apr-2022">This Is Not Just Another Winery: Haut-Bailly 1964-2018</a>, Neal Martin, April 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/unrivalled-unequalled-yquem-1921-2019-apr-2022">Unrivalled/Unequalled: Yquem 1921–2019</a>, Neal Martin, April 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/the-comedown-bordeaux-2011-ten-years-on-apr-2022">The Comedown: Bordeaux 2011 Ten-Years-On</a>, Neal Martin, April 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/pages-in-the-photo-album-vieux-chateau-certan-1928-2013-mar-2022">Pages in the Photo Album: Vieux Château Certan 1928-2013</a>, Neal Martin, March 2022

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