Fronsac Royalty: Château de La Dauphine 2001-2018
BY NEAL MARTIN |
We 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.
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. 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.”
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Fronsac is an appellation that has been firing on all cylinders in recent years, so it’s an opportune moment to examine one of its leading estates, Château de La Dauphine and discover its royal past.
