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Château La Couspaude

The history of Château La Couspaude stretches back at least to the Middle Ages when it was known as La Croix Paute, a reference to the cross that sits at the centre of the junction at one corner of the property. This cross once served as a meeting point for pilgrims making their way through St Emilion, as they headed towards Santiago de Compostela in order to pay homage to St James, who is said to be buried in the town's cathedral. La Croix Paute seems like an obvious antecedent to La Couspaude, although I note that in 1868 Cocks & Féret refers to the property as La Gouspaude, so whether this is a correct assumption or not I do not know. Nevertheless it seems more likely than not that the cross gave its name to the château nextdoor.

The current proprietors of the estate are the Aubert family, who also own several minor properties in and around the St Emilion appellation. La Couspaude has been in their ownership for over one hundred years, the property having been acquired by their ancestor Prosper-Jean Robin in 1908. Upon Prosper-Jean's death the estate was bequeathed to his son André-Marcel, and then in turn inherited by André-Marcel's daughter, Edith, in 1963. It was Edith who took the property into the hands of the Auberts, a family already well established in the region as vignerons, as a dowry when she married Etienne Aubert.

At the helm today are three brothers, Alain, Daniel and Jean-Claude, Etienne and Edith's sons and thus they are great-grandsons of Prosper-Jean, while the next generation - Alain's daughter Héloïse and Daniel's daughter Vanessa - manage the administrative side of the château. The estate is today ranked as a Grand Cru Classé in the current St Emilion classification, although this position has not been consistently held. Having been at this level up to the 1986 revision, at this point La Couspaude was demoted. Writing in The Wines of Bordeaux: Vintages and Tasting Notes 1952-2003 (University of California Press, new title edition 2011), Clive Coates asserts that this was due to nothing more than failing to bottle the wine at the château, indicating that the demotion did not reflect an issue with the actual quality of the wine. Whatever the problem was, by 1996 it had clearly been rectified as the estate was reinstated as a Grand Cru Classé, and it remains ranked at this level today.

Vineyards and Wines

The vineyard covers 7 hectares situated on St Emilion's fabled limestone plateau, exactly the same 7 hectares that Prosper-Jean Robin acquired, the extent and distribution of the vines not having changed in more than 150 years. The vines have an average age of 30 years, are planted at a fairly typical density of 6500 vines per hectare, and are 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The yields are well controlled, down to a figure usually between 30 and 35 hl/ha, using a combination of hard pruning and bunch thinning. The harvest is manual, into small crates, with a sorting prior to the pressing.

In the cellar the fruit is fermented in small wooden vats with temperature control, with malolactic and élevage in new oak barriques for 18-20 months. The ultimate blend is typically quite close to the proportions of the different varieties in the vineyard, for example the 2004 is 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is Jean-Claude Aubert himself that oversees the vinification, and in recent vintages he would have done so alongside his maître de chai Vincent Rebillout, but this partnership came to an end with Vincent's death in June 2011. The Aubert family also take consultation from Michel Rolland. The grand vin is Château La Couspaude, and there is also a second wine introduced in 1994 entitled Junior de la Couspaude. With such a small vignoble availability is unsurprisingly restricted; expect to see less than 3000 cases per annum coming out of the cellar door.

La Couspaude: Tasting and Drinking

The style of wine at La Couspaude is undeniably modern, and many critics make reference to the significant impact of oak on the palate in their tasting notes. That this is so should not be a great surprise, considering fermentation is undertaken in small oak vats, under the guidance of Michel Rolland, and in the 2009 and 2010 vintages they have been experimenting with fermentation en barrique. My own tasting experiences, taking in several recent vintages, have allowed me to form an opinion of the Aubert-La Couspaude style which mirrors these words. The wines suggest a predilection for ripeness, extraction and oak at La Couspaude, and I have sometimes found that the heady combination of all three have not produced the degree of harmony or elegance that I look for in the wines of Bordeaux. Sometimes the effort does shine through in a more positive fashion, but just as often it is super-ripe fruit, wood, tannin and inky extraction that dominates.

The 2008 was typical of this when tasted during the primeurs, although clearly reports based on barrel samples should always be viewed in a sceptical light. Aromatically it had that dark, meaty style of fruit that reflects sur-maturité, although there was a freshness to it as well in keeping with the vintage, and I found the notes of elegance there persisted through to my reassessment of the wine once in bottle. The 2006 and 2010 (this latter vintage fermented entirely en barrique) are more typical of the property I think, showing the high-toned meat stock and chocolate of super-ripe fruit, mixed with the tannic backbone of extraction. Although these wines certainly have their good points, the style is not one that immediately appeals, being typical of the current trend in St Emilion of aiming for über-ripeness and extraction over elegance and precision. (28/9/11)

Contact details:
Address: Château La Couspaude, 33330 St Emilion
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 57 40 15 76
Fax +33 (0) 5 57 40 10 14
Internet: www.aubert-vignobles.com
GPS: 44.896527, -0.150371

Château La Couspaude - Tasting Notes

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Château La Couspaude (St Emilion) 2011: This has dark fruit with a slightly meaty tone to it, as well as a medicinal suggestion that does not speak entirely of the freshest and purest of fruit. The palate does indeed show this; the start of the palate is immediately fat and creamy, the midpalate giving way to spice in abundance, with peppery, baked fruit characteristics, and a touch of balsamic too. And also some big, ripe chewy tannins. The fruit is not fresh here. And yet, thanks to the cool summer surely, it has acidity despite this. From my Bordeaux 2011 primeurs assessment. 14-15/20 (April 2012)

Château La Couspaude (St Emilion) 2010: Quite a glossy hue here, of moderate intensity. An intense aroma of black cherry and finely grained dark chocolate, nuanced with meat stock and game. This is all really quite intense. despite this heady character on the nose the palate is very bright and much better defined, with a fresher and crisper fruit character than I expected, although this still has plenty of flesh and a very direct style. And there is plenty of tannin around the edges, and these have quite a chewy character right through the middle and into the finish. Here there are more chewy, slightly meaty and savoury elements. Lots of effort here. From my Bordeaux 2010 primeurs assessment. 15-16/20 (April 2011)

Château La Couspaude (St Emilion) 2009: Dense, dark fruit with more than a hint of sur-maturité. It has that feel to it that I often describe as 'furry' but what I'm try to convey is the absence of freshness. The palate is rather muted at first, but certainly has a slightly fat flesh to it, and through the middle there is basically more of the same; more fat, more flesh with not much in the way of balance. The fruit has a rather dull character to it. Picked very ripe, judging by the fruit character and the low level acidity. More grip - and a little more acid - apparent on a second taste, but overall my opinion is unchanged. From a tasting of 2009 Bordeaux at two years of age. 14.5/20 (October 2011)

Château La Couspaude (St Emilion) 2008: There is a nice quality of fruit here, stylish and slightly nutty, with a ripe Merlot character. Good substance on the palate, dense and creamy, but well judged rather than over the top, with a grip of smoky and tobacco-tinged tannins coming through in the middle. Plenty of punch, and good acids too. This is a promising wine. From a tasting of 2008 Bordeaux at two years of age. 16+/20 (October 2010)

Château La Couspaude (St Emilion) 2008: Dark, smoky meat, but still fresh. An elegant start to the palate, quite open and lifted, and then a nice freshness through the middle. Firm fruit, lots of grip and acid, a slightly sappy style, with good juicy fruit. A little creamy too, I notice on a second taste. Nicely styled. From my 2008 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 16-17+/20 (April 2009)

Château La Couspaude (St Emilion) 2007: A dark, smoky, charcoaly, a sooty nose, surely mostly oak-derived elements, with a fruit profile that is closely related to black cherry I think, with more than a touch of chocolate cake, although it is hard to see behind all the smouldering charcoal. Nevertheless this doesn't come through on the palate as strongly as I expected, with a supple layer of fruit backed up by firm but not excessive tannins, and if anything firm rather than softer acidity. If this wine can absorb all that oak character there could be something approachable here. From a 2007 Bordeaux tasting at four years of age. 14.5/20 (November 2011)

Château La Couspaude (St Emilion) 2006: Dark, meaty, spicy fruit on the nose, slightly high-toned, certainly very richly styled. Lots of nice substance on the palate, very dark and dense as the nose suggested, all fruit cake and plum, with a rather meaty, beef stock, extracted character to it all. Robust, lots of firm tannin giving it a very hard and inky edge, and some rather spiky acidity too. The extract seems a bit ambitious here to me. From a 2006 Bordeaux tasting at four years of age. 14/20 (November 2010)