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Château Lilian Ladouys

The wines of Lilian Ladouys are not ones that I have frequently encountered. Imagine my surprise, then, when I was one day confronted with a line up of recent vintages, a mini-vertical no less, at a tasting in London. Nonchalantly chewing a stick of gum, the woman was pouring the wines in the most laid-back, disaffected manner that might be possible. Her attitude was disconcerting, as she seemed to show no interest in the tasting, and how the wines were showing. In a way, her manner seemed to reflect the wines themselves, which had a similarly disenfranchised feel to them.

Lilian Ladouys: A Brief History

What is known of the history of Lilian Ladouys begins in 1654, when the property was in the ownership of Jacques de Bercoyan, a Bordeaux magistrate. By this time the estate was already known as La Doys, an obvious precursor to the Ladouys of today, although the origins of this name remain unclear to me. From Bercoyan the estate passed to the Barre family who acquired it during the 18th century, and who maintained their dominion over these vineyards for 150 years. Under their tutelage the estate grew to an admirable 60 hectares, and gained a reputation for wines of high quality judging by the opinions of the time, which ranked Lilian Ladouys considerably higher than most would place it today. In 1850 Cocks et Féret, the Bordeaux bible of the 19th century, ranked the estate among the very best in St Estèphe.

Unfortunately by the mid-20th century a rather different picture emerged. As was the case with much of Bordeaux, vineyard diseases, war and depression all took their toll, and the vineyard entered a period of decline. During the difficult years between the two wars and it was sold off in a piecemeal fashion. By the 1980s the estate had effectively disappeared, only for new owners to see it reborn during the 1990s under the auspices of Christian and Lilian Thiéblot. The 1989 and 1990 vintages reportedly harked back to the grands vins of old, and it seemed as though Lilian Ladouys may be getting back on her feet, although it was with rather an unsteady gait. In the interim there appears to have been a period under the direction of Pierre Fougere on behalf of the Société Château Lilian Ladouys, with winemaking under Georges Pauli, and although I have seen some positive reports on these wines my own opinion - based on the 2000-2005 vintages on which I report below - the wines were still sorely lacking in terms of quality. Subsequently, financial difficulties saw the estate taken over by Natexis Banque Populaire in 2007, before it was then acquired by Jacky and Françoise Lorenzetti, wealthy newcomers to Bordeaux who were in the mood for buying a château or two.

Jacky Lorenzetti and Lilian Ladouys

Lorenzetti made his fortune in real estate, having founded the estate agency Foncia in 1972. The company floated on the French stock exchange in 2001, and in 2007 - with more than 600 offices in France, and agencies in Germany, Belgium and Switzerland - he cashed in, selling 93% of his stock in the company to Banque Populaire. With an enviable personal fortune he has been able to indulge his passions; one would appear to be rugby, as in 2006 he bought a 61% stake in Racing Métro, a struggling Parisian team which, with Lorenzetti's financial clout now behind it, has reinvented itself as a major team.

His other passion is perhaps wine, judging by his acquisitions in Bordeaux. He took on the under-performing leaderless Lilian Ladouys late on in 2008, and in early 2009 he took on that other perennial disappointment Pedesclaux, as well as a little-known Pauillac estate Haut-Milon. Looking at his track record with rugby, I anticipate big changes at these estates, with reinvestment and consultation destined, I expect, to rudely awake these vineyards from their chronic slumber. Jacky has installed a new manager, Vincent Mulliez, best known for his successes at Belle-Vue, a property neighbouring Château Giscours but with the Haut-Médoc appellation, and the 2009 vintage was overseen by Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen, Belle Vue's technical director. But within months of his appointment tragedy struck, as Vincent Mulliez died of a heart attack in May 2010, at the too-soon age of 44. It now falls to his colleague Bache-Gabrielsen, and business partner Frédéric Boisseau, to take the reins not only on the Mulliez properties but also Lilian Ladouys.

Lilian Ladouys: Vineyards and Wines

The estate covers vineyards 47 hectares spread in a slightly disparate fashion across the St Estèphe appellation, with more than ninety plots of vines in existence, although largely within sight of some prestigious neighbours such as Cos d'Estournel. About two-thirds of the vineyard is situated on well drained soils rich in coarse gravel, with pebbles up to 8 cm across dominating. The remaining vineyards are, as we might expect for St Estèphe, clay over a limestone bedrock. The varieties planted are 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, representing a very slight increase in Cabernet Sauvignon in recent times, and the vines have an average age of about 40 years. At harvest time the fruit is sorted in the vineyard and on arrival at the chai, before fermentation by indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, regulated to 31-33ºC. The young wine then goes into oak barrels, of which one-third are new with each vintage, where malolactic occurs. The wine will remain here 16-18 months before an egg-white fining, filtration and bottling. The grand vin is Château Lilian Ladouys, of which there are perhaps 20000 cases per annum, and the second wine, La Devise de Lilian, has a production closer to 5000 cases.

My own experience with the wines of Lilian Ladouys is largely based on a single encounter with several vintages, as I noted in my introduction. The vintages shown on the day ranged from the 2001 up to the 2005, omitting the 2002. They were obviously young wines, and I enjoyed the opportunity to taste them. The 2005 was certainly the best of the bunch, with a little more substance than the preceding vintages, but all in all I thought that the wines still fall short of what we might expect from the published 18th century opinions, and also given the estate's proximity to the likes of Cos d'Estournel. But with the financial backing of Lorenzetti, funding new developments and the arrival of new expertise, I expect to see bright things from Lilian Ladouys in the near future. (2/5/08, updated 11/8/11)

Contact details:
Address: Château Lilian Ladouys, 33180 St-Estèphe
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 59 71 96
Fax: +33 (0) 5 56 59 35 97
Internet: www.chateau-lilian-ladouys.com
GPS: 45.233634, -0.791498

Château Lilian Ladouys - Tasting Notes

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Château Lilian Ladouys (St Estèphe) 2005: A nose of cigars, freshly rolled tobacco leaves, singed fruit and a little tomato leaf. A soft style on the palate, with more of that tobacco character to the fruit as was found on the nose. There is acidity, yet it doesn't seem to form a good frame for the wine. A grippy finish. Certainly an interesting wine. 15+/20 (February 2008)

Château Lilian Ladouys (St Estèphe) 2004: There is red cherry fruit here, which is subtle, and tinged with smoke. The palate is softly composed, but underneath there is a firm, slightly burnt character and grip which carries through to the finish. There is not a lot of character to discuss here. 14.5/20 (February 2008)

Château Lilian Ladouys (St Estèphe) 2003: This does not have a very expressive nose despite the vintage, and the palate displays a similarly closed down character. It is rounded, showing chewy grip and a huge wall of tannin. But there is acid here too; nevertheless, it displays the heat of the vintage all too plainly. Rustic indeed. 13.5/20 (February 2008)

Château Lilian Ladouys (St Estèphe) 2001: Finally in this line up, a nose to smile about. Here there is an elegant, gravelly, slightly meaty perfume, with aromatic fruit maturity. A delicate palate, not brimming with structure although it has decent acidity. There is a burnt edge to it, like that found in other vintages. Soft tannins. Some good qualities here. 14.5/20 (February 2008)

Château Lilian Ladouys (St Estèphe) 2000: A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. There are new owners at Lilian Ladouys these days, but this wine predates their involvement. This is a great vintage though so hopes should be high. Dark, rather high-toned but certainly fresh on the nose. Notes of crunchy autumn leaves, mature and delicate, something of a surprise given the vintage. Supple on entry, then rather dry and reserved through the middle. Structured, but with broad and soft edges. Really remarkably light and stony. Disappointing. From a Sainsbury's tasting. 13/20 (October 2010)