Château Capbern: Vineyards
Château Capbern is located close to Château Calon-Ségur, and it enjoys a fairly prominent position on the eastern edge of the village of Saint-Estèphe. To the north, south and west of the château are the narrow streets and yellow-grey stone walls of the village, and beyond those, to the north and west, the vineyards of Château Calon-Ségur. To the east, however, the land is open, the château enjoying a good view over the vineyards which run down the gentle slope towards the hamlet of Le Moulin, and about 400 metres beyond that the Gironde. The best view of the château is to be obtained from one of the two roads that run up towards it, either side of Le Moulin, although at times this view is obscured by trees. Alternatively, you can make your way into Saint-Estèphe – head for the aforementioned Église Saint-Etienne, which is directly adjacent to the château – to get a close up view.
The vineyard is fairly large, the land accounting for 33 hectares of the Saint-Estèphe appellation, of which 29 hectares is planted up. While considerable, this is a smaller estate than that reported when the property was acquired, my older notes telling me there were 41 hectares here; if my figures are correct it suggests some parcels have been quietly sold off by the new owners. Of what remains, the vineyard is split between two large parcels. One lies beneath and around the château, as seen pictured on the previous page. These are the vines of Le Moulin. There is a second large parcel of vines, and this lies a little to the south, near Château Meyney, and thus also close to the Gironde.
