Château La Clémence

The creation of Château La Clémence was the manifestation of friendship between a doctor, who found himself making wine in Bordeaux almost by chance, and arguably the region’s most famed oenologist and consultant.

The name of the latter will be familiar, as the individual concerned is none other than Michel Rolland, arguably the world’s most famous winemaking consultant, renowned for his many consultancies particularly on the right bank of Bordeaux, but also across the globe, from Argentina to India. The name of the former, meanwhile, is Christian Dauriac, and while this moniker might not seem so immediately bankable it would be rash to jump to any conclusions. After all, Christian is also the proprietor of Château Destieux and Château Montlisse, both of which he has seen elevated to the position of grand cru classé (in 2006 and 2022 respectively) during his tenure. So he is clearly doing something right.

It was in the mid-1990s that Christian Dauriac decided he wished to look beyond St Emilion, and to plant a flag somewhere in the soils of Pomerol. Who else should he turn to but one of his closest friends, Michel Rolland. Michel knew the appellation like the back of his hand, and it was not long before he was directing Christian towards a parcel of vines he had identified as being for sale. The creation of La Clémence was nigh. Before we go any further down this road, though, first I provide a little backstory to Christian, and how he accidentally found himself making wine in this region.

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