Château La Commanderie: Vineyards
Château La Commanderie sits at the roadside, in the southern part of the appellation. Just to be clear, that’s the Pomerol appellation; this is one of a number of Pomerol properties where the name is the same as another well-known Bordeaux estate. In this case there is another Château La Commanderie in St Emilion, situated close to Château Ripeau, an estate which was elevated to grand cru classé status in 2012. And there is a third with the same name in St Estèphe. And a fourth in Lalande-de-Pomerol. And probably others. The message is simple; when ordering from a wine list, make sure you know exactly which La Commanderie you are ‘commanding’.
The cellars are easy to locate. Turn off the main thoroughfare which runs through Catusseau, down the narrow road sandwiched between Château Nenin and the Rolland laboratory, and one minute later you will find yourself at Château La Commanderie. If you had come down this road prior to the arrival of the Kuks you might have driven past the cellars, which were housed in a rather anonymous, stone-built, windowless edifice. Well, to be honest there were some windows, but they were mostly bricked up. Only the arched cellar door, and the wrought-iron sign on the wall, provided a clue as to the identity and purpose of the building.
