Château Desmirail: Vineyards
The cellars are located in Cantenac, right alongside the main road, although so great is their expanse that they stretch all the way out to the periphery of the village, back to the railway line and Château Kirwan, which sits just on the other side of the tracks. The two other most prominent estates to be based in this corner of Margaux are Château Prieuré-Lichine, which is right next-door, and Château d’Issan, which is on the opposite side of the road (past the Salle Port Aubin and the children’s playground, if you are looking for it).
Today there are 40 hectares of vineyards associated with the name of Château Desmirail, which lie in a number of parcels around Cantenac. The soils are typical of the left bank of the Gironde, with Quaternary gravel dominating, although naturally there are also some areas of sand and clay. The vines are aged over 25 years on average. When Bernard Ginestet visited during the 1980s, as described in Margaux (Jacques Legrand SA, 1989), the vineyard was 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, the balance 23% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. This latter variety seems to have since disappeared, the vineyard today 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.
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