Château Haut-Marbuzet: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Haut-Marbuzet lie on the edge of the hamlet of Marbuzet, and the very prominent sign is still visible today. They are located on the same seam of gravel that runs beneath Château Cos d’Estournel and Château Cos Labory in the very southern-most part of the appellation, and runs up north to Château Montrose. Beneath the gravelly clay there is the classic calcaire à astéries, hard limestone rich in marine fossils which can be found both here in St Estèphe as well as in St Emilion.
Today the vineyard covers 61 hectares and is planted with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, a significant area of Merlot which accounts for 40%, and Cabernet Franc making up the total with 10%. This amount of Merlot is a little unusual for the commune, although there are a number of cru bourgeois estates further north on the Médoc that have a similar or greater percentage of this variety in the vineyard. Responsibility for its prominence here can be laid at the feet of Hervé Duboscq, who replanted using this variety after the frosts of 1956. Even then the use of so much Merlot was regarded as unusual, but Hervé thought it only natural to plant this variety in the clay soils that lay adjacent to the gravel mounds where he favoured Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, the area dedicated to this variety at Château Haut-Marbuzet has been reduced since Hervé’s time here. Henri Duboscq certainly favoured Cabernet Sauvignon over Merlot.
