Château Lilian Ladouys: Vineyards
As the D2 courses northwards it leaves Pauillac right after passing Lafite-Rothschild on the left-hand side, and crosses a small strip of land free of vines, through which runs the Jalle de Breuil, which denotes the boundary between one appellation and the next. There in front of you is the magnificent edifice that is Cos d’Estournel; continue onwards as the road bends round to the left and soon, on the left-hand side again, you will see Lafon-Rochet. Then, instead of following the D2 round to the right, continue straight on. Château Lilian Ladouys lies a short distance along, on the right. If you buy into the belief that illustrious neighbours mean illustrious terroir, then Château Lilian Ladouys seems to be well-sited.
It is worth bearing in mind, however, that the vineyards of Château Lilian Ladouys are not gathered around the estate in a single, gravelly block. With the acquisition of vineyards acquired from Clauzet and Tour de Pez in 2018 the estate grew to a considerable size, ultimately hitting 100 hectares. This included some lesser parcels which tended to produce wine of minimal interest, and which was habitually fed into the second wine. In order to rectify this some parcels were pulled up, in keeping with the trend across the region to uproot parcels producing wine of lower quality in order to focus on historic terroirs and the best plots, thereby ameliorating the quality of the grand vin and – through reducing costs alongside improving quality – remaining profitable.
As a consequence the vineyard today extends across 80 hectares, spread in a disparate fashion across the St Estèphe appellation, in more than 90 parcels. Clearly some lie within spitting distance of some of the aforementioned prestigious neighbours, such as Cos d’Estournel, but some are also rather more distant and less favoured.
