Château Le Prieuré: Vineyards
As indicated in my history of the estate, Château Le Prieuré lies to the east of the town of St Emilion, very close to the Porte Brunet, the town’s eastern gate (which is a good entrance to use if you plan to explore the town on foot). Just one minute’s walk beyond the gate lie the old cloisters, once closely associated with Château Le Prieuré. From the gate the road runs eastwards past Château La Serre before reaching Bordeaux’s tightest hairpin bend, the road here turning sharp right down the Val de Fongaban, beneath the vines of Château La Clotte (and indeed Château Le Prieuré) on one side, and Château Pavie-Macquin on the other. Looking down onto this hairpin corner are the cellars of Château Le Prieuré, surrounded in all directions by its 6.24 hectares of vines.
Most of these various parcels lie to the north, at Aux Menuts, and to the south and east, the latter alongside the road out to L’If and Château Troplong-Mondot. There is a parcel a few hundred metres to the west, however, closer to the Porte Brunet, beneath Château La Serre. The terroir here is limestone with some contribution from clay, unsurprising as the estate is firmly situated on the limestone plateau. The vines are 80% Merlot, with just few parcels planted to Cabernet Franc accounting for the remaining 20%, two such parcels being situated alongside the road to Château Troplong-Mondot, while two are below Château La Serre again. All the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Syrah has clearly been pulled up. The vines are over 40 years of age on average, although this figure hides the presence of some old vines aged more than 50 years, and also many younger vines planted during the revitalisation of the vineyard under Olivier Guichard.
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