Château Soutard: Vineyards
As I have already suggested in my introduction, Château Soutard is difficult to overlook. It occupies a prominent roadside position northeast of the town of St Emilion, and it dwarfs all those rather more modest châteaux that surround it. Indeed, this château would dwarf quite a number of châteaux on the Médoc as well. Notable neighbours to the east include Château Faurie de Souchard, Château Petit Faurie de Soutard, all of which share the same origin as Château Soutard of course, as well as Château Haut-Sarpe and Château Clos de Sarpe. To the south is Château Villemaurine and Château Balestard La Tonnelle (seen beyond the vines, below), to the north and north east is Château Cap de Moulin, Château Dassault and Clos de l’Oratoire.
Today the estate covers 30 hectares in total, of which 22 hectares is planted to vines. Underfoot, despite those sandy soils I have noted when checking out the vines in the past, the vineyard is said to be 70% limestone and clay, 17% clay and just 13% sand. Merlot dominates, at 63% of the vineyard, with 28% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec, the vines boasting an average age across the vineyard of 35 years, and they are planted at 6,500 vines per hectare.
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