2018 Château Le Chemin Pomerol, Bordeaux, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

This vineyard is situated on the “Chemin” or “The Way” -the pilgrims’ route to Santiago de Compostela. It had belonged to the Despagne-Rapin family for around 20 years, before being passed down in 2008 to François Despagne, who is the owner today. This Pomerol wine is a single-variety Merlot matured in new barrique barrels to give additional complexity and body to this silky, elegant wine. Different operations that can vary according to plot batches and vintage : numerous short pump-overs, rack and return (délestage) and punching down of the cap (pigeage). Bottled 21 months after harvest.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The story of “Le Chemin”, which means The Way, follows one that began several centuries ago in a neighbouring vineyard in Saint Emilion. In 1996, François Despagne, a member of the family’s seventh generation of winemakers, took over the torch at Grand Corbin-Despagne.

Three years earlier, in 1993, his parents, the Despagne-Rapins, had acquired Le Chemin, in Pomerol. They passed it down to their son, François Despagne, in 2008.
“I have a special place in my heart for Pomerol,” says François Despagne, “and Le Chemin gave me the chance to fulfil a dream. I’ve set out to make a delicate, fine and elegant wine that can be appreciated both by enthusiasts and novices.”
“The wine’s name has a special significance for me. It evokes my own path and my quest to make the best possible wines in each of the terroirs with which I have been entrusted. The name also refers of course to the spiritual quest of the pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela.”