Château Lapourcaud

Around half an hour’s drive east of Blaye, Château Lapourcaud dates back to 1883 but has been recently revived to its former glory by owner-vigneron Vincent Gas. Under normal circumstances, Vincent would have got us involved in the vineyard: learning about the process by doing a little pruning or harvesting. But Mother Nature had other ideas, with temperatures soaring into the mid-30s, demanding we find shade after about ten minutes.
Not to worry: in the château’s gardens, we sat beneath the trees and enjoyed a tasting of six different bottles, alongside a multitude of local cheeses, foie gras and magret de canard.
My personal favourite was Château Lapourcaud’s own 2023 blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which was bright and light on its feet. But we also tasted Vincent’s brother’s white and red blends from just down the road, as well as some other wines from the local cooperative of which Château Lapourcaud is a member. If I could pick one tasting note that carried through every wine we tried, it would be: “peppery” – which says something about the region’s terroir.
I’m already a planning a second visit, and next time I hope it’ll be cool enough to do a little work in the vineyard!

Vincent was extremely accommodating and delivered a very relaxed and informative tasting. He also selected meats and cheese to go with each tasting. Highly recommend!
In the summer, do a late tasting and have the snacks as dinner. It will be enough!