Château Fayat

4.2

(5 customer reviews)

The winemaker

The Fayat Group also owns two other wine estates in Bordeaux: Château La Dominique in the Saint-Émilion appellation and Château Clément Pichon, a Cru Bourgeois in the Haut Médoc. Château Fayat is now owned by Jean Claude Fayat, Clément's son.

The winery

Château Fayat boasts 16.5 hectares, divided into 31 parcels, a good size in the Pomerol area. The terroir is composed of layers of clay and sandy gravel. The vines are on average 50 years old, with a majority of Merlot, complemented by Cabernet Franc. The entire estate is managed according to the principles of sustainable agriculture, and is the subject of an ambitious overall restructuring project launched in 2008 and scheduled to run until 2030. A soil study was carried out in 2016 to better understand the specificity of each plot and adapt planting and soil care to the particularities of each terroir.

The vineyard of Château Prieurs de la Commanderie located northwest of Pomerol was already the result of a previous grouping of a dozen parcels owned by Clément Fayat for almost 40 years. In 2000, he acquired Château Commanderie de Mazeyres, a historic wine estate in the appellation whose origins date back to the 14th century. He has completely restored the estate. His latest acquisition is Vieux Château Bourgneuf, bought in 2008.

Skills

The mosaic of parcels making up the vineyard offers the possibility of creating singular blends. Each plot is vinified separately, in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Some cuvées are matured in barrels, when the team feels that wood offers the best conditions for enhancing the fruit. Each batch is then scrupulously monitored, with blind tastings.

The blends are determined to produce balanced, delicate wines, characteristics that are rather atypical of the appellation, whose cuvées are renowned for their power.