Château Cadet-Bon

Decanter's producer listing places the estate's history as far back as the 14th century, and the Winedoctor records that it is widely accepted that the modern vineyard began with vines planted by Jacques Bon dit Le Cadet, the likely origin of the name Cadet, with the suffix Bon added much later. In 2001 Michèle and Guy Richard, natives of Charente-Maritime from wine-growing families, bought the property and devoted themselves to renovating it and to realising the quality potential of its terroir. In 2004 the interior of the château, the cellar and the living quarters were fully renovated. In 2005 Claude Bourguignon led a detailed soil study, with physical, chemical and biological analyses and soil pits dug at several points on the property, which mapped the characteristics of each parcel. The estate's emblem is the Fontaine de Cadet-Bon, shown on all of its labels; the label introduced in 2022 depicts the myth of Dionysos.

• History possibly reaching back to the 14th century; the vineyard's origin is credited to Jacques Bon dit Le Cadet.
• 2001: bought by Michèle and Guy Richard.
• 2004: interior of the château, cellar and living quarters fully renovated.
• 2005: parcel-by-parcel soil study led by Claude Bourguignon.
• 2022: new label depicting the myth of Dionysos; the Fontaine de Cadet-Bon appears on all labels.

Château Cadet-Bon was demoted in the 2006 Saint-Émilion classification. In the 2012 classification, which named 18 Premiers Grands Crus Classés and 64 Grands Crus Classés, Cadet-Bon was reinstated among the Grands Crus Classés. It is listed among the Grands Crus Classés in the 2022 classification.

• 2006: demoted.
• 2012: reinstated as a Grand Cru Classé.
• 2022: listed among the Grands Crus Classés.

Guy Richard has owned the estate since 2001, and he is the owner of record for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages; he and Michèle Richard bought the property together. Stéphane Derenoncourt and Frédéric Massie, consultants in oenology, have guided the winemaking since 2003, and Derenoncourt Consultants is the consultant of record for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages. Antoine Mariau was technical manager for the 2019 and 2020 vintages.

• Owner: Guy Richard, since 2001 (bought with Michèle Richard).
• Oenology consultants since 2003: Stéphane Derenoncourt and Frédéric Massie (Derenoncourt Consultants).
• Technical manager for the 2019 and 2020 vintages: Antoine Mariau.

The vineyard lies near the village of Saint-Émilion, facing south on a gentle slope, and covers 7 hectares, 6 of them planted in a single block. Its exposure is the limestone plateau and the south slope of the Cadet hill, on clay-limestone soil over calcaire à astéries. The vines are planted following the slope, across three soil types: light soils over limestone, deep soils over limestone, and clay soils with a large internal surface. Merlot makes up 80% of the vineyard and Cabernet Franc 20%, with an average vine age of 40 years. Planting density is 6,500 vines per hectare, and 8,500 per hectare for new plantings; the vines are pruned to double Guyot. The area in production was 5.62 hectares for the 2019 vintage and 5.02 hectares for 2020 and 2021.

• 7 hectares, 6 in a single block, facing south; limestone plateau and the south slope of the Cadet hill.
• Clay-limestone soils over calcaire à astéries, in three soil types.
• 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc; average vine age 40 years.
• 6,500 vines per hectare (8,500 for new plantings); double Guyot pruning.

The estate began converting to organic farming in 2018; 2020 was the last vintage in conversion and 2021 the first labelled organic. Cereal cover crops are sown to restructure the soil, which is worked lightly by machine, and vineyard work includes disbudding, leaf removal and green harvesting. Grapes are picked by hand and pass over three sorting tables. Fermentation takes place in small temperature-controlled vats of 30 to 60 hectolitres, with gentle extraction by pumping over and manual punching down, and maceration lasts 21 to 30 days. Malolactic fermentation is carried out 10% in new barrels and 90% in vat. The wine is aged for 12 to 15 months in barrels: for the 2019 vintage, 35% new barrels, 35% one-wine barrels, 20% two-wine barrels and 10% concrete vat and amphora; for 2021, 42% new barrels of 225 and 400 litres, 37% one-wine barrels, 10% two-wine barrels and 11% amphora.

• Organic conversion from 2018; 2021 the first vintage labelled organic.
• Hand harvest with three sorting tables.
• Small vats of 30 to 60 hectolitres; pumping over and manual punching down.
• Malolactic fermentation 10% in new barrels, 90% in vat.
• 12 to 15 months in barrels, with amphora used for part of the wine (11% in 2021).

The grand vin, Château Cadet-Bon, is an AOC Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Grand Cru Classé. The 2019 vintage yielded 35 hl/ha and 25,000 bottles, the 2020 vintage 35 hl/ha and 25,000 bottles, and the 2021 vintage 30 hl/ha and 18,000 bottles. Two other Saint-Émilion Grand Cru wines come from the same owner: L'esprit Franc de Château Cadet-Bon and Château Vieux Moulin du Cadet.

• Château Cadet-Bon: AOC Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Grand Cru Classé.
• 2019 and 2020: 35 hl/ha, 25,000 bottles; 2021: 30 hl/ha, 18,000 bottles.
• Same owner: L'esprit Franc de Château Cadet-Bon and Château Vieux Moulin du Cadet (Saint-Émilion Grand Cru).

Château Cadet-Bon gives its aim since 2001 as 'transcrire la quintessence offerte par cette terre et ses cépages, avec la plus grande sincérité' (to convey the essence offered by this land and its grape varieties, with the greatest sincerity), and attributes finesse to its light soils over limestone, robustness to its deep soils over limestone and power to its clay soils. The Winedoctor observes that the estate 'did have something of a reputation for strong extraction and a modern style', and cites a tasting of the 2008 with the Derenoncourt team as an indicator of the long association between consultant and property.

Château Cadet-Bon receives visitors all year for a tour of the property followed by a tasting. Visits and tastings at the property are by appointment only.

• Tour and tasting all year; by appointment.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.cadet-bon.com/ and the estate's technical sheets for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages (archive): https://www.cadet-bon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Fiches-Techniques-FR-Chateau-Cadet-Bon.zip. Official body: Conseil des Vins de Saint-Émilion, https://vins-saint-emilion.com/chateau/chateau-cadet-bon/ and https://vins-saint-emilion.com/bienvenue-dans-le-vignoble/classement-2022-crus-saint-emilion/. Secondary sources: Decanter (Jane Anson and Adam Lechmere on the 2012 classification, last updated 28 July 2019, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/only-one-chateau-demoted-in-new-st-emilion-classification-25451/; producer listing, last updated 30 May 2019, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/chateau-cadet-bon-67330/) and the Winedoctor (https://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/cadetbon.shtml, https://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/cadetbon_3.shtml). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.