Château Romer

Château Romer and its neighbour Château Romer du Hayot share a common origin that can be traced back at least as far as the 17th century, when the estate belonged to the Montalier family. By 1800 its proprietor, Marie-Thérèse Gabrielle de Montalier, was married to Ferdinand Auguste de Lur-Saluces; the estate passed to their daughter and, through her marriage, to Comte Auguste de la Myre-Mory. On its passing to the next generation, Napoleonic inheritance law divided the estate into five sections, one for each heir, though it remained under the direction of one of them, Comtesse Beaurepaire-Louvagny. Under the Myre-Mory family the estate was classified as a deuxième cru in the 1855 classification of Sauternes and Barsac, the only wine ranked at that level in the commune of Fargues. By then it was named Romer; the lieu-dit where the modern vineyards lie is called Le Roumere. The Farges family owned Château Romer from 1911. For a time the estate was run under tenant care, and under Anne Farges it was run entirely by the family. The property has since been taken over by Maison François Janoueix.

• Origins shared with Château Romer du Hayot, traced back at least to the 17th century under the Montalier family
• Classified deuxième cru in 1855 under the Myre-Mory family
• Owned by the Farges family from 1911
• Since taken over by Maison François Janoueix

Maison François Janoueix is a family wine business that François Janoueix, originally from a village in the Corrèze, established at Margaux in the Médoc in 1898; it now operates from the quai du Priourat in Libourne. Its Bordeaux estates include Château Condat in Saint-Emilion Grand Cru and Lafleur Saint-Jean in Pomerol. Winedoctor's two-part profile of Château Romer, last updated in December 2023, names François Janoueix as the current-day proprietor. Under the Farges family, the estate was run by Anne Farges.

• Owner: Maison François Janoueix, Libourne, a family business established at Margaux in 1898
• Proprietor as of December 2023: François Janoueix
• Previous family owners: the Farges family, from 1911

The vineyard lies in the commune of Fargues within the Sauternes appellation and covers 6.5 hectares of gravelly and clay-gravel soils, planted entirely to Sémillon. The vineyards remained largely intact despite the construction of the autoroute and the destruction of the original château in the early 1970s. Together with the vines of Château Romer du Hayot, they are flanked to the north by the autoroute, beyond which lies Château de Malle, and to the west, south and east by scrubland and forestry. Besides Château de Malle, the nearest neighbours are Château Bastor-Lamontagne and Château Suduiraut.

• 6.5 hectares in Fargues de Langon
• 100% Sémillon
• Gravelly and clay-gravel soils
• Original château destroyed in the early 1970s with the construction of the autoroute; the vineyards remained largely intact

Château Romer is a sweet white wine of Sauternes, the category the 1855 classification ranks alongside the red wines of the Médoc. Vinification is traditional, in French oak barrels, followed by 12 to 18 months of ageing in barrel, and annual production averages 6,000 bottles. The 2022 vintage was the first harvest for R de Romer, a dry white Bordeaux Blanc AOC made from 100% Sémillon. Its vines average 15 years of age; the grapes are picked at the end of August for freshness and liveliness while keeping the richness of Sémillon, and the wine is aged in new barrels with bâtonnage on the lees.

• Château Romer: Sauternes, 100% Sémillon, 12 to 18 months in barrel
• R de Romer: Bordeaux Blanc AOC, 100% Sémillon, first harvested in 2022, aged in new barrels on the lees

Maison François Janoueix describes Château Romer as showing fine aromatic complexity with citrus notes, good concentration and above all freshness on the palate. The house presents it as an aperitif wine to serve well chilled and to drink young for its freshness, while noting that it can keep for more than 20 years. For R de Romer, the house tasting note cites a persistent nose of white flowers with delicately fruity and buttery aromas, and a palate where freshness sits alongside fruit, richness and roundness.

Primary sources (Maison François Janoueix, owner of Château Romer): https://janoueixfrancois.com/vin/chateau-romer/, https://janoueixfrancois.com/vin/r-de-romer/, https://janoueixfrancois.com/. Secondary sources: https://www.bordeaux.com/en/classifications/classifications-1855/ (Bordeaux wine council 1855 classification list), https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/chateau-romer-67845/ (Decanter directory listing), https://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/romer.shtml and https://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/romer_2.shtml (Winedoctor profile, last updated December 2023). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the owner's site and a secondary source disagree, the owner's site governs.