Château Villemaurine

In the estate's account, the Villemaurine name first appeared in the 7th century, when the Moors set up an entrenched camp at a site initially called Ville Maure. At the beginning of the 17th century Villemaurine passed into the hands of Antoine Limouzin, the first Clerk of the port of Libourne. In the lead-up to the French Revolution it belonged to Jean Combret de Faurie, also the owner of Château Soutard, who had substantial work carried out on the estate during the second half of the 18th century to establish a vineyard. Jean Laveau acquired the property in 1811. In 1872 Villemaurine passed to Messrs Morange, Troquard and Pierre Jean, and in 1874 the Féret, Bordeaux's wine directory, mentioned it as a 'Saint-Emilion First Growth'. In 1893 Raoul Passemard made the parcels into one vineyard. The Giraud family bought the estate in 1970, when the vineyard was farmed by the négociants Vignobles Robert Giraud, and in 1984 sold it to the Union Française de Gestion, which granted a lease of 25 years to farm the vines. The Onclin family arrived in 2005, and major renovations to the buildings and vineyard were undertaken. In 2021 the Lefevere family, owner of Château Sansonnet, Château Moulin du Cadet and Château Soutard Cadet, bought the property from the Onclin family. The 2021 vintage, which marked the change of ownership and the arrival of a new team, introduced a new label.

• Beginning of the 17th century: Antoine Limouzin, first Clerk of the port of Libourne
• 1893: Raoul Passemard made the parcels into one vineyard
• 1970: bought by the Giraud family; 1984: sold to the Union Française de Gestion
• 2005: the Onclin family; 2021: bought by the Lefevere family from the Onclin family

The estate's team page gives first names only: Jean is Technical Director, Damien is Cellar Master and Fanelie is Sales & Marketing Director, with Julien and Andréa leading wine tourism and hospitality. The estate also operates the 4-star Hotel La Villa des Vignes.

• Owner: the Lefevere family (since 2021)
• Technical Director: Jean
• Cellar Master: Damien

The vineyard covers 7 hectares in one single block adjacent to the historic part of the village on the eastern side, right in the middle of the Saint-Emilion appellation, and the entire vineyard sits at the top of the Asteria limestone plateau. It is moderately sloping, forming a slight outcrop in the western part and a north-facing, gently sloping plateau in the eastern part. The soils are mainly limestone, and an east-west soil texture gradient can be observed across the vineyard. As of the 2022 vintage the vineyard was planted to 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with an average vine age of 35 years.

• 7 hectares in one single block on the Asteria limestone plateau
• Slight outcrop in the west; north-facing, gently sloping plateau in the east
• Mainly limestone soils, with an east-west soil texture gradient
• 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (2022 vintage)

The soils are ploughed, no herbicides are applied, and a winter cereal cover crop is planted in the rows. The vineyard is monitored vine by vine, and de-budding, de-suckering and crop thinning are done by hand. As of the 2021 and 2022 vintages the estate was HVE3 certified. Grapes are picked by hand into small crates. Small double-walled stainless-steel vats allow plot-by-plot vinification, and the vats are equipped with an oval-shaped automatic pigeur that punches down the cap of skins. Malolactic fermentation takes place in oak barrels. From the 2021 vintage the new owners changed the choice of wooden casks, with fewer heavy barrels and more barrels selected for their respect of the fruit.

• Ploughed soils, no herbicides, winter cereal cover crop
• HVE3 certified (2021 and 2022 vintages)
• Hand harvest in small crates
• Double-walled stainless-steel vats with an automatic pigeur; malolactic fermentation in oak barrels

Ancient limestone quarries lie beneath the château. After a first barrel cellar with a dry atmosphere, the barrels are taken down to the monolithic cellars, where the wine rests at a constant temperature all year in the high humidity brought by the quarries. The monolithic cellar is carved into the limestone rock and forms part of the estate's underground quarries. Ageing lasts between sixteen and twenty months, depending on the vintage. Other sections of the quarries, separate from those on the estate's wine tour, are shown on its heritage tour, which covers the work of the quarrymen and the history of the limestone beneath Saint-Émilion.

• Monolithic cellar carved into the limestone rock
• Constant temperature and high humidity from the quarries beneath the château
• Ageing of sixteen to twenty months, depending on the vintage

The classification of Saint-Émilion grand cru wines has existed since 1955 and is revisable every ten years. Villemaurine was one of the 11 estates not retained in the 2006 classification. It appeared among the 64 Grands Crus Classés of the 2012 classification. On September 8, 2022, INAO's national committee approved the new classification of 14 Premiers Grands Crus Classés and 71 Grands Crus Classés, and Château Villemaurine is on the Grand Cru Classé list.

• 2006: not retained in the classification
• 2012: Grand Cru Classé
• 2022: Grand Cru Classé

Château Villemaurine is the grand vin. Les Angelots de Villemaurine, the second wine, comes from a selection of terroirs in the heart of the clay-limestone plateau. As of September 2014, average annual production was 30,000 bottles of Château Villemaurine and 20,000 bottles of Les Angelots de Villemaurine. The 2021 Château Villemaurine is 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, aged 18 months in 80% new barrels and 20% second-fill barrels. The 2022 is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, aged 16 months in 70% new barrels and 30% second-fill 500L wooden casks and two amphoras, with a yield of 38 hl/ha. The 2023 is 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc.

• Château Villemaurine (grand vin)
• Les Angelots de Villemaurine (second wine)
• 2022: 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc; 16 months of ageing
• 2023: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc

The estate describes its wines as typically long on the palate, mineral and elegant, with complexity, pedigree and finesse sought above all else. Its note on the 2023 finds a first nose dominated by red fruit, with spice adding complexity and depth, and a finish that is long and salivating, 'bringing to mind the salinity of the limestone plateau.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/histoire-gb/times-gone-by, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/histoire-gb/the-present-day, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/terroir/geographical-situation, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/terroir/the-plateau, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/terroir/our-terroir, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/savoir-faire/viticulture, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/savoir-faire/wine-making, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/savoir-faire/the-team, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/the-wines/chateau-villemaurine, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/the-wines/les-angelots-de-villemaurine, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/visiting-villemaurine/from-vine-to-wine-tour, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/visiting-villemaurine/underground-quarries-tour, https://www.villemaurine.com/index.php/en/what-s-happening/latest-news, and the estate's technical sheets (PDF): https://www.villemaurine.com/images/sampledata/Fiches_techniques/pdf_gb/villemaurine/fiche_technique_Villemaurine_generale%20GB.pdf, https://www.villemaurine.com/images/sampledata/Fiches_techniques/pdf_gb/villemaurine/FT_AN_VILLEMAURINE_2023.pdf, https://www.villemaurine.com/images/sampledata/Fiches_techniques/pdf_gb/villemaurine/FT_Villemaurine_2022_GB.pdf, https://www.villemaurine.com/images/sampledata/Fiches_techniques/pdf_gb/villemaurine/Fiche_technique_Villemaurine_2021_gb.pdf. Official sources: Les Vins de Saint-Émilion, https://vins-saint-emilion.com/en/castle/chateau-villemaurine-2/; INAO, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/en/saint-emilion-grand-cru-classement-next-decade. Secondary sources: Decanter, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/new-st-emilion-classification-surprises-but-no-shocks-93442/ (Stephen Brook, last updated 28 May 2015) and https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/only-one-chateau-demoted-in-new-st-emilion-classification-25451/ (Jane Anson and Adam Lechmere, last updated 28 July 2019). Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.