Chateau Plince Pomerol Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Plince Pomerol with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Plince History, Overview

Chateau Plince has one of the few, truly grand chateau in Pomerol. This is noticeable because generally speaking Pomerol is the simplest of all the important Bordeaux appellations. Thus most of the chateaux are humble in nature.

But not here. In fact, it is safe to say that Chateau Plince sports perhaps the finest, impressive-looking chateau in the appellation! The grand chateau was originally constructed in the 19th century.

Chateau Plince is owned by the Moreau family who purchased the Right Bank estate from the well-known, Rouchut family. The Moreau family have owned other vineyards in Pomerol, including Clos LEglise, which they sold in 1977.

Chateau Plince Vineyard, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 8.6-hectare vineyard of Chateau Plince is planted to 72% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The terroir is mostly sand with some iron in the soil. On average the vines are close to 23 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density that remains close to 6,000 vines per hectare. The property is located close to Chateau Nenin and not too far from the RN89 highway. The Right Bank vineyard is 8.66 hectares.

In an effort to produce better wine today, Chateau Plince now practices green harvesting and crop thinning to reduce yields as part of its vineyard management program. However, Chateau Plince remains one of the few vineyards with potential that is still harvested by machine.

To produce the wine of Chateau Plince, vinification takes place in eight, traditional, temperature-controlled, cement vats that range in size from 62 hectoliters up to 132 hectoliters. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels. The wine of Chateau Plince is aged in an average of 50% new, French oak barrels for between 12 and 18 months, depending on the quality, character, and style of the vintage.

Chateau Plince produces close to 4,000 cases of Pomerol wine per vintage. There is a second wine, Pavillon Plince. While Chateau Plince is owned and managed by the Moreau family, the sales and marketing of their wine are handled by Ets. Moueix.

The best vintages of Chateau Plince are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2005 and 2000.

When to Drink Chateau Plince, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Plince can be enjoyed on the young side with an hour or two of decanting. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.

Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. However, I find the wine is usually better with 4-6 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. In the best years, Chateau Plince is usually at its best between 5 and 14 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Plince with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Plince is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Chateau Plince is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.

Chateau Plince is also good when matched with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

Chateau Plince is a lighter, early-drinking style of Pomerol wine.

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