Chateau Rouget Pomerol Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Rouget 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 Rouget History, Overview

Chateau Rouget has one of the longest histories in Pomerol. The vineyards appear to have been planted by the ancient Romans at one point.

Although, coming closer to the modern age, Chateau Rouget makes its first appearance all the way back in the 1700s, according to documents stored in the archives of Pomerol. For most of the 18th century, Chateau Rouget was owned by the Bayonne family.

At the time, Chateau Rouget had a great reputation. It was considered to be one of the top five wines of the entire Pomerol appellation. Near the close of the 19th century, in 1892, the estate was sold to the Dupuy family who later passed it to Marcel Bertrand. A direct descendant of Marcel Bertrand sold Chateau Rouget to the Labruyere family in 1992.

This was not the first wine venture for the Labruyere family. They have owned vineyards since 1850, in Beaujolais with Domaine Labruyere in the Moulin-a-Vent appellation. The Labruyere family also owns Domaine Jacques Prieur Musigny, in the Burgundy region and JM Labruyere in Champagne.

Prior to the 1992 sale to the Labruyere family, much of the production for Chateau Rouget was sold in bulk to Ets. Moueix. As soon as the sale closed, the new owners of Chateau Rouget set out to make a vast array of improvements and renovations to their entire Right Bank property.

The Labruyere’s goal was to do everything that was needed to improve the wines of Chateau Rouget and not spare any expense to accomplish their ambition. Today, the estate is managed by Edouard Labruyere.

The vineyards of Chateau Rouget were replanted and they removed the plots of Cabernet Sauvignon. They also built all wine-making facilities and cellars.

In 1997, they hired Michel Rolland as their consultant. They also purchased additional vineyard land and expanded the vineyards of their Right Bank estate. The additional land turned Chateau Rouget into one of the largest Pomerol properties in the appellation with close to 17-hectares of vines.

In 2001 they also began an extensive replanting of over half their vineyards and a complete modernization of the wine-making facilities at Chateau Rouget. The vineyards of Chateau Rouget are located in the northern part of the Pomerol appellation. They are not that far from Chateau LEgliseClinet and Chateau La Croix de Gay.

Chateau Rouget Vineyard, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 17-hectare vineyard of Chateau Rouget is planted to 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. The terroir is gravel, sand, and clay with iron in the soils. The vineyard is in 3 distinctive parcels. The best parcels are the 12-hectares planted close to the chateau and not far from Chateau Trotanoy and Chateau Petit Village.

The remaining vineyard is located in soils with more sand. The vines are on average close to 28 years of age and are planted to a density of 6,000 vines per hectare. However, they now have a small parcel, about 1 hectare which is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Those vines will eventually add to the Grand Vin when the vines are old enough.

New plantings are taking place at a density of 10,000 vines per hectare, which is quite high, for a vineyard in Pomerol.

To produce the wine of Chateau Rouget, vinification takes place in a combination of 50 hectoliter and 60 hectoliter, wood vats, and temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks.

The grapes are only partially crushed, with some of the fruit being, whole berry fermented, to reduce oxidation and help maintain more freshness. They are also, whole cluster fermenting close to 45% of their production, meaning that 45% of the grapes are vinified with the stems attached,

Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels. However, a portion of the harvest, about 35% of the grapes are vinified using micro-vinification techniques, meaning that that portion of the wine was entirely vinified in barrels, giving the wine a rounder texture, with more of an oaky note. The wine of Chateau Rouget is then aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for an average of 15 to 18 months before bottling.

There is a second wine, which has gone through a few name changes over the years. Today, the second wine is Le Carillon de Rouget. Previously it was called Vieux Chateau des Templiers and before that, it was previously sold as Le Clocher de Rouget. Close to 6,500 cases of wine are produced at Chateau Rouget each year.

The best vintages of Chateau Rouget are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2005 and 2000. Fans of the property should note that starting with the 2015 vintage, the quality of wine here has seriously improved!

When to Drink Chateau Rouget, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Rouget can be enjoyed on the young side with 1-2 hours 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 5-8 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. In the best years, Chateau Rouget is usually at its best between 5 to 20 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Rouget with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

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

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

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