Chateau de Candale St. Emilion Bordeaux, Complete Guide

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

Chateau de Candale History, Overview

Chateau de Candale has been an estate in St. Emilion for centuries. The estate takes its name from the original founder of the property, Lady Margaret de Suddolk Kandall. The name was eventually shortened, and a phonetic spelling was chosen. Still, it is nice to be remembered.

The modern era for Chateau de Candale begins for the estate when the vineyard was purchased by Jean Louis Vicard in 2010 from the Adams family. Stephen Adams and Denise Adams still own the neighboring Saint Emilion estate, Chateau Fonplegade.

Jean Louis Vicard was already familiar with the Bordeaux wine trade as he was one of the more successful coopers, producing barrels in the Cognac region at his family company, Cooperage Vicard, that was founded all the way back in 1875.

One of the first decisions made by Jean Louis Vicard was to bring in the team of Stephane Derenoncourt to consult on the winemaking and vineyard management for Chateau de Candale.

Since the estate was first purchased, Jean Louis Vicard has increased the size of the estate from 11 hectares to its current 13-hectare size. In January 2017, Chateau de Candale was purchased by Thibaut Decoster and Magali Decoster who also own and manage 2 additional Bordeaux vineyards in Saint Emilion, Clos des Jacobins, and Chateau La Commanderie.

Chateau de Candale Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The Right Bank vineyard is planted to 84% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard is located east of the Saint Emilion village, not too far from Tertre Roteboeuf.

The terroir is clay and limestone soils and can be divided into 32 separate parcels. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 6,000 vines per hectare. On average, the vines are kept at 30 years of age. Vineyard farming practices are self-sustaining.

To produce the wine of Chateau de Candale, the whole berry grapes are vinified in open-top, conical-shaped wood vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged in an average of 40% new, French oak barrels for between 12 to 18 months before bottling. As you might expect, the barrels were made by the owner, Jean Louis Vicard.

The best vintages of Chateau de Candale are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, and 2009.

There is a second wine, Roc de Candale. On average, the production is close to 4,200 cases of wine per year of Chateau de Candale.

When to Drink Chateau Candale, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Candale is usually better with 3-4 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage. Chateau Candale is best enjoyed in the first 3-12 years of life.

Young vintages can be decanted for up to 1 hour or so. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Serving Chateau de Candale with Wine and Food Pairings

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

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

Aside from making wine, Chateau de Candale has earned a good reputation with local residents for their restaurant, L’Atelier de Candale, which offers a charming outdoor, wine country setting in Bordeaux.

http://chateau-de-candale.fr