Chateau de Pressac St. Emilion Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau de Pressac St. Emilion with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, the 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 Pressac History, Overview

The history of what we know of Chateau de Pressac today started several hundred years ago, during the Medieval time period. At first, the property was used as a fortress.

In 1453, following the Battle of Castillon which ended the Hundred Years War, the official treaties were signed at Chateau de Pressac. At the time, the estate was a castle, complete with a moat and drawbridge, which is where the design for the modern-day chateau took its inspiration from. As you can see, there is a lot of history connected to this vineyard.

As a working vineyard in St. Emilion, Chateau de Pressac dates back to at least 1737 when the owner at the time began planting a popular grape called Auxerrois. In time the name of the grape was grape changed to Pressac. Pressac was better known by its complete formal name for the variety at the time, Noir de Pressac.

During those days, Pressac, was a popular grape for the Bordeaux appellation, especially in the Right Bank. In time, the grape once again changed names Malbec. Of course, Chateau Pressac took its name from the original French term for Malbec, the grape that was planted at the estate in its formative years.

Chateau de Pressac the Modern Era

Jean Francois Quenin purchased Chateau de Pressac in 1997. Because the vineyards were allowed to become dilapidated by the previous owner, Jean-Francois Quenin was forced to replant the majority of the vineyard. He also invested a large sum of money in rebuilding and modernizing their winemaking facilities.

Jean Francois Quenin changed how the grapes were harvested, moving from machine picking to manual harvesting. All this work is really starting to pay off as the wines have continued improving year, after year. 2015 and 2016 are both, strong, top-level vintages for Chateau Pressac.

The complete renovation allows Chateau de Pressac to vinify on a parcel by parcel basis, as the estate now has one vat per parcel. At Chateau de Pressac, they use a system of cube-shaped, cement vats for the vinification.

The 10, cube-shaped vats range in size from 45, 50, and 60 hectoliters. Now, everything is moved by gravity in the cellars. The renovation included a new barrel room too.

To aid in sorting, Chateau de Pressac began using optical sorting in 2009, and in time for the 2012 Bordeaux vintage, they added the new Oscillys destemmer, vertical presses, and a peristaltic pump.

Chateau de Pressac strives to remain technologically up to date. They are currently using robots for the cap punching. Robots in Saint Emilion! Who said Bordeaux was behind the times?

Aside from being the owner of a classified Saint Emilion estate, Jean Francois Quenin, is one of the busier people in the Right Bank wine world today. Not only is he the President of the Union of Saint Emilion, Pomerol, and Fronsac, he’s President of the St. Emilion Wine Council and if that wasn’t enough, he’s also the Vice President of the Cercle de Rive Droite!

Chateau de Pressac Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 42 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau de Pressac is planted to 69% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Malbec, 1.5% Carmenere, and 1% Malbec.

The terroir is split into two separate soil types, which can be further divided into 3 distinct blocks. On the plateau, you find more limestone. On the slopes, there is a stronger concentration of clay with limestone soil.

The vineyard is planted to a vine density ranging from 5,500 to 6,000 vines per hectare. The vineyard is located in the Saint Etienne de Lisse commune, not far from Valandraud, Chateau Faugeres and Chateau Fleur Cardinale.

Chateau de Pressac is vinified in cube shaped, concrete vats. Everything in the cellar is moved by gravity. The wine is aged in 65% new, French oak barrels for an average of 12 months before bottling.

The Best vintages of Chateau de Pressac are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2001, 2000 and 1998. It should be noted that starting with 2016, the wines here have really improved!

There is a second wine, Chateau Tour de Pressac. A small amount of wine is also used for a new, third wine on occasion. On average, Chateau de Pressac produces between 8,000 and 12,000 cases of St. Emilion wine per vintage.

When to Drink Chateau de Pressac, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau de Pressac is better with at least 4-6 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage.

Chateau de Pressac is best enjoyed in the first 5-21 years of life. Young vintages can be decanted for about 1 hour to 90 minutes. 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 Pressac with Wine and Food Pairings

Chateau de Pressac 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 Pressac is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau de Pressac is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, pasta, and a wide variety of both hard and soft cheese.

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