Chateau L’Arrosee St. Emilion Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau L’Arrosee St. Emilion with wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, 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 L’Arossee History, Overview

The inspiration for L’Arrosee rose out of the ground, literally. Chateau L’Arrosee took its name from an underground spring located on their Bordeaux wine property in St. Emilion.

In 1868, L’Arrosee belonged to the minister and a member of the Council of Napoléon III, Pierre Magne. Magne sold Chateau L’Arrosee to the French Ambassador to Austria. Chateau L’Arrosee was obtained by the Dupuch family in the early part of the 20th century.

Under their tenure, the wines were not at their best. Until 1956, Chateau L’Arrosee was made at the local cooperative. That is the reason why you never see or hear about the wine of Chateau L’Arrosee from the famous vintages of the early part of the 20th century.

In 2002, Chateau L’Arrosee was bought by the Caille family. The Caille family made numerous investments in the vineyards and their wine-making facilities to bring the chateau and its vineyards back up to speed.

The renovations were extensive. They also hired Gilles Pouquet as their consultant at their St. Emilion wine-making estate. Gilles Pouquet has a lot of experience in St. Emilion having worked at Cheval Blanc, Figeac, and numerous other Right Bank properties.

In July 2013, the future and fate of Chateau L’Arrosee were changed forever when it was purchased by Domaine Clarence Dillon, the owners of Chateau Haut Brion in Pessac Leognan from the Caille family.

This was the second recent purchase in St. Emilion by Clarence Dillon as they recently purchased Tertre Dugay, which was promptly renamed and re-branded as Chateau Quintus.

At the time of the purchase, most people assumed that Chateau L’Arrosee would be folded into Quintus at some point, probably sooner than later, which turned out to be the case following the 2012 vintage.

Chateau L’Arrosee Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 9.5 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Chateau L’Arrosee is planted to 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, with an average age of 35 years for the vines.

The terroir is limestone and clay soil located on the southern edge of the slopes of Saint Emilion. They have vines on both sides of the small road. However, you find more sand on the other side, away from the chateau and closer to the cooperative.

Those vines are used for their second wine. In the cellars at Chateau L’Arrosee, they utilize gravity-fed grape chutes, a vibrating sieve, and temperature-controlled vats. The other recent improvements include a new first and second-year aging cellar.

The wine of Chateau L’Arrosee is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels for 12 to 18 months. Chateau L’Arrosee has an average annual production of close to 3,500 cases of Bordeaux wine a year.

Chateau L’Arrosee is an elegant St. Emilion wine. It’s a traditionally-styled Bordeaux wine that is not the most concentrated, deeply colored, or ripest wine produced today. But what it lacks in power, it more than makes up for that with its soft textures, purity of fruit, and refined personality.

When to Drink Chateau L’Arrosee, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau L’Arrosee needs some time before it can be enjoyed. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1 – 2 hours. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau L’Arrosee is usually better with at least 4-6 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau L’Arrosee offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 5-20 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau L’Arrosee with Wine and Food Pairings

Chateau L’Arrosee is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau L’Arrosee is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau L’Arrosee is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

2012 marked the official end to Chateau L’Arrosee. 2012 was the last vintage produced by the estate. In 2013, as was expected, it was announced that the vineyards of Chateau L’Arrosee would be merged into Quintus as they were both owned by Domaine Clarence Dillon.

www.domaineclarencedillon.com