Chateau des Fougeres is part of the Montesquieu Vins et Domaines overseen by general manager Patrick Baseden. Stephane Derenoncourt is the consulting oenologist.
Situated in historic La Brede in the Graves section of Bordeaux, this estate traces its roots back more than three centuries to Charles-Louis de Secondat, the Baron of Montesquieu.
Montesquieu, one of the great philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment, whose seminal work, the Spirit of the Laws, was written at La Brede and was well known to Jefferson and the drafters of the United States Constitution, was, first, a winemaker. His family owned a number of vineyards in the heart of Graves which he inherited at age 25 and expanded. Montesquieu played a role in the internationalization of Bordeaux wine. He wrote of the success of his books and his wines, ""I do not know whether my wines owe their reputation to my books or my books to the quality of my wines."
Vineyard and Vinification
The soil consists of fine gravel combined with pebbles, sand and clay. The average age of the vines is 22 years. The grapes are picked and sorted manually and selectively.
The Red "La Folie" Fougeres is made or 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The yield is 35 hectoliters per hectare. The grapes are pressed and fermentation takes place in temperature controlled foudres. The wine is aged in oak barrels for approximately 18 months. About 40% of the barrels are new oak. Total production is about 15,000 bottles.
The White "La Folie" Fougeres 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Semillon. The yield is approximately 33 hectoliters per hectare. Fermentation takes place in oak barrels (25% new) and the wine is aged for approximately six months before being bottled. Total production is about 8,000 bottles.
Medals / Reviews
"It is not too soon to offer some exciting news. This estate is supervised by Patrick Baseden, who is better known as the [director] . . . of the St.-Emilion estates of La Bienfaisance and Sanctus. Baseden brought in the hot-shot wine guru Stephane Derenoncourt to begin making hte wines in 2002. This obscure property could become a name to reckon with in the future. Stay tuned." (Parker, Bordeaux, A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines, 4th ed. 2003).
