2020 Chateau Saint Pierre, St. Julien
GBP 231 IB per 6x75cl EP
94-96 pts WA, 93-95 pts AG
The St Pierre estate is considered to be one of the oldest in the Médoc. From 1693, the archives confirm the existence of a wine estate known as “Serançan”, owned by the Marquis de Cheverry.
In 1767, Baron de Saint-Pierre bought the estate and, in accordance with the customs of the time, gave it his name. The story goes that the good Baron counted on his patron saint to open the gates of heaven for him.
After his death in 1832, his two daughters shared his inheritance. One, married to Colonel Bontemps-Dubarry, received half of the vineyards, the cellars and the château; the other, married to a Swede, Mr. de Luetkens, who also owned La Tour Carnet, received the remaining vineyards. This meant that the estate was broken up, however it was not left out of the 1855 Classification and was classified as a 4th Growth.
In 1892, Mrs. de Luetkens sold her share to Léon Sevaistre (who already owned Château Saint-Louis in Saint-Julien) so that, by the end of the 19th Century, Saint-Pierre was divided between two families and lived under two labels: “Saint-Pierre-Sevaistre” and “Saint-Pierre-Bontemps-Dubarry”. In 1922 , two Antwerp merchants, the brothers Pierre and Charles Van den Bussche, brought together the two halves of the estate, except for the cellars bought from Colonel Bontemps-Kappelhoff (grandson of Colonel Bontemps-Dubarry) by Alfred Martin, who was looking for somewhere to store the new barrels that he made day after day.
The final stage came in 1982: Henri Martin bought the estate known as “Château Saint-Pierre Sevaistre” from the heirs of the Van den Bussche family. Broken up and scattered over the centuries and successive inheritances, Château Saint-Pierre became whole again and took back the name that it had borne over two centuries ago. |
