70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Located in the southern valley of the village of Saint-Émilion running down to the plain, the 40 hectares have their roots in a patchwork of clay-limestone, sand and gravel soils. The spirit of Château Simard can be understood in the purity of the fruit, giving concentrated and generous wines, easy-going and accessible: this is the charm of Saint-Émilion, the gateway.
The nature of the estate’s soils dictated planting with 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon which, depending on the vintage, is never very far from the final blend. After manual harvesting and meticulous sorting of the berries, the family has chosen to use concrete and stainless-steel tanks, to seek out freshness and roundness. The wine finally undergoes very gentle ageing, with a few months in barrel.
Like its neighbour Haut-Simard, this vineyard, purchased in 1954, belonged to Claude Mazière before his nephew, Alain Vauthier, took the reins in 2008. This estate has thus belonged to the same family for seven decades, but you have to look further into the archives to discover the origin of the name. To cut a long story short, it was in the 15th century that Johan de Las Symas, in his capacity as a Jurat of Saint-Émilion, founded the village of Simard where the Vauthier family’s two estates are currently located.
