Château de Pitray, `Les Prairies` Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

Château de Pitray has belonged to the Simard de Pitray family for over 600 years, making it the oldest family-owned property in Bordeaux. Although classified as Côtes de Castillon, the Château is located just eight kilometres east of Saint-Emilion and shares the same clay-limestone plateau. Jean is the 25th generation of the family to run this historic estate, which boasts 130 hectares of vineyards, forests and meadows. His mission has been to produce accessible, sustainably grown wines that are worthy of his ancestry and historic surroundings.

In 2020, Jean's friend, winemaker Nina Mitjavile, inspired several changes at Château de Pitray after observing the untapped potential of its clay-limestone soils. These include drastically cutting yields in the vineyard, as well as reducing the use of new oak during ageing. Nina is now the Château’s consultant winemaker. Having previously worked as head winemaker at her family’s renowned right-bank estates, Tertre Rôteboeuf and Roc de Cambes, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Château de Pitray, as well as sharing Jean’s meticulous approach in the vineyards and winery. Her involvement has been instrumental to the improved quality of these wines, leading to the relaunch of Château de Pitray with two distinct cuvées from the 2020 vintage, ‘Les Prairies’ and ‘Pitray’.

The water-holding capacity of the estate’s clay-limestone soils means the vines don’t suffer from stress in warmer vintages and produce ripe and balanced fruit. The vineyards are farmed sustainably with a focus on promoting soil health and increasing biodiversity. Initiatives include planting oak trees to support local wildlife, as well as a no-herbicide policy in the vineyard. The 36 hectares of vines at Château de Pitray have an average age of 32 years, planted with 73% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec. The vineyard is divided into plots of different varieties, soil types and microclimates. These parcels are then vinified separately in thermo-regulated concrete tanks.

Both wines are predominantly Merlot-based, making them plush in character, although Cabernet Franc lends integral structure and aromatic intensity and, in Jean’s opinion, is capable of greatness when it ripens well. A blend of 75% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec, ‘Les Prairies’ is a true reflection of the estate and presents a fruit-forward and supple style, with notes of ripe fruit and black tea enhanced by elegant tannins. Most of the blend is aged in stainless steel for 12 months, with 33% aged in one-year-old oak barrels to lend additional roundness to the palate. ‘Pitray’ is a celebration of the estate’s best parcels of Merlot, blended with just 10% Cabernet Franc. Aged in a mixture of oak barrels, 38% of which are new, and stainless steel, the resulting wine is more complex with layers of plush fruit, dried fig and spice underpinned by velvety tannins.

The label design for ‘Les Prairies’ and ‘Pitray’ was inspired by a label dating from 1870, which Jean and Nina discovered in the Château’s cellar. Its bold simplicity is a nod both to the property’s legacy and to the ambition of Jean and Nina to put Château de Pitray on the map.