Château du Domaine de L’Eglise is one of Pomerol’s oldest estates, its seven hectares (17 acres) of vineyard lying just north of the hamlet of Pomerol itself, some 40km (24 miles) east of Bordeaux city center and five kilometers (three miles) northeast of Libourne.
Lying just north of Pomerol’s church, the château lies just east of Château Clinet and l’Eglise Clinet, while to the east of Château du Domaine de L’Eglise itself is Château Le Gay. Over the road to the north are Château La Croix de Gay and Château Rouget.
As the name implies, Château du Domaine de L’Eglise was once a religious property – in this case the grounds were once a hospice for lepers on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. It is first mentioned in 1589, making it the oldest known estate in the appellation.
As with most religious holdings, the estate was sequestered by the state in the French Revolution and auctioned off. It was held by the Landard family until 1972 when it was sold to the Castéja family.
The vineyards sit on a terroir of gravelly clay on a highly-regarded area for vineyards, often referred to as the “Pomerol plateau”. The vineyard (and resulting wine) is planted predominantly to Merlot with a small amount of Cabernet Franc, which can be as little as four percent of the final blend.
The château is overseen by Philippe Castéja, the owner of negociants Borie-Manoux. We are very grateful to Boire Manoux for supplying this wine for us to taste.
To learn more about this wine and to see its pricing and availability follow this link to the Wine-Searcher website: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/du+dom+de+l+eglise+pomerol+bordeaux+france/2011
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