Located a few kilometres from Saint-Emilion, on the right bank of Bordeaux, Château de Ferrand was founded in 1702 by Elie de Bétoulaud. Having had no children, he bequeathed Château de Ferrand to his great-grand-nephews, including the Marquis de Mons. The property remained in the family until December 1977, when Baron Bich, founder of the eponymous company, acquired the estate. When he died in 1994, his daughter, Pauline and her husband, Philippe Chandon-Moët, took over the property. They carried out several works in order to improve the quality of wines of this promising terroir (restructuring of the vineyard, study of the soils and selection of grape varieties, modernisation of wine-growing infrastructures, plot vinification)... all these innovations were rewarded in 2012 when Château de Ferrand was promoted to Grand Cru Classé status. Gonzague de Lambert has been director of Château de Ferrand since 2017.
Planted in clay-limestone soils at an altitude of 100 metres, this 42-hectare vineyard, all in one piece, is one of the highest in the Saint-Émilion appellation. This geographical location allows for good ventilation of the vineyard as well as perfect drainage, thanks to a natural slope. Following a study of the soils and subsoils, the entire vineyard has been restructured through a rigorous selection of grape varieties according to their ability to adapt to the terroir of each plot. The plantings are composed of Merlot (70%), Cabernet Franc (29%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (1%).
Château de Ferrand is committed to an ecological transition process, which is reflected both in the application of environmentally friendly practices in the vineyard (mechanical soil tillage, inter-row grassing, aerial mapping following veraison to analyse the vigour of the vines, manual harvest) and in their management of the 10 hectares of forest surrounding the vineyard. Château de Ferrand has been certified Terra Vitis since 2012 and HVE level 3 since 2018.
Harvested manually, the grapes are sorted three times (in the vineyard, upon arrival of the harvest in the cellar and then one last time via optical sorting) before being filled into the vat by gravity. Vinification is carried out on a plot-by-plot basis, as is the ageing in fine-grained French oak barrels in a completely renovated cellar. Delicate and very precise, the wines of Château Ferrand have seduced over the vintages with their structure, aromas of very ripe red fruits, delicate freshness and fine tannins.
